Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta are teaming up once again to bring the world of slap fighting into the big leagues.
White has teased for years that he might get into the hard-palmed, cheek-smashing slap game. At first it sounded like slap fighting may become another unusual niche serviced on UFC Fight Pass alongside classic kung-fu movies. But over the past few months, things have gotten very serious.
White’s former UFC boss Lorenzo Fertitta got on board, alongside UFC COO Lawrence Epstein and The Ultimate Fighter producer Craig Piligian. The team moved to have slap fighting discussed at the most recent Nevada State Athletic Commission to see how it might be licensed and regulated.
Now Sports Illustrated’s John Morgan has the scoop on how that went and what the result is.
“Slap Fighting will now be regulated by the Nevada State Athletic Commission,” Morgan wrote on Twitter. “Dana White’s Power Slap League is targeting its first event in November or December at the UFC Apex. Broadcast details not revealed, but they are targeting a “major network.”
These guys SLAP the SHIT out of each other!!! The guy in the red is the Champ “Dumpling” and he just lost for the first time. I’m thinking about these guys on @UFCFightPass what do you think? pic.twitter.com/YssJHrwFLm
— danawhite (@danawhite) December 13, 2019
Dana White’s Power Slap League is perhaps the most powerful brand name we’ve heard since Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series debuted back in 2017. And while most of us don’t have much of a chance to make it onto the Contender Series, the door is currently being held wide open for those who think they can slap.
“I am putting together the biggest slap competition of all time,” White said in a video posted at the start of October. “So if you’ve ever professionally slapped, or think you can, email a video and your information to our casting team.”
Just like mixed martial arts, slapping people in the face has a long and illustrious history that spans back to the dawn of time. As a competitive sport, it found its footing in Eastern European and Russia around 2018 and captured people’s imaginations during the pandemic. Earlier this year, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Logan Paul hosted a Slap Fighting Championship event at the Arnold Classic in Ohio.
Thus far, North American slap fighting has tended to lack the freakshow oddity vibe of its international brethren. It’s the same way UFC could never quite capture the vibe that made PRIDE FC the spectacle it was. Will the same problem rear its ugly head when Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta debut their Power Slap League?
What do you think, PENN Nation? Are you excited to see the debut of Dana White’s Power Slap League? Or are you dreading all the slap fighting cross promotion that’s about to be unleashed during UFC broadcasts? Let us know in the comments!