The Ricky Javees Show on Guardian Unlimited.

Hello, welcome to another podcast of the Ricky Javee show with me, Ricky Javees, Steve Merchant.

Hello, all right.

And of course, Carl Pilkington.

All right.

Rick, you'll be pleased to know we've already had some responses. You remember last week I mentioned that you can email us on podcast at rickyjavees.com if you've got anything for Carl or URI and Simon and Mark have already emailed us in this link to something that was on the BBC News website I don't know if you're familiar with this but it's a remarkable story well I'll give you headline straight away, and you can draw your own conclusion. Lion mutilates 42 midgets in Cambodian ring fight. That's just a headline. That's ahead of a headline. That makes me want to know more about the story. That's what a headline should do. I mean, I think we'd all read the news. We'd all take more interest in the news if they could open the BBC News.

Bung.

Lion mutilates 42 midgets in Cambodian ring fight.

We'd definitely pay more attention.

So this is the story. It's just extraordinary.

Spectators cheered as entire Cambodian midget fighting league squared off against African Lion.

Now, I didn't even know there was a Cambodian midget fighting league. You're an ignoramus. Everyone, of course, has heard of the CMFL, which is genuinely what it's known as in Cambodia. Now, like you, I don't know who the Cambodian midget fighting league are normally fighting. I don't know what tournaments. I assume it's each other. Well, I assume each other. It's midget fighting then. Yeah. Well, let me just give you more information and then we'll, we can dissect it afterwards. Tickets had been sold out three weeks before the

much anticipated fight. The fight was organized when an angry fan contested Yang Shimoni, president of the

CMFL, claiming that one line could defeat his entire league of 42 fighters. So this bloke is going to the president and going, I reckon a lion could get all your midgett. Yeah, he could destroy all of your 42 midget fighters. Now, apparently Shemone, the president of the CMFL, he takes great pride in the league, and he's conveyed in a recent advertising campaign that his midgets will take on anything, man, beast or a machine. Now, I don't know what kind of machine. Again, midgets are fighting. But don't the midgets have a saying this? A washing machine. Don't the midget is going, all right, keep it down. No, they will fight anything. Well, we won't fight anything. we're fight each other. We're sort of like equally matched. No, you'll fight a beast or a machine. I'll fight another midget. I will fight any midget. When I said I'll take on anything, I meant another midget. Machines. So this bloke goes, I reckon a lion could take on your midget. He goes rubbish. Yes. And that is why an African lion was shipped

in especially for the event, which took place a couple of Saturdays ago, in the city's Coliseum. I mean,

they've already got a Coliseum, Rick, which is already brilliant. So, hold on, this is sanctioned

by the city. Well, the Cambodian government allowed the fight to take place under the condition

that they receive a 50% commission on each ticket sold and that no cameras would be allowed in the arena. We'll take 50%, but, you know, for dignity's sake, there's no cameras. You know, we don't want to make this into a, you know, into a... A spectacle. No, no, no. It's just lion versus midget, but, you know.

Well, 42. Never forget, there was 42 midgets. Now, this is the tragedy element, and this is why we shouldn't be laughing, because the fight was ended.

Don't tell me the lion gets hurt. Well, the fight was ended, Rick, after only 12 minutes, after which 28 of the midget fighters were declared dead.

Right. While the other 14 suffered severe injuries,

including broken bones, lost limbs, and they were basically unable to fight. But the lion wasn't

...