Curtis Blaydes has provided his opinion on Dana White’s slap fighting league.
The Power Slap League is currently one of the most controversial topics in combat sports. White’s newest business venture launched its first season on January 18. During an interview with James Lynch of MiddleEasy, Blaydes was asked about his opinion on slap fighting. The UFC heavyweight responded by saying:
“I actually was watching highlights of it with my girlfriend the other day. It looks gruesome. I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do it. I can’t let you hit me, but I guess there is a niche, or there’s people that will watch it. There’s people that will pay to watch other people slap each other, so it’s just another form of combat, I guess.”
Blaydes joins thousands of people who don’t enjoy watching slap fighting. With that said, there is an audience for the Power Slap League. The first episode aired directly after All Elite Wrestling and brought in 295,000 viewers. The TBS-aired show ranked 45th on the top 150 shows on Wednesday night.
Power Slap TV ratings drew just 295,000 viewers on TBS for its debut last night, doing 0.10 in the 18-49 demo (45th on Top 150) ✋🏾 pic.twitter.com/7BFDJmkAO7
— Alfred Konuwa (@ThisIsNasty) January 19, 2023
Curtis Blaydes stresses how slap fighting is not safe
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know slap fighting isn’t safe. The question is, how does it compare to other combat sports? Dana White has argued that MMA fighters get hit ‘300-400’ times in a fight, while slap fighters only get hit 3 or 4 times total. During the same interview with MiddleEasy, Curtis Blaydes had this to say about the safety of slap fighting:
“No, no, it’s not safe. At least MMA, I may not get hit, and that, you are getting hit. Multiple times. No, like I said, I wouldn’t do it. I think it’s not good for your neck. It’s not good for your jaw. It’s not good, but also, I don’t think bare-knuckle is good for you either.”
The problem with White’s argument is that slap fighters only get hit 3-4 times, but it’s nearly a guarantee that every hit is a concussion. On the contrary, MMA fighters have the ability to defend themselves, leading to some fights where they don’t take damage. It’s not impossible for the Power Slap League to succeed, but the UFC president must overcome similar hurdles he conquered to make MMA mainstream.
The video below is not from Dana White’s Power Slap League:
