Dana White is looking for heavy-handed athletes to join his controversial slap-fighting league.
The UFC CEO has dialed in on two groups of people as he looks to build out the Power Slap roster.
Dana White’s ties to the WWE put him in a great position to pick up any wannabe wrestlers who don’t quite make it at the top level.
The MMA mogul also wants to bring bodybuilders on board after Eddie Hall’s recent flirtation with slap fighting saw him leave a fan with a black eye and ‘burst eardrum’.
Dana White needs more Power Slap stars
Dana White recently explained the major problem he’s facing while trying to grow Power Slap.
As a relatively new combat sport, the slap fighting talent pool is tiny in comparison to MMA and boxing.
White believes the promise of ‘real money’ will help convince athletes to switch sports and join his promotion.
“When we bought the UFC, the UFC wasn’t the biggest. It was well known, but it wasn’t the biggest,” he said on the Cutler Cast. “There was Pride out there in Japan and tons of other competitors here in the United States.
“So, there was already a steady flow of talent out there. With Power Slap, there are some knockoff leagues. There’s one down in Brazil. There’s one here in the US. It started in Russia and Poland. I think there’s one in South Africa, too.
“To have a steady flow of competitors coming through, we have now started running the guys through combines over at the [UFC] PI.
“For instance, there’s a bunch of people out there that wanna get into the AEW or WWE, right? These guys will jump off a f—ing ladder onto a table full of tacks for $50 a night. You can come into Power Slap and make a s— load of money.
“These guys are all tough guys, big guys. So, we are looking at these guys that wanted to be professional wrestlers, and a lot of other athletes around the world that didn’t become professional athletes, coming to Power Slap.
“There’s real money in this. When you start a business like this, the problem is money, you’ve gotta have money. Money is not a problem for us. The problem for us is finding a steady flow of talented guys that come through.
“Any big guys out there, if you are a bodybuilder, or you’re trying to be a pro wrestler, any of that s-, whatever your dream is, you can literally come into this and make some real money.”
Doctor slams Power Slap
Last month, a doctor-turned-fighter slammed Dana White’s Power Slap as a ‘nonsense sport’.
Doctor Mike – real name Mikhail Varshavski – knows all about the benefits of combat sports after lacing up the gloves twice for boxing bouts.
However, he’s also acutely aware of the scary consequences of taking repeated blows to the head.
So, naturally, he’s not a fan of slap fighting or the Power Slap league White launched in 2023.
“Someone needs to come out and speak out against it,” Doctor Mike said.
“For me, it takes the worst part of combat sports and accelerates it. Why is boxing problematic? Repeated blows to the head if somebody is not protecting themselves.
“Here, the whole point is to not protect yourself and take blows. It’s literally taking the unhealthiest aspect and removing the healthiest aspect, which is all the cardio and training that is required to box.”