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Dana White: UFC president says he has 'no defence' for slapping wife
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One of the most brutal new sports in the world has come in for scrutiny again, after it was revealed that a slap-fighter ‘may never be the same' after being knocked out.
A contestant in Dana White's Power Slap League could suffer permanent damage, according to a brain doctor.
If you’re not familiar with the new league, it focuses on two competitors who are on either side of a podium, taking turns slapping each other with all the strength they have. The goal is to try and knock out your opponent or have them quit.
Competitors are given 30 seconds to deliver a slap, with another 30 seconds for recovery.
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Now, a doctor has given their verdict on a competitor who took part in the exhibition phase of the series 10 months ago.
The first slap thrown by Chris Thomas left Chris Kennedy knocked unconscious and facing urgent medical treatment.
Kennedy tensed up as he hit the floor, and suffered short-term memory loss as a result of the slap.
"You can sit on your butt right now,” he was told at the time. “The doctor is next to you okay you got knocked out.”
Kennedy replied: "Got knocked out doing what, was I fighting?".
Now, the founder of Concussion Legacy Foundation, Chris Nowinski, has hit out at White for launching the competition and said that he believes Kennedy may "never be the same" after the incident.
The slap came 10 months ago in the exhibition phase of the new leaguePower Slap League
"This is so sad,” he wrote, uploading a video of the incident. “Note the fencing posture with the first brain injury. He may never be the same. Dana White and TBS Network should be ashamed. Pure exploitation. What's next, who can survive a stabbing?"
Nowinski isn’t the only person to hit out at the new league.
Former UFC fighter Brendan Schaub is not impressed by UFC president’s new project, branding it the “stupidest s*** ever.”
The initial episode of White’s Road to the Title was supposed to air on 11 January.
However, it was delayed for a week because White was caught hitting his wife at a New Year’s Eve party. He did admit that he was "embarrassed" by the situation.
Fans and well-known individuals such as MMA journalist Ariel Helwani called the organization “shameful,” calling for the organization to be removed, but it wasn’t.
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