The Science of STREETBEEFS

My original plan for this piece was simple: go to a STREETBEEFS fight and write about the experience. I got directions and planned the trek to Winchester, Virginia, to take in the spectacle firsthand. But as I began to poke around the internet and see what was already out there, I was surprised to discover how extensively the fight club has been covered. Medium published a piece as far back as 2018, followed by ESPN, The New Yorker, and the Washington Post. In 2023, a Huff Post contributor even signed up and fought, then wrote about it. (If you somehow aren’t familiar with STREETBEEFS, any of the previous links will get you up to speed before you continue reading.) I decided that I couldn’t possibly add anything of value and put the idea to bed; saved myself the two-hour drive. But it continued to gnaw at me. On the surface, STREETBEEFS is pretty straightforward–they throw some gloves on a couple of game people and let them duke it out, then put it up on YouTube. However, between the fighters, diehard fans, casual viewers, and organizers, there’s something deeper going on that I can’t quite wrap my head around. What began as a way for locals to settle disputes without resorting to gun violence has evolved into something that sees people traveling from as far away as Korea to fight strangers. What exactly is going on in Winchester?

I first came across STREETBEEFS on YouTube four or so years ago. From the start, I tried to write it off as something unworthy of my time or attention. With some exceptions, the fighters have little to no training and technique is nonexistent. The “referees” show a serious lack of understanding of rules, and decisions go to the crowd instead of judges. There’s also the fact that guys are getting bloody and rolling around in the dirt, surrounded by plywood propped up by a chain-link fence, with no medical professionals on hand. But as much as I’ve tried to resist giving them views, like a fatal crash on the highway, I can’t look away. And now, thanks to the ubiquitous “Training Arc” series, featuring an unlikely collaboration between one Maraji “Death Sentence”  Johnson and THE Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, it’s inescapable. My distaste for the fight club notwithstanding, I must admit that when I watched the videos with Mighty Mouse and Death Sentence, despite the absolute absurdity and hilarity of it all, I found Death Sentance’s journey oddly stirring. So,  determined to finally understand why STREETBEEFS resonates with so many people, I decided to dig deeper into the psychology of both the fighters and fans.

 What is it that attracts humans to violence? I’m hardly the first to pose the question; there are countless books, articles, and even studies that explore the topic more deeply. I’ll rely heavily on two of my favorite texts, both written by Average Joes who entered the world of combat sports in search of something. In Why We Fight: One Man’s Search for Meaning Inside the Ring, Josh Rosenblatt details his evolution from pacifist to amateur MMA fighter. In A Fighter’s Heart: One Man’s Journey Through the World of Fighting, Sam Sheridan documents his travels around the world as he tries his hand at different forms of combat and asks similar questions. While each man finds unique answers, both identify a few common motivations that I believe offer insight into the psychology of STREETBEEFS participants. 

First, the authors discuss fighting as a way to assert masculinity and dominance. Though there are plenty of women who elect to fight (including some in STREETBEEFS), men have biological and evolutionary traits that make them, in general, more aggressive and prone to violence. Combined with societal pressures and the expectation to fit certain stereotypes, fighting is often seen as necessary to assert one’s manhood. Both of the authors that I’ve highlighted explore this idea in their respective works. Rosenblatt details the feelings of inadequacy that he held throughout his life due to a lack of “manly” attributes. By training and fighting, he felt that he was proving himself as a male and finally meeting cultural expectations. Sheridan was Ivy League educated and from a wealthy family, but was prone to associate and labor with blue-collar, working-class men who possessed more macho traits. His exposure to people from very different walks of life led him to question what it truly meant to be a man, and he used fighting as a way to explore masculinity and strength. 

“Lured by the thrill of battle and the roar of the crowds, scores of free men [voluntarily signed] contracts with gladiator schools in the hope of winning glory and prize money. …some were upper-class patricians, knights, and even senators eager to demonstrate their warrior pedigree” (Andrews). 

Regardless of whether or not the traditional views are relevant or outdated, the fact remains that society in general sees a direct correlation between combat aptitude and masculinity. This is one factor that comes into play for many man who decide to compete in a combat sport. On the flip side, women may fight because of a need to fracture these traditional ideas of strength, and combat feeling of dependence or weakness. (Some Roman women were gladiators as well!)

Rosenblatt and Sheridan both mention that confronting fear played a role in their respective decisions to pursue fighting. 

“I haven’t been plagued by a lifelong desire to win a fight, only the desire not to cower from one,” says Rosenblatt. 

Fear is hardwired into us—it’s part of the fight-flight-or-freeze reflex we’re born with. Even though we’re no longer fending off wild predators like our ancestors, facing fear still triggers powerful psychological effects, including joy.

“[The] adrenaline and dopamine releases that we get, they’re…linked to pleasure centers in the brain,” says Michele Bedard-Gilligan, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine (Talbott).

In short, confronting fear feels good (some psychologists even compare the experience of fear to sexual arousal). And fighting is one of the most primal ways to achieve this feeling.

Lastly, both Seridan and Rosenblatt saw fighting as part of a process of growth and transformation. Sheridan writes: 

“Fighting is not just a manhood test; that is the surface. The depths are about knowledge and self-knowledge, a method of examining one’s own life and motives.” 

He talks about how fighting is the way he was able to discover his limits and be able to push past them to become someone new. Rosenblatt shares that at 33, fighting was a way to confront his self-destructive lifestyle, in both a physical and mental sense. He sums up his transformation in this passage:

“[When I enter the cage]…I’ll be reborn, even…resurrected. Which is what I’ve been searching for from the moment I started fighting…Rebirth. Renewal. A new life. A new me. Self-creation through self-destruction. Behold the fighter.” 

Fighting, by all accounts, is a uniquely transformative, cathartic experience. It makes sense, then, that hopefuls would flock to an organization like STREETBEEFS, which allows any and everyone to enter the cage in pursuit of whatever it is they’re looking for. But why are so many drawn in as spectators, despite the concerns that I have expressed? Why have we, as a society, legitimized this spectacle? 

Dr. Christian Jarrett, a cognitive neuroscientist, states that: 

“Since time immemorial, humans have competed against each other in activities that have real-life survival value, be that throwing a javelin, jousting, boxing, or wrestling. This makes sense from an evolutionary point of view, as those who honed these skills were more likely to survive when faced with a real-world conflict. Watching combat sports such as boxing and wrestling is an extension of that habit…”

In other words, we have an innate desire to know who really is the “baddest man.”

Also, it’s possible to achieve the same feelings of ecstasy associated with fighting by simply watching, through a psychological phenomenon that allows us to enjoy experiences vicariously through others. We have something called mirror neurons that cause our brains to partially simulate the actions we see, allowing us to get pleasure from an event without physically taking part. In the case of fighting, mirror neurons allow us to feel the adrenaline of combat without ever stepping into danger ourselves. We can get the same emotional highs as the fighter while we sit safely behind a screen or in a crowd. For many, this is enough to satisfy any desire they may have to enter the cage themselves. 

Finally, as humans, we are naturally attracted to drama and pageantry. An article in Science Focus details a survey taken at an amateur MMA event, which found that more people were attracted to the drama of the event than the fights themselves. 

“In many sports, the most the competitors have to lose is their pride, whereas fighters and pugilists are quite literally putting their bodies, and sometimes even their lives, on the line. From a spectator’s perspective, the greater the stakes, the more exciting the drama.”

Beyond the action in the cage, combat sports are rife with personal rivalries, trash talk, and behind-the-scenes antics. Whether this happens organically or is manufactured by fighters hoping to hype a fight, the effect can often be proved empirically by observing spikes in ticket sales or PPV buys after an exciting press conference or social media exchange. Think about iconic rivalries like McGregor and Nurmagomedov, or Jones and Cormier. Their stories have become part of MMA lore and go far beyond the time they shared in the cage. For many, the real action is in the buildup–not the fight itself. 

With all of this said, it makes perfect sense that STREETBEEFS is thriving. The fight club offers an easy way to scratch any and all of the itches I’ve detailed above. I’ve watched probably fifty videos at this point, and it’s clear that all parties involved have different motivations for fighting or watching. Some people look at it as a freak show circus act, some as comedy, some as a theatrical experience akin to professional wrestling, some as a study in anthropology, and some as if it were an actual UFC fight. I’ve seen a male little person box a woman (turns out they were comedians who are friends), and I’ve seen people proudly declare that they are “ready to die in the cage.” While Death Sentence would likely have trouble getting on a sanctioned amateur card taking place in a high school gym, he was able to roll up to Satan’s Backyard without any formal training and become the face of the whole organization. STREETBEEFS has created an environment in which everyone can fulfill their individual needs and desires. 

So, it’s possible I was too quick to judge. Perhaps STREETBEEFS is actually doing the world a service? Mighty Mouse, one of the greatest fighters of all time, seems to think so–who am I to say otherwise? Maybe it’s time to take that trip to Winchester after all. 

References

Andrews, Evan. “10 Things You May Not Know about Roman Gladiators.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, 2 Mar. 2025, http://www.history.com/articles/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-roman-gladiators. 

Andrews, Nancy. “This Open-Air Fight Club in Virginia Has Become a Destination for Those Looking to Settle Feuds, Seek Thrills and Blow off Steam.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 24 Jan. 2019, http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/25785378/chris-scarface-willmore-runs-backyard-fight-club-called-streetbeefs-keep-violence-streets. 

Dillon, Brian. “Fighting Gun Violence, with Fists Bared.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 27 Sept. 2022, http://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/fighting-gun-violence-with-fists-bared. 

Jarrett, Christian. “Why Do We Enjoy Watching Other People Fight?” BBC Science Focus Magazine, 12 July 2023, www.sciencefocus.com/science/why-do-we-enjoy-watching-other-people-fight. 

Kim, Eddie. “In the Virginia ‘street Beefs’ Fight Club, It’s ‘Fists up, Guns Down.’” Medium, MEL Magazine, 26 June 2018, medium.com/mel-magazine/in-the-virginia-street-beefs-fight-club-it-s-fists-up-gun-s-down-74c3074bbd9c. 

McClain, Matt. “This Virginia Backyard Fight Club Has Millions of YouTube Followers.” The Washington Post, 18 Jan. 2024, http://www.washingtonpost.com/photography/interactive/2024/this-virginia-backyard-fight-club-has-millions-youtube-followers/. 

Rosenblatt, Josh. Why We Fight: One Man’s Search for Meaning inside the Ring. Ecco, an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2020. 

Sheridan, Sam. A Fighter’s Heart: One Man’s Journey through the World of Fighting. Atlantic Books, 2014. 

Talbott, Chris. “Why We Feel Fear, and Why It Can Be Fun.” Newsroom, University of Washington Medicine, 30 Nov. 2023, newsroom.uw.edu/video-library/why-we-feel-fear-and-why-it-can-be-fun#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThose%20adrenaline%20and%20dopamine%20releases,is%20actually%20not%20objectively%20dangerous.%E2%80%9D.