Footage shows brave locals taking part in a real-life underground 'Fight Club' named after the hit movie.

Dozens of shipping crates form the makeshift arena in the Khlong Toei slum district of Bangkok, Thailand. Members were shorts and gloves to scrap with each other - through none are professional or even amateur fighters.

Unlike traditional martial arts and boxing matches, there are no winners declared after the short, three-minute bouts based on the country's popular Muay Thai sport.

Onlookers, including young children, revel in the violence, cheering with each punch and kick thrown. Their yells grow louder as the fighters exchange taunts and blows until black-clad referees step in to break up the brawl.

Club co-founder Chana Worasart, who started the 'Bangkok Fight Club', said: 'Here you don't have to know how to fight. You just need to have heart and that's it.'

Despite the club's underground nature, its membership has grown to around 76,000 people since it was founded in 2016, with sizeable crowds regularly attending the fights. Word of mouth and the club's social media presence have helped its growth along.

However, the unsanctioned fights have also drawn the attention of police, who said the gatherings violated Thailand's Boxing Act, with the offence carrying fines reaching 20,000 Baht and two years in prison.

Still, Chana insisted that the group and the bloody matches were legal and even allegedly approved by the Department of Provincial Administration.

He said: 'I don't oppose the idea of turning this into legal, sanctioned fights, but at the same time, we can't lose the underground identity, so the question is, where is the balance?'

Regulations are also in place to prevent the fighters from being fatally injured. For instance, punching the back of the head, elbowing, grappling, and throwing competitors to the ground are all disallowed.

Fight Club Thailand has also implemented fighter screening and have medical teams standing by during the matches.

Chana said: 'We don't ask fighters to kill each other. If you're too tired or too injured to go on, then we'll stop the fight.'

Fight Club is a hit film released in 1999 starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter.