Power Slap will not return to TBS for season two.
However, the league will be moving to a new streaming service, Rumble, for its second season. MMAFighting reported that TBS representatives have confirmed that they won’t be airing another season of Power Slap, which has generated mixed reactions from the MMA community.
Power Slap’s first season concluded on March 11, with Christopher Thomas, Azael Rodriguez, Ayjay Hintz, and Ron Bata being crowned champions in their respective weight classes. The show’s pre-recorded episodes were aired on Wednesday night after All Elite Wrestling, and TV viewership varied from 220,000 to 413,000 throughout the eight episodes, with the final edition garnering the lowest ratings.
The free live finale on rumble was viewed by roughly 200,000 people.
But there are some concerns that the viewership numbers were botted and that the real number is substantially smaller.
As is, Rumble has an eccentric way of counting views. Prior to the event even airing, the view count was over 2,000.
UFC was also heavily criticized for promoting Power slap to the degree that they were completely ignoring UFC Las Vegas: Yan vs Dvalishvili.
Despite TBS’s decision not to air the second season of Power Slap, Dana White and his team are moving forward with Power Slap season two. Dana White and business partners reportedly invested roughly $10 million dollars into production of season 1.
In an interview with Pat McAfee, White revealed that he has signed a two-year deal with Rumble to produce two more seasons and eight live events. He also disclosed that he is working on a deal to film the second season on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
Some speculate that this could be due to Nevada State Athletic Commission’s unease with the degree of criticism they received over licensing Power slap.
Power Slap has faced backlash from fans, UFC stars, and the media since its inception, with concerns about competitor pay and safety being raised.
However, White remains undaunted and plans to combat against the negativity. He has even announced that he is working on a documentary to expose media bias.