Dana White’s Power Slap League is just waiting to start competing in Las Vegas after receiving legal approval, so a big announcement was necessary for the promotion, and it arrived as UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin joined the league as head catcher.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion confirmed his involvement to TMZ Sports recently.
“I’m gonna be a head catcher.”
UFC Hall of Famer @ForrestGriffin is stepping into a new role – catching heads in @PowerSlapLeague 🖐️
[ Power Slap: Road to the Title | Wednesday January 11, 10PM ET/ 7PM PT on TBS ] pic.twitter.com/3N5FWbC7fm
— UFC (@ufc) December 27, 2022
Forest Griffin has a revered career as an MMA artist; in his 26 professional appearances, he has won 19 times, and he is currently working as the Vice President of Athlete Development at the UFC Performance Institute.
So, the catcher role will add another level of versatility to this UFC legend’s career. Catchers will be placed behind the slappers so that they can catch the fighter before falling to the ground to reduce the initial hit. Griffin explained the role,
“That double impact, you’ve taken the first trauma and when your head hits the ground, bang bang, both sides of your brain actually bounce against your skull. We want to prevent that and make it just the initial impact and have that be what causes you or not causes you to win or lose the competition.”
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— UFC (@ufc) December 26, 2022
Actually, this is a preventive measure taken by UFC as many raised concerns regarding athletes’ health issues while the Nevada Athletic Commission certified the PSL, though the UFC president ensured that the athletes knew the technique for sustaining themselves during the clash.
“These guys who have been doing it for a long time, there actually is a technique to it. You can actually roll with the slap. They know how to actually defend, brace, whatever you want to call it. There’s actually a technique to this thing, believe it or not.”
However, though the date is not finalized, as per the UFC’s announcement, the Power Slap League will go on the floor in the first quarter of 2023.
