Dana White argues his intervention can make slap fighting a safer sport in terms of fighters' health
It's safe to say that Dana White's new salp fighting venture, 'Power Slap', hasn't been unanimously endorsed by the combat sports community. Many fighters, journalists, and medical professionals have shunned the sport for its unsafe nature.
Slap fighting is a sport in which two opponents stand opposite each other, on either side of a podium, and take turns slapping each other in the face until one of them is unable to continue.
Many believe that the all-offense non-defense nature of the sport could result in permanent head injuries for the athletes.
However, the UFC president claims that his intervention could make slap fighting a much safer sport.
In an interview on My Mom's Basement with Robbie Fox, White argued that he has the best health and safety record in the fight business, pointing out that there have been no fighter deaths in the UFC since he took over the reins of the promotion:
"From 2001, when we bought the company to 2023, zero deaths and zero serious injuries in the UFC. In boxing from 2001 to 2023 [there have been] 34 deaths. Nobody has a better safety and health record than I do and we're going to do the same thing for this [Power Slap League]."
White also assured that Power Slap athletes will be subjected to stringent medical protocols before, during, and after each event:
"When we bring these guys in, we put them through a full, top-to-bottom medical testing before, during, and after the fight. When you do that and you spend actually spend that money... you can control the health and safety aspect of it better."
Catch Dana White's comments below:
Dana White suggests Power Slap is safer than boxing
Dana White believes boxing presents a greater risk to a fighter's health compared to slap fighting. During the same interview, the MMA promoter argued that slap fighters on average suffer less punishment per event than boxers do in a boxing fight.
White reasoned that a boxer sustains four to six hundred punches in a fight, while a slap fighter only receives three slaps or less during an event:
"In boxing, these guys are like, well in boxing, you can defend yourself. Okay! you can defend yourself in boxing, but you still take four to six hundred punches a fight, and that doesn't include the shots you took in sparing to get ready for that fight.
Dana White added:
These guys [Power Slap fighters] take three or less salps per event and they go through the exact same medical testing."
Power Slap: Road to the title airs every Wednesday on TBS. The next episode of the show will air on March 1. The show is currently rated at 4.5/10 on IMDB.