A BRUTAL and bloody new sport has been taking Russia by storm – and could soon feature the UK's top brawlers.

Teams of four fighters go head-to-head in a long, narrow ring in a Spartan-inspired kickboxing dual.

Thermopylae Team Combat, also known as TTC, was formed in 2012 by Russian friends Nikolai Krudryashov and Daniel Litvinsky.

The idea behind it was inspired by the Battle of Thermopylae in 480BC – which the film The 300 Spartans is based on.

During the battle, 300 Spartans fought off hundreds of thousands of Persian invaders by setting up base in a narrow mountain passage.

In TTC, four fighters from each team will gather in opposite ends of the long, narrow ring.

The first round will see two fighters from opposite teams battle it out for five minutes using standard kickboxing rules.

The winner of the round will remain in the ring and the loser will be eliminated.

A team will be crowned the champions when all of their opponents have been eliminated.

Creator Litvinsky said: "From the beginning, this sport was created by two friends dreaming up a new type of fight sport.

"Our goal was to blow everybody's minds."

TTC has only hosted one formal tournament so far, but Litvinsky has revealed he is getting ready for the world championship, which will be hosted in Moscow or Los Angeles.

He added: "Our goal is to have eight teams, one from Russia, the US, the UK, France and elsewhere."

And he predicted UFC legend Conor McGregor could one day bring his own team to TTC.

Litvinsky said: "Eventually we will have fighters putting together their own teams. Someone like Conor McGregor would have his own team."

Nikolai Nikitenko, 32, is one of the sports biggest stars after winning three straight bouts before leaving the ring due to exhaustion.

He said: "At that moment, I wasn't thinking about anything other than a fight.

"I had no specific goal. I just wanted to hold out as long as I could and inflict as much damage as possible."

He admitted his family were worried while watching him, but insisted the injury risk in TTC is a lot lower than in the UFC.

He said: "There are no elbows. Our fighters don't hit opponents that are laying on the ground."

McGregor is unlikely to rush to form his own team for now, with an explosive rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov being lined up by UFC kingpin Dana White.

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