--- description: Photographer Miikka Pirinen debunks the commonly-held beliefs surrounding these cage-fighting children title: Meet America's Young Fight League Kids image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35c1c898aba1f173/698769dba988cac7736aad9b/fight-league-kids-092.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Meet America's Young Fight League Kids by [Olivier Laurent](/author/olivier-laurent/) ## Olivier Laurent Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 28, 2015 9:00 AM CUT  Mixed martial arts fighter Brock Locnikar, 8, in the octagon, takes precious advise from his corner men Clay Carpenter and Thiago Azeredo during United States Fight League All-star Pankration show at Blue Water Casino in Parker, Arizona, Oct. 2013. Mixed martial arts fighter Brock Locnikar, 8, in the octagon, takes precious advise from his corner men Clay Carpenter and Thiago Azeredo during United States Fight League All-star Pankration show at Blue Water Casino in Parker, Arizona, Oct. 2013.Miikka Pirinen by [Olivier Laurent](/author/olivier-laurent/) ## Olivier Laurent Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 28, 2015 9:00 AM CUT Miikka Pirinen’s photographs provoke strong reactions every time they’re seen. “People often think that these kids have been forced to fight,” the Finnish photographer tells TIME. “People think that they get hurt a lot or that their families are after the money.” Pirinen stumbled upon these “cage-fighting children,” as they are sometimes called, when he chanced upon a video online of six-year-old kids fighting in a competition in California. “I started to follow the topic online through videos posts by these kids’ proud parents and spectators,” he says. And while he read many condemnations of the sport, Pirinen had to see for himself. “As a journalist I was strict not to form an opinion before seeing it all,” he says. “After spending over a month, day and night, following the kids, the parents and the trainers in gyms around Arizona and California, I started to have a pretty good insight of what the sport really is about for everyone involved: Community.” Pirinen found a community based on respect toward one another, with kids of all ages helping each other, and parents working closely with trainers to offer a safe environment for their children. “It’s not like we’re hanging out in a bar,” Clay Carpenter, the father of three young fighters from Phoenix, Ariz., told Pirinen. “Instead we come here to support our kids.” The children pictured in Pirinen’s photographs are not bullies – in fact, most of them are among the most trusted pupils in their respective schools, the photographer says. “They look out for each other and if anyone uses their skills for the wrong reasons, they are quickly set straight.” For Pirinen, Fight League Kids is just the latest chapter in a two-year photographic project on the issue of identity among children. “I’m interested in the different ways young people are trying to form an identity for themselves,” he says. Next, the photographer, who started his career as a camera assistant in the film industry before moving to photography, plans to continue this project, focusing instead on motor sports and American football. [**_Miikka Pirinen_**](http://www.miikkapirinen.com/ "undefined") _is a Finnish freelance photographer based in Helsinki. He’s a member of the_ [_Helsinki Street_](http://www.helsinkistreet.fi/ "undefined") _photography collective._ **_Mikko Takkunen_** _is an Associate Photo Editor at TIME. Follow him on Twitter_ [_@photojournalism_](http://www.twitter.com/photojournalism "undefined")_._ **_Olivier Laurent_** _is the editor of TIME LightBox. Follow him on_ [_Twitter_](http://twitter.com/olivierclaurent "undefined") _and_ [_Instagram_](http://instagram.com/olivierclaurent "undefined") _@olivierclaurent_  Mixed martial arts fighter Brock Locnikar, 8, in the octagon, takes precious advise from his corner men Clay Carpenter and Thiago Azeredo during United States Fight League All-star Pankration show at Blue Water Casino in Parker, Arizona, Oct. 2013. Miikka Pirinen  Crowd cheering young mixed martial arts fighters at United States Fight League All-star Pankration show at Blue Water Casino in Parker, Arizona, Oct. 2013. Miikka Pirinen  Mixed martial arts fighters Justin Ramirez, 7, and Chris Arrey, 7, fighting in the octagon in United States Fight League All-star Pankration show at Blue Water Casino in Parker, Arizona, Oct, 2013. Miikka Pirinen  Young mixed martial arts fighters in the octagon in United States Fight League All-star Pankration show at Blue Water Casino in Parker, Arizona, Oct. 2013. Miikka Pirinen  Crowd cheering young mixed martial arts fighters at United States Fight League All-star Pankration show at Blue Water Casino in Parker, Arizona, Oct. 2013. Miikka Pirinen  Regina "Black Widow" Awana, 7, with her Championship belts, posing for her sponsor at United States Fight League All-star Pankration show at Blue Water Casino in Parker, Arizona, Oct. 2013. Miikka Pirinen  Regina "Black Widow" Awana, 7, playing with her favorite doll, Ariel, with friends before her fights. She won all fights this night. United States Fight League All-star Pankration show at Blue Water Casino in Parker, Arizona, Oct. 2013. Miikka Pirinen  Mixed martial arts fighter Cade Rogue, 9, hugs his dad Jason, before fighting in the octagon in a United States Fight League All-star Pankration show at Blue Water Casino in Parker, Arizona, Oct. 2013. Miikka Pirinen  "Wrecking Crew" of Power mixed martial arts gym, is one of the most talented and well known MMA teams in the West Coast. Mesa, Arizona, Nov. 2013. Miikka Pirinen  William Reid, 10, at a private boxing class in Power mixed martial arts gym, Mesa, Arizona, Nov. 2013. Miikka Pirinen  Cheyenne Bowman, 11, at personal mixed martial arts practice with coach Craig Wilkerson, a professional MMA fighter. La Habra, Calif., Nov. 2013. Miikka Pirinen  William Reid, 10, picked up by his coatch Andre Maracaba at a practice at Power mixed martial arts gym in Phoenix, Arizona. Some times whilst training, kids might sprain a limb, but some times it's just mental stress and tiredness that triggers them in to tears, Oct. 2013. Miikka Pirinen  Cheyenne Bowman, 11, after personal mixed martial arts practice. La Habra, Calif., Nov. 2013. Miikka Pirinen  Cheyenne Bowman, 11, during personal mixed martial arts practice with coach Craig Wilkerson, a professional MMA fighter. La Habra, Calif., Nov. 2013. Miikka Pirinen ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3591210/fight-league-kids/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3591210/fight-league-kids/"},"headline":"Meet America's Young Fight League Kids","datePublished":"2015-01-28T09:00:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:41:49.572Z","description":"Photographer Miikka Pirinen debunks the commonly held beliefs surrounding these cage-fighting children","url":"https://time.com/3591210/fight-league-kids/","keywords":["LightBox","Children","Sports topic","kids","photography","America","USA","fight","portfolio"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35c1c898aba1f173/698769dba988cac7736aad9b/fight-league-kids-092.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivier Laurent","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/olivier-laurent/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35c1c898aba1f173/698769dba988cac7736aad9b/fight-league-kids-092.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Fight League Kids 09","caption":"Mixed Martial Arts fighter Brock Locnikar, 8, in the octagon, takes precious advise from his corner men Clay Carpenter and Thiago Azeredo during United States Fight League(USFL) All-star Pankration show at Blue Water Casino in Parker, Arizona on 25th of","creditText":"Miikka Pirinen","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3591210/fight-league-kids/","name":"Meet America's Young Fight League Kids"}}]}] ```