Bloody organized fights — sometimes with combatants battling inside a chain-link cage — are attracting big crowds across the Midwest and elsewhere, operating under the euphemisms of “Ultimate” or “mixed martial arts” fighting.

Unfortunately, both Kansas and Missouri allow it. This brand of fighting must be tightly regulated or it will maim or kill in the future. Children are sometimes in the audiences at these violent matches, an agonizing fact for anyone with a sense of decency.

The men who take part in this activity beat each other to a pulp, and some get little or no medical attention for their injuries.

It is a far cry from traditional martial arts such as Taekwondo, an Olympic sport and that stresses personal discipline and provides much more extensive protection for contestants.

Supporters of ultimate fighting argue that it’s less dangerous than an earlier version, which came to the United States a few decades ago and was practiced until only a few years ago.

It allowed fighters to basically do whatever they wanted to opponents: bite, gouge eyes and smash them upside down on their heads.

While those tactics are outlawed now, the American Medical Association wants to ban ultimate fighting because of its cruel violence and the injuries it can cause. Such a ban would be sensible.

However, this type of entertainment has growing popularity, including matches on broadcast television. So an outright prohibition is unlikely.

If fights continue, state regulatory agencies that oversee ultimate fighting should strictly enforce all the rules that could help protect the participants.

At some point, we hope, audiences may get tired of the bloodletting, and this inhumane “sport” will wither away.