Zuffa Boxing may no longer be on the horizon, but that doesn’t mean
UFC president Dana White isn’t interested in letting competitors
show off the skill in their hands in a different way.
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On Tuesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission approved a
petition for slap fighting to be regulated in Nevada, clearing the
way for Dana White’s Power Slap League to run events in the state
in the near future. The organization is expected to debut at the
UFC Apex in late 2022 with an ownership group that includes White,
Lorenzo Fertitta, Frank Fertitta, “The Ultimate Fighter” producer
Craig Piligian, UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell and UFC
chief operating officer Lawrence Epstein.
MMAjunkie.com was first to report White’s interest in bringing
slap fighting to Nevada.
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According to slapfight.com, “slap fighting
is a rapidly growing sport where two robust fighters take turns
slapping each other in the face and see who can survive the
longest.” Rules include no clubbing, no stepping and no flinching.
Various highlight videos show competitors being knocked down or
knocked out after receiving especially hard slaps from their
opponents.
In a recent post on social media, White boasted that he is “putting
together the biggest slap competition of all time.”
During a presentation to the commission, Campbell urged for slap
fighting to be regulated to help ensure the safety of those
involved. He added that slap fighting should be recognized as a
serious sport. Slap Fighting Championship, which originated in
Poland, appears to be the most noteworthy slap fighting league at
this time.
“We’ve spent the last year sort of beta-testing this in a
controlled environment to really test and see the dynamic of how
this would function as an actual league and real sport,” Campbell
said. “What we’ve found is that this is actually a skill sport that
the participants, who are at a high level in this, are skilled
athletes in. They train. They’re in good shape. They take it
seriously, not dissimilar with what you see in MMA and boxing.”
A deal is reportedly in the works to broadcast Dana White’s Power
Slap League on a major network. The UFC currently has a broadcast
deal with ESPN, and UFC Fight Pass would also seemingly be a
broadcast possibility for Power Slap League. Events are initially
expected to be held behind closed doors but will eventually be open
to spectators.
Submit your entries RIGHT NOW to be part of
the BIGGEST SLAP competition ever done!Link: https://t.co/HTabJZgpJe
pic.twitter.com/WS0RjXHwfo— danawhite (@danawhite)
October 2, 2022