- Dana White’s Slap League is facing scrutiny after getting approval from the Nevada Athletic Commission
- White said slap fighting is safer than boxing and MMA guys are already interested in it
UFC president Dana White has been known for pulling off bold business ventures. This time, he is expanding his promotional mileage through Dana White’s Slap League. Earlier this week, White got the nod from Nevada Athletic Commission, and a potential slap fighting debut event is expected to take place before the year ends. However, critics were quick to react, stressing the sport isn’t safe for its participants.
As expected, the outspoken UFC boss addressed the issue head-on.
It was a good move
Speaking to MMA Fighting ahead of UFC 280 weigh-ins, White took a massive jab at “goofballs” spreading negative narrative about his new project.
“It’ll be regulated exactly like this sport is,” White told MMA Fighting on Friday. “I saw a lot of the goofballs talking s*** — goofballs being media guys — talking about, ‘What’s next, mallets?’ Stupid s*** like that.”
White pointed out that contrary to public opinion, the slap league is safer than boxing. The UFC honcho also guaranteed that the slap league will be run and handled just like MMA where rules and protocols apply.
“The bottom line is, in a boxing match, guys get hit with 300-400 punches in a f****** fight,” he continued. “These guys are going to get hit with three slaps. For these morons to be talking all the s*** that they are about the athletic commission, the athletic commission did the right thing. So did we. We run right toward regulation, regulate the sport to make sure it’s safe for everybody — because a lot of people are going to get involved in this just like they did MMA. What you want is you want to make sure there’s clear cut set rules, people have to take the proper medicals before, during, and after the fight to keep the thing safe. It should be regulated and Nevada did the right thing. I applaud them and that’s why they’re the most respected athletic commission in the world.”
Watch out for the MMA guys
What’s even more interesting, White was asked if UFC fighters would be given green light to compete in slap fighting. To everyone’s surprise, White did not go into further details but he divulged some “MMA guys” are already reaching out to him.
“Anybody can try it out,” White said. “MMA guys have reached out to me.”
Aside from slap fighting, Metaverse is also one of White’s recent innovations. The UFC has recently tried exploring it with LFA 144 on UFC Fight Pass and as per White, it’s very likely that they also try it on slap fighting.
“We’ll probably [have slap fighting in the Metaverse],” he said.
It is expected that White’s slap league will be a hot subject of discussion in the coming days, so let’s see how things would play out.
