Jon Kennedy becomes the first athlete under the Power Slap banner to receive a suspension after failing a drug test in Nevada.
Power Slap middleweight fighter Kennedy is coming off a contest against John Davis in episode 3 of Power Slap: Road to the Title earlier this month. Davis started off strong with a vicious slap but Kennedy managed to move past the strike as he fired one back at him. He rocked Kennedy with the second shot, sending him back to the floor. Kennedy recovered and responded with equal aggression to wobble Davis. Eventually, Davis’ third strike had Kennedy out of the bout as he succumbed to a TKO loss.
Power Slap fighter Jon Kennedy gets suspended for cocaine use
During a monthly meeting held earlier today, the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) announced Jon Kennedy tested positive in a drug test for cocaine use following his latest slap-fighting appearance on Nov. 30.
The NAC handed him an official suspension of 9 months, making him ineligible for competition until at least Aug. 30. He will also need to pay a fine of $150 and $326 in legal fees. Kennedy becomes the first slap fighter to face disciplinary actions after the sport got sanctioned by the commission in the last quarter of 2022. He has a record of 2-2 in slap-fighting and goes by the nickname, ‘Slap Daddy.’
NAC chairman Anthony Marnell issued a statement indicating plans to tweak the ruleset before the inaugural live events of the freshly minted sporting format.
“It seems like there’s a market for this, whether you like it or not,” he said during the meeting. “It is unarmed combat so it fits the definition but it seems to me, it needs some further regulation.”
Kennedy started out in MMA
Jon Kennedy started his combat sports journey as an amateur mixed martial artist in 2008. He turned professional after three years in 2011 but struggled to get off to a strong start as he dropped eight in a row. He continued competing on the regional scene for more than a decade with his final showing coming against Artiom Cula at North Iowa Fights 15 last November.
He moved on from the octagon with a record of 10-38 and switched over to the slap-fighting competition.
Quotes via MMA Fighting.com.
