During a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience featuring the Red Clay Strays, podcast host Joe Rogan delivered harsh criticism of the UFC’s Power Slap League, calling it a “CTE factory” and “brain damage farm.”
The discussion arose when the band members mentioned attending a Power Slap event as guests of UFC CEO Dana White. Rogan, who serves as a commentator for UFC events, didn’t hold back his feelings about the slapping competition format.
“That is a CTE factory,” Rogan stated bluntly. “Brain damage farm. I don’t get it. It’s not my thing.” He went on to express particular concern about the format’s inherent dangers, noting that competitors “are concussed standing right back up there to get hit again.”
Rogan’s criticism focused on the fundamental structure of Power Slap, where participants take turns delivering open-handed strikes to each other’s faces while remaining stationary. Unlike traditional combat sports where athletes can defend themselves, move, and employ strategy, Power Slap contestants must simply absorb punishment.
“They’re not standing there just waiting for it” in other combat sports, Rogan explained, contrasting Power Slap with bare-knuckle boxing, which he views more favorably due to the skill and defensive elements involved. He acknowledged that while bare-knuckle combat is dangerous, “it is skillful” and allows competitors to “avoid being hit.”
The UFC commentator expressed particular alarm about the knockouts he’s witnessed in Power Slap events. “Sometimes they get KO’ed and then their head slaps the table and then they fall backwards stiff,” he described, painting a disturbing picture of the potential for serious injury.
Rogan’s concerns about brain trauma in Power Slap appear well-founded given current medical understanding of head injuries. The sport’s format essentially guarantees that participants will sustain repeated blows to the head with minimal defensive options, a recipe for concussions and potential long-term neurological damage.
Despite his strong opposition to the concept, Rogan admitted he still watches Power Slap content when it’s sent to him, though he clearly views it as problematic entertainment. The Power Slap League, which launched in 2023 under the UFC umbrella, has faced similar criticism from medical professionals and combat sports analysts since its inception.
