Cauliflower ear has never been something people aspired to. For most of combat sports history, it was the thing wrestlers and boxers just accepted as an occupational hazard, a permanent disfigurement from repeated blows to the ear that left the cartilage lumpy, hardened, and distinctly pretty nasty looking. And yet, here we are.

According to Russian Telegram channel Baza, a growing number of Russian men are paying to have their ears deliberately deformed to mimic the look of seasoned MMA fighters. The procedure involves compressing the ear to replicate the same trauma that produces auricular hematoma, and it’s apparently booked solid. One practitioner told reporters he’s running a month-long waitlist and charging 6,000 rubles, about $80, per ear. Clients wanting a more dramatic effect need multiple sessions.

The stated motivation, per Russian news outlets, is simple: to intimidate other men. The trend is most common among men in Russia’s southern regions, though demand from central Russia is climbing as well.

The medical downside is considerable. An infected hematoma can introduce pathogenic microorganisms that trigger purulent inflammation, which can eat through cartilage. Reconstructive surgery to fix that starts at 100,000 rubles in Moscow, requires either rib cartilage or a prosthetic implant, and sidelines you for up to four months. For an $80 procedure.

So the math is: spend $80 to look tough, risk spending $1,200-plus to get your ear rebuilt from scratch.

Psychologist Ekaterina Trofimova offered a more pointed assessment to Moskva 24, suggesting that the desire for a brutal exterior often signals the opposite of toughness. “Sometimes true strength hides behind a mask of outward composure and absolute tranquility,” she said. “A person skilled in martial arts may appear indistinguishable from any ordinary person. However, they exude a special calm and confidence that others can intuitively detect. They don’t need to display ostentatious masculinity.”

She also noted that without actual training behind the aesthetic, the look can confuse more than it intimidates. Fake cauliflower ear from a Telegram-booked appointment and real cauliflower ear from years on the mat are, apparently, two very different things to anyone who knows what they’re looking at.

The ears, in other words, don’t lie. But the people getting them might be lying to themselves.