WTF is the Power Slap League and Who is Funding It?
The Nevada State Athletic Commission licensed a new fighting competition: The Power Slap League. Here’s what that means.
Earlier last week, The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) sanctioned the rules of Power Slap–Dana White’s newest fight venture.
Intro to Power Slap
Power Slap is the brainchild of UFC President Dana White and is backed by an array of investors (we’ll get to those in a second).
According to the promotion website, “Power Slap is the world’s premier open-handed striking promotion. Led by Dana White, Power Slap features competitors from across the globe battling on the ultimate stage to showcase their power, technique, and resolve.”
It is the first slap-fighting league to be licensed by the NSAC.
It was revealed at a press conference in New York for UFC 281 that Power Slap will begin airing on TBS in January thanks to an eight-episode deal, according to White. According to multiple sources, it will function similarly to The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), in that it will contain a cast house and Power Slap rankings.
Here is how the competition will work: A coin toss will decide whether the winner wants to throw or receive the first slap, according to the Power Slap website. The slap delivery and recovery times are both limited to 30 seconds each. There will be a minimum of three rounds in each competition.
The winner will be decided by knockout, technical knockout, or points, which, like in MMA and boxing, will be based on a 10-point minimum requirement. Judges will award points based on the striker's efficiency, the defender's response, and their recovery time. Matches may also be declared a no-contest, subject to disqualification, or if deemed necessary, submitted to the judges for a technical ruling (check out this article from mmafighting.com for more insight).
Much is still yet to be determined about the league, but according to several sources, closed-door test events occurred earlier this year.
"We've spent the last year sort of beta-testing this in a controlled environment to test and see sort of the dynamic of how this would function as an actual league and real sport," said UFC CBO Hunter Campbell in this story from SI.com.
According to Campbell, safety concerns were the catalyst to moving forward with licensing.
“After testing it, it became clear to us that there’s massive potential here as a sport, not unlike the early years of the UFC,” Campbell said, “It made all the sense in the world to go toward regulation before the sport’s commencing, for all the obvious reasons–number one, the health and safety of the competitors.”
We’ll talk about safety concerns in a minute.
Who is funding?
According to SilverFlume, Nevada’s Business Portal, and a story released by Bleacher Report, The former UFC owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta (Fertitta Capital), TUF producer Craig Piligan, Endeavor, and hedge fund Zeke Capital* are also shareholders in the Power Slap League alongside White.
Again, much is yet to be discovered revolving around the money that was fronted to create this league. Clearly, White and others see the venture as one that has the potential for a huge return on investment.
What is Slap Fighting?
Chances are you’ve seen a few videos on the internet of people mashing each other’s faces in an attempt to knock their opponents out cold. According to White, he gained an affinity for the sport in 2017 after seeing these videos. The gist is quite self-explanatory: Two competitors stand across from one another and slap each other across the face.
Keep in mind, while Slap Fighting has existed for some time, it's never been regulated until recently.
In March 2022, Logan Paul and Arnold Schwarzenegger teamed up to bring us The Slap Fighting Championship. Information on the event is minimal, but apparently, it streamed on Paul’s YouTube, and based on the language used in the description, more events are being planned. The new regulation of the sport could pave the way for more promotions.
The safety issue
The regulation of Slap Fighting sparked plenty of controversy on Twitter on whether or not it is safe.
Neurosurgeon and combat sports practitioner Nitin Agarwal gave his thoughts to the Washington Post, “When it comes to the physical aspect of the martial arts, safety, and defense are primary. By its virtue, slap boxing is an offensive sport. There is no defense,” he said.
If a neurosurgeon is concerned with the safety aspect of a sport where the whole goal is to cause blunt-force trauma to the head, something might be wrong.
Furthermore, it should be noted that people have died competing in slap fighting.
Artur "Walu" Walczak, a 46-year-old slap fighter, was knocked out in an event that took place in October 2021 and collapsed to the ground. Throughout the contest, Walczak was knocked to the ground four times and experienced a cerebral hemorrhage. After being transported to the hospital, Walczak underwent a medically induced coma. Despite efforts, Walczak was never able to regain consciousness. He died a month later.
So, what now?
It seems that Power Slap will be forced into the mainstream and has many backers. Judging from the tone of prominent MMA journalists and commentators, people are not a fan of the lack of safety. The argument for it being solely offensive is relevant and should not be ignored–fighters not being able to defend themselves is the reason boxing and MMA fights are stopped. Yet, the Commission deemed it safe, but not before asking Hunter Campbell to make sure nobody dies.
In terms of money, only time will tell if the new promotion is a financial success. The streaming data from TBS will tell a great story about if people are willing to forget about the truly violent and harmful nature of the game to see people…slap each other.
*Zeke Capital Advisors is a Multi-Family Office providing service to a select number of wealthy individuals, families, and foundations. A multi-family office is an investment fund that manages the wealth of high-net-worth families.