Power Slap

Power Slap

Power Slap is an American slap fighting promotion company owned by Dana White, the chief executive officer of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Power Slap first gained notoriety by producing a reality television show titled Power Slap: Road to the Title, originally broadcast by the TBS network in the United States and on Rumble internationally. Contestants on the show slapped each other in the face to win the "Power Slap League" tournament. The show's first season consisted of 8 pre-recorded episodes and was followed by the Power Slap 1 live event that aired exclusively on Rumble.

The show was executive produced by Power Slap's owner Dana White. The show was due to premiere on January 11, 2023, but was delayed a week after White was filmed slapping his wife in a Mexican nightclub at a New Year's Eve party.

The show, considered the premier program of the slap fighting combat sport, had significantly lower ratings than its professional wrestling lead-in programming, AEW Dynamite, consistently drawing around 250,000 viewers compared to Dynamite's near 800,000 viewers. On March 13, 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery and TBS representatives confirmed to media sources that the network would no longer air Power Slap: Road to the Title following its first-season finale, which had aired the week prior, partly due to its low ratings. After Road to the Title's cancellation by TBS, White confirmed that Power Slap would continue to hold events and produce content for Rumble. During the Power Slap 5 live event, it was announced that the second season of Road to the Title was set to air on Rumble. The second season began airing on November 15, 2023. The third season began airing on July 24, 2024. Power Slap content later moved from Rumble to YouTube.

Rules

Power Slap

Power Slap, which has been licensed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, uses rules similar to those established by other slap fighting leagues. After a coin toss to decide who goes first, the first striker has a time limit of 60 seconds to deliver an open-handed slap to the opponent. Slaps must be below the eye but above the chin, without leading with the palm such that all hand to face contact takes place at the same time. Those being slapped may not flinch, raise their shoulder or tuck in their chins. After being slapped, the slapped competitor then has 60 seconds to recover before they get back into position prior to their turn to slap. Fights which do not end in a knock out and go three rounds go to the judges' decision, using a 10-point system with judging based on slap strikers' effectiveness as well as the slap receivers' reaction and recovery time. Title bouts are five rounds and in the event of a draw, there will be an extra round to determine the winner of the bout.

Criticism and health risks

Power Slap

Upon initial airing, Power Slap: Road to the Title created controversy concerning the health of the participants and the inherent danger of the show. Neuroscientist, chronic traumatic encephalopathy researcher, and former professional wrestler Christopher Nowinski observed one of the show's participants displaying the fencing response after being struck, indicating serious brain injury. Greek neurologist Nikolas Evangelou called the show a "recipe for disaster" due to how "impact to the head, from an angle, can cause rotational forces on the brain", leading to "hopefully temporary, but sometimes permanent disruption to brain function" and "even more serious complications". Many combat sports athletes also responded negatively to the show. Boxer and WBC champion Ryan Garcia wrote "Power slap is a horrible idea and it needs to be stopped." UFC fighter Sean O'Malley stated that he refused to watch Power Slap: Road to the Title due to its association with brain injuries.

In response to the criticisms, show producers said, "We spend the money to make sure we have two healthy people in there, proper medical attention during and after the fight. These are the things we need to educate people on, just like we needed to educate people on mixed martial arts." In an interview before the show aired, Dana White said "In Slap, they take three-to-five slaps per event. Fighters in boxing take 300–400 punches per fight. And guess what: you know what my answer to that [criticism of slap fighting] is? If you don't fucking like it, don't watch it! Nobody's asking you to watch this. Oh, you're disgusted by it? Watch The Voice."

On February 16, 2023, Bill Pascrell, a Congressman from New Jersey, and Don Bacon, a Congressman from Nebraska, announced that they were launching a Congressional inquiry into the ethicality of Power Slap. That same month, one of the world's leading experts on chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Dr. Bennet Omalu, called for slap fighting shows to be removed from television. Omalu stated, in response to White's claims that he was making slap fighting as safe as possible, "It is a very dumb [sport], very stupid and unsafe. It is primitive. To me, such a sport is inconsistent with the intelligence of humans. It is possible that a participant could die from this. Somebody could die or suffer catastrophic brain damage and become a vegetable. How can he [Dana White] make that statement? It is like saying you will make a loaded gun safe [...] Why is TBS showing such a primitive sport? It should not be on TV."

Current champions

Power Slap

Division	Upper weight limit	Current champion	Since	Defenses
Super heavyweight	266+ lb (120+ kg)	Dayne Viernes	June 27, 2025	0
Heavyweight	265 lb (120 kg)	Damien Dibbell	May 24, 2023	4
Light heavyweight	205 lb (93 kg)	Ron Bata	July 7, 2023	5
Middleweight	185 lb (84 kg)	Isaih Quinones	October 3, 2025	0
Welterweight	170 lb (77 kg)	Cole Young	October 31, 2025	0
Lightweight	155 lb (70 kg)	Robert Trujillo	March 8, 2025	1

Championship history

Super Heavyweight Championship

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Koa “Da Crazy Hawaiian” Viernes def. Kalani “Toko” Vakameilalo	Power Slap 5 Las Vegas, Nevada	October 25, 2023	463 days	1. def. Danie “The Pitbull” Van Heerden at Power Slap 8 on Jun 28, 2024 2. drew with Vasilii “Dumpling” Kamotskii at Power Slap 9 on Oct 24, 2024
2	Vasilii “Dumpling” Kamotskii	Power Slap 11 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Jan 30, 2025	148 days
3	Dayne “Da Hawaiian Hitman” Viernes	Power Slap 13 Las Vegas, Nevada	Jun 27, 2025	269 days (incumbent)

Heavyweight Championship

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Ron “Wolverine” Bata def. Darius “The Destroyer” Mata-Varona	Power Slap 1 Las Vegas, Nevada	March 11, 2023	74 days
2	Damien “The Bell” Dibbell	Power Slap 2 Las Vegas, Nevada	May 24, 2023	1034 days (incumbent)	1. def. Nate “The Buffalo Soldier” Burnard at Power Slap 5 on Oct 25, 2023 2. def. Ryan “The King of Kings” Phillips at Power Slap 7 on April 12, 2024 3. def. Dorian “Disturbing The Peace” Perez at Power Slap 10 on Dec 6, 2024 4. def. Wes “Boom” Mena at Power Slap 14 on July 18, 2025

Light Heavyweight Championship

<table><thead><tr><th>No.</th><th>Name</th><th>Event</th><th>Date</th><th>Reign</th><th>Defenses</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Ayjay “Static” Hintz def. Vernon “The Mechanic” Cathey</td><td>Power Slap 1 Las Vegas, Nevada</td><td>March 11, 2023</td><td>118 days</td><td>1. def. Russel “Kainoa” Rivero at Power Slap 2 on May 24, 2023</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Ron “Wolverine” Bata</td><td>Power Slap 3 Las Vegas, Nevada</td><td>July 7, 2023</td><td>990 days (incumbent)</td><td>1. def. Austin “Turp Daddy Slim” Turpin at Power Slap 5 on Oct 25, 2023 2. def. Vernon “The Mechanic” Cathey at Power Slap 11 on Jan 30, 2025 3. def. Russel “Kainoa” Rivero at Power Slap 13 on Jun 27, 2025 4. def. Alan “The Kryptonian" Klingbeil at Power Slap 16 on Oct 24, 2025 5. def. Layne “Da Crazy Hawaiian” Viernes at Power Slap 18 on Mar 6, 2026</td></tr></tbody></table>

Middleweight Championship

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	John “The Machine” Davis def. Azael “El Perro” Rodriguez	Power Slap 1 Las Vegas, Nevada	March 11, 2023	593 days	1. def. Wesley “All the Smoke” Drain at Power Slap 2 on May 24, 2023 2. def. Azael “El Perro” Rodriguez at Power Slap 5 on Oct 25, 2023
2	Isaih “Puerto Rican Pretty Boy” Quinones	Power Slap 9 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	October 24, 2024	134 days	1. def. Branden “The Butcher” Bordeaux at Power Slap 10 on Dec 6, 2024
3	Branden “The Butcher” Bordeaux	Power Slap 12 Las Vegas, Nevada	March 7, 2025	210 days
4	Isaih “Puerto Rican Pretty Boy” Quinones	Power Slap 15 Las Vegas, Nevada	October 3, 2025	171 days (incumbent)

Welterweight Championship

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Christapher “KO Chris” Thomas def. Jesus Gaspar Diaz	Power Slap 1 Las Vegas, Nevada	March 11, 2023	335 days
2	Emanuel “No Love” Muniz	Power Slap 6 Spring Valley, Nevada	February 9, 2024	140 days
3	Anthony “Babyface” Blackburn	Power Slap 8 Las Vegas, Nevada	June 28, 2024	490 days	1. def. Emanuel “No Love” Muniz at Power Slap 10 on Dec 6, 2024 (Note: Muniz missed weight) 2. def. Azael “El Perro” Rodriguez at Power Slap 13 on Jun 27, 2025
4	Cole “Full Send” Young	Power Slap 17 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	October 31, 2025	143 days (incumbent)

Lightweight Championship

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Robert “The Real Deal” Trujillo def. Dakota “The Maritime Menace” Mcgregor	Power Slap 12 Las Vegas, Nevada	March 7, 2025	381 days (incumbent)	1. def. Dakota “The Maritime Menace” McGregor at Power Slap 14 on Jul 18, 2025