Dana White details Power Slap rules, reveals broadcast partner: “I’m really into this. I like it”

Dana White has officially announced Power Slap.

On Friday in New York City, White held a press conference to announce Power Slap, a Slap Fighting promotion. Along with that, the UFC boss announced a television deal with TBS for an eight-episode television series which will mark the promotion’s debut in 2023. Each episode will run for one hour. Rankings will launch after the series concludes and champions will be crowned.

“I’m really into this. I like it. The other thing is, this stuff is going on,” White said at the press conference (via MMAJunkie). “I know when we announced this, there were a lot of concerns about health and safety with some guys. Us getting involved guarantees that it’s going to be much safer.”

White also says he was looking into this years ago, and really became interested when he saw the numbers.

“Look at the numbers this stuff pulls,” White said. “It’s perfect for social media. You couldn’t have a more perfect product for social media. We believe it will be strong on television, too.”

Power Slap will also have weight classes – the same as MMA while the full ruleset was revealed in the press conference.

Power Slap rules:

• Three or five rounds.
• Competitors will alternate slaps, or as the promotion calls them, “strikes.”
• Each fighter will get the same amount of “strikes,” unless one fighter is deemed unable to continue prior to completion.
• A coin toss determines which competitor goes first.
• Flinching, blocking, or delaying the match are considered fouls.
• Each fighter will disclose which hand they will use prior to the slap.
• Each fighter will disclose their “count,” the number of windups (similar to a golfer gauging distance to a golf ball on a drive) they will pump before their strike.

Although Dana White is vocal in saying Power Slap will be safe, many have been critical of it. Yet, White says there will be medical checks and believes once people see it, they will see a safe and entertaining sport to enjoy.

“A lot of these questions that you guys have, the media, fans, potential fans have, will be answered in this eight-part series that we’re doing. These guys who have been doing it for a long time, there actually is technique to it. You can actually roll with the slap. They know how to actually defend, brace, whatever you want to call it. There’s actually technique to this thing – believe it or not.”

Will you be watching Power Slap?