UFC president Dana White has been given approval to set up a slap-fighting league in Las Vegas.
The UFC kingpin has grown his promotion into the most iconic in MMA and has generated huge revenue for himself and the brand, with his estimated net worth now around $500 million. White has frequently flirted with moving into boxing but has since distanced himself from such a venrture.
But he has now had approval from the Nevada State Athletic Commission who will oversee and commission his new Power Slap League, which will see competitors compete in slap-fighting.
Slap-fighting is a sport where two fighters slap each other with an open hand, which was previously not regulated but White could be the first to bring the sport to a new level. UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell, who presented their plans to commission officials, has revealed they will add several new rules to the sport which will follow the structure of MMA.
"After testing it, it became clear to us that there's massive potential here as a sport, not unlike the early years of the UFC," Campbell told ESPN. "It made all the sense in the world to go toward regulation before the sport's commencing, for all the obvious reasons -- No. 1, the health and safety of the competitors. Everything will be structured and designed to provide a level of integrity to the sport and provide a system that's safe moving forward."
There will be several new rules added to improve the structure of the sport including a new scoring system using the 10-point must system which is adopted in both boxing and MMA by the commission. It will also look to explore some of the previously questionable rules which have included unfair weight gaps and areas to slap each other within the face.
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White will be joined by a large ownership group which includes Fertitta Capital containing former UFC owner Frank Fertitta, Campbell and hedge fund Zeke Capital. It has been reported that they will look to put on a first event before the end of the year, with a big broadcast agreement close to being in place which could be either the UFC's streaming service Fight Pass or ESPN.
The sport has come more into the public eye than ever recently with Logan Paul and Arnold Schwarzenegger commentating on a recent competition at the Arnold Classic, while it was streamed on Paul's YouTube channel. White is expected to stage his new events at the UFC Apex if plans continue to run smoothly, with many seeing the sport's potential to grow.
