Fans won’t see Kenny Florian in the booth at Power Slap events anytime soon.
Former UFC fighter and analyst Kenny Florian has been the voice of MMA fighting for years. He spent many years inside the cage and has fought some of the best of all time. Following the end of his competitive career, Florian turned to the mic and provided color commentary for the UFC, nowadays he is a host for the series Battle Bots and has signed on to provide his commentary services for PFL.
Although Florian has a history with Dana White and the UFC it is highly unlikely that he will be a part of White’s new venture, Power Slap. White is going all in on his new combat sports league that features slap-fighting. So far the reception for this new league has been mixed. Some people are very interested in the concept, while others are outraged by the safety concerns for the athletes. Florian is a part of the latter.
Kenny Florian has no interest in Dana White’s Power Slap League
Power Slap is exactly what it sounds like, two people slapping each other unconscious. The fight ends when one participant can no longer stand or gets knocked out. There is no protection and in fact, the “slappee’s” hands must be behind that back at the moment of impact. This does not sit well with Florian who mentioned his disdain for the “sport” in an exclusive interview with Middle Easy.
“I have absolutely zero interest in watching a sport where you can’t defend yourself and you’re getting hit to the face repeatedly causing massive brain trauma,” he said. “It’s not for me, I think it kind of belongs on, I don’t know, some kind of YouTube channel where people kind of can see that and bum fights and, you know, I kind of put it in that category. It’s just kind of like sensationalistic violence. I don’t know, there’s no skill involved really. You’re just swinging away at someone who is unable to even flinch, let alone protect themselves. I think it’s silly.”
Florian thinks there is no skill involved in these fights but all the while White is working hard to convince the public of the exact opposite. Power Slap has been getting a huge push from the UFC both through fighters and on their social media pages. The negative press is there as well, not only with comments like Florian’s about the safety concerns but also about pay. Recently several fighters came out to explain that they had received offers to join Power Slap. Both were given offers of $2000 to show and $2000 to win. Remember, losing means a knockout, unlike MMA where submission, decisions, and protecting one’s self are options.
