Two bruisers busted after illegal ‘fight club' at Long Island park broken up by cops
Two Long Islanders were arrested over the weekend after pummeling one another at a park in front of a cheering crowd during a face-off promoted on social media.
More than 70 spectators in their early to mid-20s packed Melville's Walt Whitman Park to catch a glimpse of what police called an unauthorized 'fight club' early Sunday evening, according to Newsday.
But the clash was cut short by the cops — who caught wind of the event after it was publicized on Instagram, the report said.
The crowd quickly scattered, but the battered brawlers stayed put and were cuffed by officers.
3 Suffolk County police broke up a 'fight club' meeting at a park in Melville, N.Y.
Google Maps
The duo, Finley McCloskey, 19, and Jake Zimilies, 19, both residents of Northport, were issued appearance tickets charging them with unlawful assembly, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.
3 About 70 people gathered around the fight to watch.
Google Maps
The Instagram account originally used to boost the fight online was deactivated, police said.
The idea of a 'fight club' was first popularized by the 1996 novel 'Fight Club' by Chuck Palahniuk, which he based off of his own experiences participating in the illicit organizations.
3 The illicit 'fight club' was advertised on a now-deactivated Instagram account.
Google Maps
The book was later adapted into the Oscar-nominated film under the same title in 1999 starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt.
It is unclear if the gaggle of wannabe fighters were inspired by the fictional tale, or if they obeyed the sacred nine rules of Fight Club — including the requirement that all first-time attendees participate in one brawl.
The Post reached out to the SCPD for clarity.
The Big Apple is no stranger to brawling bonanzas.
In September, a migrant shelter in Queens became overrun by a teen 'fight club' that terrorized neighbors in the middle of the night.
Another Queens shelter saw a similar disaster in early 2024 after migrants living there formed a fighting ring in a nearby McDonald's parking lot.
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