street fighters

Street fighters are people who engage in physical combat in public spaces, typically without formal training or sanctioned rules.

The term often suggests raw, scrappy brawling rather than disciplined martial arts—someone who learned to fight through necessity or experience rather than instruction.

He grew up a street fighter before channeling that aggression into boxing.

The term extends metaphorically to anyone who approaches competition or conflict with tenacious, no-holds-barred intensity: She's a street fighter in the courtroom.