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Dana White DEFENDS paying Power Slap with competitors receiving ‘£1,600’ for every fight…but UFC president argues it’s ‘how MMA started too’ and ‘boxing cards still make this kind of money’
Dana White has defended the prevailing pay scale in his controversial Power Slap league, with entrants only earning £1,600 per fight.
The UFC president claimed the pay was not unlike the purses offered to fighters in the early stages of the UFC in the 1990s, after the show’s title promoting the event was mocked: “Road to the Title.”
The Power Slap League is scheduled to debut on pay-per-view in March 2023, but the vicious sport sweeping America has faced a fierce backlash from neurologists who claim face slapping can cause brain damage. permanent.
But White maintains that the pay offered to those who participate is similar to that offered to boxing’s undercard fighters, and not unlike the money offered to MMA fighters in the formative days of the sport.
A commenter on one of her Instagram posts claimed that the title of the White-produced show promoting the event was ironic, given the paltry pay offered to contestants.
Dana White was quick to defend his decision to pay Power Slap League competitors just £1,600 per fight.
Power Slap League sees competitors alternating unprotected face slaps back and forth
They wrote: “”Road to the title” where you get 2k/2k and maybe 10k/10k if you win it all.”
But White strongly defended the available pay scale, responding: ‘How MMA started too. Boxing cards still make this kind of money. Get informed before you open the YAP.’
The pay scale is believed to involve gradual increases based on wins, going up to the £10,000 available to the overall winner.
Power Slap involves a series of one-on-one bouts in which contestants alternate helplessly slapping their opponent’s face, attempting to knock out their enemy or preventing them from continuing.
The controversial league was quickly met with criticism for the health problems of the participants.
Images of participants with their faces swollen and disfigured after the fights similarly highlighted for many fans the dangers of the sport.
The controversy surrounding the payment offered to participants began after former UFC star Eric Spicely revealed that he had been offered just £1,600 ($2,000) to participate in the show, and another £1,600 if he won.
“I’ve been contacted to do Slap League, y’all would be surprised how much it pays,” Spicely wrote on Twitter.
A viral clip showed Romanian wrestler Sorin Comsa left with a bloody and disfigured face after receiving a brutal blow in the bizarre new sport of slap fighting.
And when one commenter suggested that “it wasn’t enough,” Spicely revealed the actual amount that was available to him if he participated.
“The first fight was 2k and 2k,” he revealed.
Spicely also confirmed to MMA Fighting who passed up the offer and never received a contract.