Dana White reveals why TBS pushed back airing of Power Slap League
UFC president Dana White has stated that the incident involving him and his wife at a New Year's Eve party in Mexico resulted in the Power Slap League being pushed back a week.
White made an appearance at the UFC Fight Night 217 post-fight press conference. During his time there, the UFC president spoke about his upcoming venture 'Power Slap League'. White said that he was optimistic about the league being well-received by fans.
Speaking on the delayed airing date, the UFC president said that after returning from Mexico, he was supposed to go on a media tour to promote the new show, but due to the altercation with his wife, it was not possible for him to do so. Thus, the airing of the Power Slap League was delayed by a week:
"We pushed it back a week because I was supposed to come back and do, like, this whole media tour, which obviously wasn't gonna happen when I got back."
When asked whether there was a possibility of the show getting canceled entirely after the incident, White replied in the negative.
Dana White talks Power Slap League. Explains why the air date was pushed back a week. https://t.co/IgQsCvNoZG
The Power Slap League was initially supposed to launch on January 11 but now, the new date is January 18.
.@powerslapleague premiers Jan. 18th after @AEW on TBS https://t.co/Y8zKlJ0Omg
Ariel Helwani criticised Dana White and TBS for 'Power Slap League'
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani does not approve of Dana White's 'Power Slap League'. In an episode of his show The MMA Hour, Helwani criticized TBS and others associated with the league for going ahead with the show after the altercation between Dana White and his wife.
Helwani went on to say that slap-fighting is not a real sport and the journalists covering it and the fighters participating should be ashamed of themselves:
"Shame on TBS if they're going to air that Slap Fighting League... Can you script it any worse?... Shame on anyone who picks it up afterwards after that. Shame on anyone who's covering that. Honestly, shame on all of you. That's not a sport. Shame on Nevada for sanctioning that. The Nevada that doesn't sanction BKFC, they sanction that? You're kidding me?... Shame on the fighters that have to take part in it. Shame on all of them."
You can watch a clip of the episode below:
"Shame on TBS! if they're going to air that Power Slap Fighting League!"
@arielhelwani https://t.co/2UmlVEZk7D