 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Slap fighting promotion |
| Founded | 2022 |
| Founder | Dana White |
| Headquarters |
,
Nevada, U.S.
|
Area served | United States Worldwide |
| Owner | Dana White |
| Parent | Schiaffo LLC |
| Website | powerslap.com |
| Power Slap | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Power Slap: Road to the Title |
| Genre | Combat sport Reality |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Dana White |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | TBS (season 1) Rumble (season 1 – outside the U.S; season 2 onward – worldwide) |
| Release | January 18, 2023 (2023-01-18) – present (present) |
Power Slap is an American slap fighting promotion company owned by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) chief executive officer Dana White.
Power Slap first gained notoriety by producing a reality television show titled Power Slap: Road to the Title, originally broadcast by the TBS network in the United States and on Rumble internationally.[1] Contestants on the show slapped each other in the face to win the "Power Slap League" tournament. The show's first season consisted of 8 pre-recorded episodes and was followed by the Power Slap 1 live event that aired exclusively on Rumble.[2]
The show was executive produced by Power Slap's owner Dana White.[3] The show was due to premiere on January 11, 2023, but was delayed a week after White was filmed slapping his wife in a Mexican nightclub at a New Year's Eve party.[2]
The show, considered the premier program of the slap fighting combat sport, had significantly lower ratings than its professional wrestling lead-in programming, AEW Dynamite, consistently drawing around 250,000 viewers compared to Dynamite's near 800,000 viewers.[4] On March 13, 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery and TBS representatives confirmed to media sources that the network would no longer air Power Slap: Road to the Title following its first-season finale, which had aired the week prior, partly due to its low ratings.[5][6][7][8] After Road to the Title's cancellation by TBS, White confirmed that Power Slap would continue to hold events and produce content for Rumble. During the Power Slap 5 live event, it was announced that the second season of Road to the Title was set to air on Rumble. The second season began airing on November 15, 2023. The third season will air on July 25, 2024.
Power Slap, which has been licensed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, uses rules similar to those established by other slap fighting leagues. After a coin toss to decide who goes first, the first striker has a time limit of 60 seconds to deliver an open-handed slap to the opponent. Slaps must be below the eye but above the chin, without leading with the palm such that all hand to face contact takes place at the same time. Those being slapped may not flinch, raise their shoulder or tuck in their chins. After being slapped, the slapped competitor then has 60 seconds to recover and get back into position before it's their turn to slap. Fights which don't end in a knock out and go three rounds go to the judges' decision, using a 10-point system with judging based on slap strikers' effectiveness as well as the slap receivers' reaction and recovery time.[9]
Participants are separated by weight and gender.[9][10]
Upon initial airing, Power Slap: Road to the Title created controversy[9] concerning the health of the participants and the inherent danger of the show.[11] Neuroscientist, chronic traumatic encephalopathy researcher, and former professional wrestler Christopher Nowinski observed one of the show's participants displaying the fencing response after being struck, indicating serious brain injury.[2] Greek neurologist Nikolas Evangelou called the show a "recipe for disaster" due to how "impact to the head, from an angle, can cause rotational forces on the brain", leading to "hopefully temporary, but sometimes permanent disruption to brain function" and "even more serious complications".[9] Many combat sports athletes also responded negatively to the show. Boxer and WBC champion Ryan Garcia wrote "Power slap is a horrible idea and it needs to be stopped."[12] UFC fighter Sean O'Malley stated that he refused to watch Power Slap: Road to the Title due to its association with brain injuries.[13]
In response to the criticisms, show producers said, "We spend the money to make sure we have two healthy people in there, proper medical attention during and after the fight. These are the things we need to educate people on, just like we needed to educate people on mixed martial arts."[9] In an interview before the show aired, Dana White said "In Slap, they take three-to-five slaps per event. Fighters in boxing take 300–400 punches per fight. And guess what: you know what my answer to that [criticism of slap fighting] is? If you don't fucking like it, don't watch it! Nobody's asking you to watch this. Oh, you're disgusted by it? Watch The Voice."[14]
On February 16, 2023, Bill Pascrell, a Congressman from New Jersey, and Don Bacon, a Congressman from Nebraska, announced that they were launching a Congressional inquiry into the ethicality of Power Slap.[15] That same month, one of the world's leading experts on chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Dr. Bennet Omalu called for slap fighting shows to be removed from television. Omalu stated, in response to White's claims that he was making slap fighting as safe as possible, "It is a very dumb [sport], very stupid and unsafe. It is primitive. To me, such a sport is inconsistent with the intelligence of humans. It is possible that a participant could die from this. Somebody could die or suffer catastrophic brain damage and become a vegetable. How can he [Dana White] make that statement? It is like saying you will make a loaded gun safe [...] Why is TBS showing such a primitive sport? It should not be on TV."[16]
Source: [17]
| # | Event | Date | Venue | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Power Slap 1: Darius the Destroyer vs. Wolverine | March 11, 2023 | UFC Apex |  Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
| 2 | Power Slap 2: Wolverine vs. The Bell | May 24, 2023 | UFC Apex | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
| 3 | Power Slap 3: Hintz vs. Wolverine | July 7, 2023 | UFC Apex | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
| 4 | Power Slap 4: Hintz vs. Turpin | August 9, 2023 | UFC Apex | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
| 5 | Power Slap 5: Da Crazy Hawaiian vs. Vakameilalo | October 25, 2023 | UFC Apex | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
| 6 | Power Slap 6: KO Chris vs. Muniz | February 9, 2024 | Durango Casino | Spring Valley, Nevada, United States
|
| 7 | Power Slap 7: The Bell vs. Phillips | April 12, 2024 | UFC Apex | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
| 8 | Power Slap 8: Da Crazy Hawaiian vs. Van Heerden | June 28, 2024 | Fontainebleau Las Vegas | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
| Division | Upper weight limit | Current champion | Since | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super heavyweight | 266+ lb (120+ kg) | Koa Viernes[18] | October 25, 2023 | 1 |
| Heavyweight | 265 lb (120 kg) | Damien Dibbell[18] | May 24, 2023 | 2 |
| Light heavyweight | 205 lb (93 kg) | Ron Bata[18] | July 7, 2023 | 1 |
| Middleweight | 185 lb (84 kg) | John Davis[18] | March 11, 2023 | 2 |
| Welterweight | 170 lb (77 kg) | Anthony Blackburn[18] | June 28, 2024 | 0 |
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Koa “Da Crazy Hawaiian” Viernes def. Kalani “Toko” Vakameilalo |
Power Slap 5 Las Vegas, Nevada |
October 25, 2023 | 249 days (incumbent) |
1. def. Danie “The Pitbull” Van Heerden at Power Slap 8 on Jun 28, 2024 |
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ron “Wolverine" Bata def. Darius “The Destroyer” Mata-Varona |
Power Slap 1 Las Vegas, Nevada |
March 11, 2023 | 74 days | |
| 2 | Damien “The Bell” Dibbell
|
Power Slap 2 Las Vegas, Nevada |
May 24, 2023 | 403 days (incumbent) |
1. def. Nate “The Buffalo Soldier” Burnard at Power Slap 5 on Oct 25, 2023 2. def. Ryan “The King of Kings” Phillips at Power Slap 7 on April 12, 2024 |
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayjay “Static” Hintz def. Vernon “The Mechanic” Cathey |
Power Slap 1 Las Vegas, Nevada |
March 11, 2023 | 118 days | 1. def. Russel “Kainoa” Rivero at Power Slap 2 on May 24, 2023 |
| 2 | Ron “Wolverine” Bata
|
Power Slap 3 Las Vegas, Nevada |
July 7, 2023 | 359 days (incumbent) |
1. def. Austin “Turp Daddy Slim” Turpin at Power Slap 5 on Oct 25, 2023 |
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John “The Machine” Davis def. Azael “El Perro” Rodriguez |
Power Slap 1 Las Vegas, Nevada |
March 11, 2023 | 477 days (incumbent) |
1. def. Wesley “All the Smoke” Drain at Power Slap 2 on May 24, 2023 |
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Reign | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christapher “KO Chris” Thomas def. Jesus Gaspar Diaz |
Power Slap 1 Las Vegas, Nevada |
March 11, 2023 | 335 days | |
| 2 | Emanuel “No Love” Muniz
|
Power Slap 6 Spring Valley, Nevada |
February 9, 2024 | 140 days | |
| 2 | Anthony “Babyface” Blackburn
|
Power Slap 8 Las Vegas, Nevada |
June 28, 2024 | 2 days (incumbent) |
|
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Current: |
|
|
| American football: |
| |
| Auto racing: |
| |
| Baseball: |
| |
| Basketball: |
| |
| Beach volleyball: |
| |
| Boxing: |
| |
| Golf (TNT): |
| |
| Soccer: |
| |
| Olympics (TNT): |
| |
| Tennis (TNT): |
| |
| Professional wrestling: |
| |
| Mixed martial arts: |
| |
| Slap fighting: | ||
| eSports: |
| |
| Pan American Games: |
| |
| ||
