The Power Slap League, which is introduced by Dana White very recently, has been at the center of controversy in the realm of combat sports. Amid a great deal of criticism, Sonny Bill Williams is yet another prominent figure who spoke out against the overly violent sport.
The previous year, Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White announced the Power Slap League. The foundation of this league is on slap fighting, making it a combat sports competition.
Dana White’s new controversial Power Slap League has been met with a variety of contradictory responses from the sports world. Former professional rugby player and heavyweight boxer Sonny Bill Williams recently took aim at UFC president Dana White for introducing a sport with such a high potential for violence.
Sonny recently took to Twitter to voice his viewpoint and inquire about the perspectives of other rugby fans on the topic of this particularly violent sport. ” Rugby & league fans think about this? Would you let your children compete in it? It’s a big NO for me” Bill tweeted.
Rugby & league fans think about this?
Would you let your children compete in it? It’s a big NO for me. https://t.co/qJQLYHGpqK— Sonny Bill Williams (@SonnyBWilliams) February 4, 2023
Not only Bill Williams, due to the high risk of serious injury that the new league poses to its participants, many prominent figures in the combat sporting world, including Joe Rogan, a commentator for the UFC, have come out publicly against the new league since its creation.
Earlier a neuroscientist and a former wrestler by the name of Christopher Nowinski has also voiced his disapproval to the Slap League in the form of a tweet, stating that both Dana White and TBS should be ashamed of themselves.
3 huge matches this week on @PowerSlapLeague! Here’s how to watch the show no matter where you are in the world 🌎
[ #PowerSlap: Road to the Title airs every Wednesday at 10 pm ET/PT on TBS ] pic.twitter.com/qk5HIWatbf
— Power Slap (@powerslapleague) February 1, 2023
Recently, professional boxer Ryan Garcia also spoke out against the slap league, and he appears to be opposed to it on a theoretical level. Ryan expressed his disagreement with the concept in a tweet, in which he said “‘Power slap is a horrible idea and needs to be stopped”
Former professional MMA fighter Brendan Schaub has also taken to Twitter to voice his strong opposition to this league saying, ”Checking out the Slap fight league? This is the stupidest shit I’ve ever seen.”
Critics of the power slap battle point out that, unlike in boxing or MMA, the defender has no way to avoid a slap to the face from the striker. Dana, however, did not back down even after discovering about the possible negative effects of a slap on the nervous system.
On January 18th, the Power Slap League debuted, despite widespread skepticism about its potential long-term health effects. How do you see this slapping contest developing in the future?
