Dana White’s Power Slap League was dealt a blow of its own after six of the controversial promotion’s competitors tested positive for an assortment of banned substances.
According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, multiple “athletes” were found to have injected or ingested a variety of PEDs, stimulants, and painkillers. It’s another setback for Dana White’s latest pet project which was already facing an uphill battle after being dubbed by many as nothing more than “sanctioned brain trauma.” Following the announcement, commission chairman Anthony Marnell commented on the overwhelming number of individuals that have been flagged.
“Is there like a big bowl of performance-enhancing drugs down there somewhere that I don’t know about?” Marnell said. “I haven’t seen this in quite a while. I didn’t know you needed to use steroids to slap but I guess we’re going to find out.”
The news comes a little more than a month removed from Power Slap’s first season coming to a close. Airing on TBS, the slap fighting league was ultimately dropped by the network after ratings continued to plummet with each passing week. Originally set to air the live March 11 finale on pay-per-view, the UFC President was forced to pivot due to a lack of interest, moving the event to the conservative-friendly news and entertainment streaming service Rumble.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission unanimously approved the regulation of slap fighting in the state last year, a decision that ex-chairman Stephen Cloobeck came to regret.
“I made a mistake,” Cloobeck said about his vote in a statement sent to the Associated Press. “I’m not happy about it.”
Numerous Power Slap fighters were suspended today by the Nevada Athletic Commission for a wide variety of banned substances.
Chairman Anthony Marnell: “I didn’t know you needed steroids to slap but I guess we’re going to find out”
— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) April 25, 2023
Nevada State Athletic Commission Releases Names of Six Power Slap Competitors Suspended for the Use of Banned Substances
All six of the individuals who have been flagged for PED use have been revealed in a document obtained by MMA Fighting. Those names are as follows:
- T.J. Thomas: Tested positive for clomiphene, hormone, and metabolic modulator.
- Jay Rivera: Tested positive for GW-1516, sulfone and sulfoxide, hormone and metabolic modulators.
- Chris Thomas: Tested positive for Buprenorphine, a narcotic medication used to treat opioid use disorder.
- Andrew Provost: Tested positive for Buprenorphine.
- Isaih Quinones: Tested positive for Norandrosterone, drostanolone, tamoxifen, and boldenone, which are anabolic steroids. His “A” sample was tested and showed “exogenous origin of testosterone.”
- Frank Holland: Tested positive for phentermine, a stimulant that can be prescribed for weight loss.
The Nevada Athletic Commission suspended several Power Slap competitors.
📰 https://t.co/GcDbWeG2fj pic.twitter.com/Q4L6dmtDc7
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) April 25, 2023
