UFC fighter wants to compete in Power Slap League after breaking hand
After breaking his hand earlier this week, a UFC lightweight joked that his now-scrapped bout next month should take place as part of Dana White's Power Slap League instead.
UFC 285 is set to be headlined by Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title. 'Bones' will be making his long awaited return after vacating the 205-pound belt almost three years ago. He has since been preparing his body for the step up in weight class.
Also planning to feature on the card was fan favorite Dan Hooker, who was booked to face Jalin Turner. Unfortunately, it was revealed this week that 'The Hangman' suffered a broken hand during training and has been forced to withdraw from the bout.
The news was revealed by MMA journalist Mike Heck, who wrote on Twitter:
"Dan Hooker is out of his #UFC285 matchup with Jalin Turner after suffering a broken hand, per sources."
Unfortunate news: Dan Hooker is out of his #UFC285 matchup with Jalin Turner after suffering a broken hand, per sources. Turner is expected to remain on the card, but no opponent at the moment.
Whilst it's certainly an unfortunate situation, the New Zealander has tried to make light of the cancelation on Twitter.
The 32-year-old jokingly suggested that he and Turner should instead compete against one another in Dana White's Power Slap League, given that he would only need one hand to fight.
Dan Hooker wrote:
"@danawhite I have an idea. Me vs Turner Power Slap. Show/win and I'm in for the PPV"
@danawhite I have an idea💡
Me vs Turner Power Slap
Show/win and I’m in for the PPV 😎
Dana White claims Power Slap League is beating UFC, WWE and NFL records
Dana White recently claimed that his Power Slap League is starting to hit the numbers that he and his team had envisioned, despite the seemingly disappointing viewership on television.
According to figures from SHOWBUZZDAILY, the number of viewers has dropped. The third episode of the eight-part series was reportedly only watched by 284,000 viewers, which was over 100,000 less than the week before.
Despite the significant drop, White insisted that the new slap-fighting show is breaking records on social media. The 53-year-old claimed that it averages more views on TikTok than the UFC, WWE and NFL combined:
"I mean, the social media and digital is insane [for Power Slap]. I don't know if you guys have looked at that, but on TikTok, you know, we average 10 million views per post... and to put it into perspective, the WWE does 1.5 million, the UFC does 770,000, the NFL does 545,000. We're pulling 10 million."
He added:
"When you look at the TV show and the spot that we're at and everything, everything that they put on that network [TBS] coming from AEW has failed... We hold 47 to 50 percent of the AEW crowd and we're number two every night, with men in all of cable behind the NBA."
Catch White's comments here: