Onet-le-Château (France) (AFP) - A French town on Saturday hosted a special event inside a hexagonal cage normally used for mixed martial arts: duels between fully armoured warriors wielding medieval weapons.

Fighters used swords and axes to battle it out in 20 combats at Onet-le-Chateau in the Aveyron region of southern France.

The local council described the fights as the modern-day equivalent of “what was effectively the mixed martial arts of the Middle Ages”.

While most of the action involved men from France, Poland and Britain, some women fighters were also on the bill.

The fights were held in a local club that organises this kind of armoured combat, known as behourd.

Organisers say it includes not just weapons combat but wrestling, ground work and strikes with the fists, feet, elbows, knees, the head and the shield.

“The word ‘behourd’ comes from Old French,” said Clement Carsac, president of the local club.

“It was a recreational activity practised by men in the Middle Ages, It’s where history and combat sports meet.”

The fights were preceded by weighing-in sessions, because behourd is divided into weight classes, like boxing or judo.

The combatants then put on their armour and helmet, which can weigh up to six kilos (13 pounds).

It is a rather expensive activity: “A full kit costs between 3,000 and 4,000 euros,” said to Carsac – $3,450 to $4,600.