Slap Fighting Fails To Launch

This week, noted wife beater Dana White’s Power Slap promotion ended its inaugural 8 episode run on Time Warner. The controversial slap fighting organization posted its lowest ratings to date, despite claims from Dana White that “it’s a home run.”

The ex-CEO of Zuffa Boxing made something resembling an attempt to address criticism of the product after the finale, providing the following gem of a quote:

How many of you in here actually watched the season? Did anybody actually watch season? Yeah, handful of you?

–Dana White, former executive producer of The Ultimate Surfer

The entire existence of Power Slap has been a generally embarrassing exercise in watching a very rich man attempt to recreate the one real success he is associated with. The Ultimate Fighter wasn’t even Dana White’s idea, but the show made him a star as much as anyone else — he is forever associated with it and the UFC’s surge in popularity.

That the Nevada State Athletic Commission even sanctioned slap fighting is an embarrassment, with at least one former member — the one who asked, on record, that UFC lawyer Hunter Campbell essentially pinky swear that they won’t get anyone killed — expressing some regret over the approval. (Doing so after the fact is of minimal value, as I have no idea what could have possibly been unclear about the proposition at the time.)

The concept has been soundly rejected by the audience, but Dana White seems intent to forge onward. Citing a deal for additional slap fighting shows on the obscure streaming platform Rumble, Dana White will be taking his clown show to Abu Dhabi.

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