Cage fighting isn’t enough for Dana White.
The UFC president turned heads today with an announcement that he’d be getting into the slap-fighting business – and actually managing to get the sport sanctioned. A petition for regulation of the sport was approved during a meeting with the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday.
White intends to launch his ‘Power Slap League’ in November or December of 2022.
The promotion is the brainchild of both White and former UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta with long-time Ultimate Fighter producer Craig Piligian and UFC chief operating officer Lawrence Epstein also listed on the company’s articles of incorporation. The first event is targeted to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The AllStar MMA roundup
- UFC 282: Jiří Procházka requested Glover Teixeira rematch to improve on the ‘worst fight’ of his career
- UFC 280: How avoiding knee surgery turned AJ Dobson into an action fighter
- UFC 280: The chips are stacked in Islam Makhachev’s favor at UFC 280, says Alex Volkanovski’s coach
- Road to UFC: Balajin finally gets to show MMA fans what he’s made of at Road to UFC
The best of the rest
- Jiri Prochazka went 3 days without food in dark room to confront ‘demons,’ train his mind – MMAFighting.com
- Javier Mendez says Khabib Nurmagomedov ‘settled as a coach,’ his fighting days are definitely over – MMAFighting.com
- Dana White praises T.J. Dillashaw for owning up to past PED use: ‘He handled it like a man’ – MMAJunkie.com
- Coach says Charles Oliveira ‘has more techniques’ than Islam Makhachev, fires back at Khabib before UFC 280 – MMAJunkie.com
- ‘Did we sign a contract?’ – Henry Cejudo reacts to ‘crazy’ UFC ‘no gambling’ memo – BloodyElbow.com
The soapbox
Sean Strickland goes OFF on TJ Dillashaw:
Jack Shore making a move upwards:
Terrance McKinney can’t get booked:
So he resorts to slap fighting:
Wonderboy meets Tenacious D:
TJ says Aljamain Sterling doesn’t have a highlight reel:
Tyson Pedro teases fight news:
Merab spars a 6’4″ female kickboxer:
The morning view
This Week in Combat Sports with The Bane:
Coach Eric Nicksick breaks down Oliveira vs Makhachev:
Dominick Cruz breaks down Yan vs O’Malley:
UFC 280 Embedded episode two drops:
Done deals
Wednesday
- Lauren Murphy to fight Jessica Andrade at UFC 283 on January 21st (per MMAFighting)
Tuesday
- None to note
Monday
- None to note
On this day in MMA…
On the 19th of October, 2013, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos settled their rivalry with a trilogy fight at UFC 166 in Houston, Texas.
Each fighter was one-a-piece heading into their third bout – dos Santos with a first-round knockout in their first meeting snatching his first and only UFC title, Velasquez taking a unanimous decision victory in the second. The trilogy would be one for the ages.
After a back-and-forth war over the first four rounds that earned the bout the status of one of the greatest heavyweight fights in history, Velasquez picked dos Santos up and slammed him to the canvas before finishing the Brazilian with ground and pound, defending the UFC heavyweight title in the process.
Velasquez would relinquish the title in his next bout to Fabricio Werdum (the birth of the infamous ‘sea level Cain’ meme) and only fight twice more before retiring in 2019. He’s currently being held on attempted murder charges in a Santa Clara county prison. Dos Santos is still competing, though he currently rides a five-fight win streak.
