Ariel Helwani doesn’t have a problem with Dana White’s efforts to create Power Slap, but he does take issue with the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s choice to sanction it.
The UFC President’s slap fighting promotion was already a major topic of discussion in the MMA world due to the significant promotional push it received, but it became an even hotter subject after footage of White slapping his wife in a nightclub went viral shortly before Power Slap was scheduled to debut.
The premiere ended up being postponed by a week, but there was apparently no discussion of cancelling the endeavor in the wake of White’s actions. Fan reception has so far been mixed at best, and during a fan Q&A on his show The MMA Hour Ariel Helwani challenged the NSAC to explain why the “sport” had any right to be sanctioned in the first place.
“I still maintain by the way, that I don’t think this is a poor reflection on Dana, the UFC, whatever,” Helwani said. “I still maintain the ones who look the worst in all of this are the commissions, and in particular Nevada. The officials, both the ones working for Nevada and the UFC, who are attaching themselves to this. Because to me you’re losing a lot of credibility, if not all of it, if you are saying that this is something that is worthy of your time, that you want to be a part of, anything like that.
“Because again, if the UFC, if Zuffa wasn’t involved, there’s no chance Nevada’s sanctioning it. And I don’t care, you’re gonna sit here and tell me, ‘Oh, it’s because they’re involved we feel better about it, it’s safer.’ Hogwash. You don’t sanction BKFC, you sanction this. Explain yourself, you can’t. Using MMA referees and MMA officials, ridiculous. The whole thing is ridiculous. They don’t look like athletes, they don’t behave like athletes, they don’t get paid like athletes. What are we talking about here?”
“It’s A Human Car Crash”
Helwani’s point about how much the Power Slap competitors get paid is something that was recently revealed by UFC veteran Eric Spicely, and the MMA journalist followed up by asserting that the promotion won’t be around for very long.
“It’s not gonna last. Does it last a season? Great. Does it come back? I mean, maybe they’ll convince someone to bring it back, but this is not a thing. So I don’t think everyone has to be worried about it. What we should be worried about are the repercussions to these human beings that are being slapped with no defense involved. Explain that to me Nevada. How could you be okay with this? There’s no defense involved, the whole point of this whole fight game is to hit and not get hit. That’s the whole point. You’re standing there. Save the ‘Oh, we’re catching them.’ Stop it. It’s a human car crash, that’s what we’re watching.”
This is admittedly the furthest along in a new sporting venture that White has come since he first became president of the UFC, but it’s not the first time he’s attempted to branch out from MMA. The 53-year-old famously introduced Zuffa Boxing around the time of the Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather fight, but that idea quietly disappeared without ever really getting off the ground.
Earlier this week, Power Slap president Frank Lamicella defended the league against its critics, arguing why it is, in fact, a sport and why he believes the “no defense” narrative is misinformed.
If Power Slap does eventually fall apart, perhaps White might be interested in trying his hand at one of the other unorthodox combat sports offerings that have emerged during the last few years.
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