Dana White Admits His Slapgate Incident Hurt The Power Slap League

Dana White is a controversial figure in the MMA industry, with a reputation that stems from a variety of issues. Among these is his handling of fighter pay, as many have accused him of not adequately compensating UFC athletes for their work. Additionally, his recent launch of the Power Slap League has been met with criticism. Recently, White acknowledged that his involvement in the slapgate incident had a negative impact on the league.

As previously reported, Dana White and his wife got into a physical altercation on New Year’s Eve, an event that took those present at the Cabo San Lucas nightclub by surprise. The severity of the incident and its impact on Dana White in the long term was felt shortly after that incident.

TBS ended up pulling Dana White’s Power Slap show. Dana White then explained that this was due to the fact that he had to cancel a media tour. Dana White also defended Power Slap League’s insanely low pay.

In February, Dana White made an announcement that surprised many: the season finale of the Power Slap League would be available for free on Rumble. This was unexpected, as there had been rumors that the live slap event scheduled for March 11 would be a pay-per-view event.

While speaking during a pre-match press conference for the season finale on Wednesday, Dana White explained why the promoters decided against putting the slap-fighting event on pay-per-view. White admitted that his slapgate incident with his wife affected the whole deal.

“We were going through the business plan for this thing, and how we were going to do this and that and everything else. We said maybe we put it on TV and we build this whole social and digital plan around it and then it’s a pay-per-view at the end… and let’s be honest I didn’t do myself any favors on New Year’s Eve.

Social was soo massive, [it] started making sense to look at this thing [as a non pay-per-view event]. There is two things this thing kills, social media and in bars. It’s great bar content. When you’re in a bar and you’re having drinks and this comes on, let me tell you what, nobody is not watching it.”

Dana White even claimed that is Power Slap League is smashing WWE on social media. Dana White’s Power Slap League has gotten mixed reception so far as well. Regardless, we’ll have to see how the show will continue to fare with its season finale.