Cage fighting kids?

You can find them at the Greenlands Labour Club in Preston, United Kingdom, as young as eight, complete with buxom ring girls and 250+ adult spectators.

As always, I see a story like this and instinctively cringe. This time was no different. However, as always, once I started reading the details, it's never quite as bad as I thought.

Rosie Carter, from the Safechild children’s charity (via Telegraph.co.uk), does not agree:

"This is sick, absolutely disgraceful and I would call on social services to step in. I can't believe the parents are allowing their young children to participate in this barbarity."

Appalled doctors and child safety campaigners said the lack of headguards could cause brain injury or death and called for the ‘sick and disturbing' practice to be banned.

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said the force had "looked into this matter fully and there are no issues for us to pursue"

Once again, I for one, do not have a problem with kids training or even competing in some manner of MMA. Most of us fans know all the obvious responses to stories like these. My only question would be in the judgement of the venue, and if it makes sense to include children in an event that is designed for adults.

Video highlights of the controversial event, after the jump.

Whether these stories have any affect on the general public is debatable, but it still aggravates me when people are using terms such as "barbarity" in describing our sport.

Your thoughts?