ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
By Cassandra Cousineau, LVSportsBiz.com UFC Writer
Dana White’s fight business just got bigger Tuesday.
This time, it’s Slap Fighting and the combat sport was unanimously approved by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) today after a presentation by UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell. The state will now officially oversee and regulate Slap Fighting.
Campbell is part of a primary ownership group for Dana White’s Power Slap League, along with UFC President Dana White himself. The presiding group includes Zuffa founders Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, UFC owner Endeavor, longtime “The Ultimate Fighter” producer Craig Piligian, and other investors.
Campbell said slap fighting will be “an identical template for what we have with UFC events.”
Both Campbell and the NAC stressed the need for regulation and specific weight classes — which follows the strategy that the Fertitta brothers and White wanted when they were attempting to make UFC a legit MMA fight business years ago.
There will also be brain scans, blood tests, and adequate onsite medical staff. Competition rules will be similar to MMA when it comes to fouls, which restrict striking to the back of the head, and prevent eye-gouging.
“Our approach was similar to the UFC: Move toward regulation before this is an actual thing” Campbell said. “… With any sort of combat when you’re taking shots to the head, to have it done in a way where there isn’t medical procedures and regulations put around it is an unsafe environment. The second issue is integrity of the sport. The other thing that we’ve seen is, you’ve seen instances where a guy might be 400 pounds, and he’s slapping a guy who’s 130 pounds. That’s also not what we’re looking to do.”
He continued, “Really the appeal (to the Commission) today is to say we believe the athletic commission has the jurisdiction to regulate the sport. Our concern is they choose not to do it. As this grows, you’re going to see, I call it, ‘the sports bar slap contest,’ where you have two 56 year-old guys dropped at a bar, and they’re going to be slapping each other for $200 in prize money. Ultimately nothing will be done to prevent that. That’s sort of the appeal to the commission.”
“I think this sport needs to be regulated,” NAC executive director Jeff Mullen said. “If we don’t regulate it, it’ll be taking place everywhere all over town without regulation or any sort of safety standards.”
NAC chairman Stephen Cloobeck said the video he watched of the slap fighting beta-testing was “highly entertaining” and praised the involvement of “professionals who know what they’re doing” in reference to the UFC.
The group plans to begin holding Dana White’s Power Slap League events at the UFC Apex by the end of 2022. Initially, the new league will be in beta mode, and operating behind closed doors with plans in place to eventually open events up to the paying public. The Apex building is next to UFC’s headquarters off the 215 and Jones Boulevard in the southwest valley.
Additionally, plans are being finalized with “a major network partner” to broadcast events as a television competition series.