During a press conference in New York, UFC president White formally revealed his role with Power Slap earlier this month.
Prior to the Season 1 premiere on TBS in early 2023, he revealed information about his new endeavor. White believes Power Slap may be a significant attraction for a wide audience.
Power Slap’s presence has elicited conflicting responses. Some people have criticized it, while others are waiting to see what White does with the sport.
Joe Rogan is not convinced that Dana White’s Power Slap league is must see television.
Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan is an important part of influencing the public opinion thanks to his record breaking podcast – which is viewed on average 11 million times per episode.
On a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Rogan remarked,
“I love Dana, and I would be a hypocrite if I said I wouldn’t watch this, because I will watch it – but this is not my cup of tea.”
“What I like it problem solving. I like puzzles. What I like is (Sean O’Malley) and (Petr) Yan. This f**king Russian assassin is rushing the gates and you’re kicking and moving away and jab at him. That’s what I like. I love technique.”
Although it has been around for a while, slap competitions are more common in Eastern Europe and Russia than it is in the United States.
Couple of years ago Rogan shared the following about having watched slap competition:
“They just stand in front of each other and they let each other slap each other in the face. And for first of all, whoever goes first has such a monster advantage. Because they. They KO each other all the time. “
“These huge guys. And they swing from the hip, and the other guy doesn’t even move and they open palm strike each other in the face.”
“I remember there was this one video of a bunch of people standing around and this guy slapped this guy and KOed him. And all the people that were standing around were like, Why?”
“And they all thought it was cool because, like, that might be the only time where people think it’s cool to be right next to someone who got violent brain trauma.”
“I was trying to find that video because it was such a strange video “
“all the people were standing around and they were laughing and smiling while this guy went unconscious and I was like, That’s so odd. Like, did they not know that this is a really bad.”
“Well, it’s almost like it’s not real because he is – it’s slapping a punch. Like, if he kicked him in the head and the same thing happened, he goes unconscious and falls by people. ‘Oh, my God. Oh, my God.’, They’d be freaked out. But instead they slap each other and everyone’s like, Ha ha. Like, what the f**k?”
Some knockout slap videos have amassed more than a million views and have caused quite a stir on social media.
White said, “Look at the numbers this stuff pulls. It’s perfect for social media. You couldn’t have a more perfect product for social media. We believe it will be strong on television, too.”
But White is failing to recognize another part of the equation – the danger this presents to the athletes.
A man died in Poland from the repercussions of a KO at one of the most popular slap competitions a while back.
White dismissed criticism saying:
“The bottom line is, in a boxing match, guys get hit with 300-400 punches in a f****** fight. These guys are going to get hit with three slaps. For these morons to be talking all the s*** that they are about the athletic commission, the athletic commission did the right thing. So did we. “