Perpahs they are gladiators then.

Fik Meijer author of 'History's most deadly sport the Gladiators' makes a very interesting observation about the motivations of some Roman citizens to become gladiators.

"Many were motivated by the prospect of escaping poverty. When they were unemployed or underemployed and struggling for their own basic needs, life as a gladiator offered security."

As anyone remotely familiar with the history of boxing which is often referred to as the poor mans sport, it describes almost the exact same reasons people became boxers in the past(great depression) and today. Another interesting tidbit mentioned in the book describes how the concept of promoters was found in those days as well.

"Because gladiator shows attracted such huge crowds at the time of the Roman Empire, the sponsors had to lay down large sums of money to get the most renowned fighters into the arena at all."