Pillow Fighting—A New Original Sport on the Rise!

Boca Raton in Miami hosted the first-ever championship of a new, original sport—pillow fighting. It may not sound like a serious mixed martial arts (MMA) sport, but it certainly looks like it. 

Pillow fighters don’t have it easy. They have to manipulate a two-pound pillow to fight the opponent for two rounds of 90 seconds each, except for the championship match that involves three rounds. And all of this happens on a boxing-ring-like stage.

When fighters receive a blow to the head, it can have them reaching for ice packs or even sustain an injury, so it’s not a sport for the faint of heart.

What’s more, most fighters with MMA backgrounds actually claim that pillow fighting is just as challenging as boxing and requires proper training. However, unlike with boxing, fighters have more freedom to develop their strategy and punch each other out of the competition.

The rules are: points are awarded just for shots to the head, and eventually, a leg takedown (which has happened). Blows to other parts of the body don’t count.

For the first-ever PFC, sixteen men and eight women entered the ring, and at the other end of it were $5,000, championship titles and belts. In between, spectators saw PFC’s first technical knockout (TKO) in a pillow fight!

The queen-sized pillows used are actually quality memory foam pillows designed for sleeping. PFC’s CEO Steve Williams also explains that fighting pillows have a casing adapted for MMA sports, which is made out of ripstop nylon and six straps for better swinging.

Organizers hope that this idea for a combat sport born during the pandemic will get acknowledged as a professional MMA event. Meanwhile, PFC’s popularity and audience continue to grow thanks to the blood-splatter-free entertainment it provides.