Forrest Griffin has a new job.
Since retiring from MMA, the former UFC light heavyweight champion has been working with the promotion and helping out at the PI. Now, he has added another title as he will be the head catcher of Power Slap, he revealed to TMZ Sports.
Power Slap, of course, is Dana White’s new venture as the slap league debuts in January, but there were safety concerns about it. Although the competitors are referenced as defenders, if they get knocked out, they don’t want them to fall and hit their heads on the ground. With that, that is where Griffin comes in as he will catch the competitors before they hit the ground.
“That double impact,” Griffin said, explaining why the job’s so important. “You’ve taken the first trauma and when your head hits the ground, bang bang, both sides of your brain actually bounce against your skull. We want to prevent that and make it just the initial impact and have that be what causes you or not causes you to win or lose the competition.”
Although Griffin says keeping competitors from hitting their ground is so important, Dana White has been vocal in saying the sport is safe. The Nevada State Athletic Commission has also told White and his partners to make sure no one dies.
“I know when we announced this, there were a lot of concerns about health and safety with some guys. Us getting involved guarantees that it’s going to be much safer… A lot of these questions that you guys have, the media, fans, potential fans have, will be answered in this eight-part series that we’re doing,” White said at the press conference. “These guys who have been doing it for a long time, there actually is a technique to it. You can actually roll with the slap. They know how to actually defend, brace, whatever you want to call it. There’s actually a technique to this thing – believe it or not.”
Forrest Griffin ended his MMA career back in 2012 with a decision win over Tito Ortiz. In his career, he held notable wins over Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson, Rich Franklin, Chael Sonnen, and Stephan Bonnar among others.
What do you make of Forrest Griffin being the head catcher of Power Slap?