“They Are Attacking Me”: UFC President Dana White Opens Up on Huge Backlash in Past Months

UFC president Dana White has faced a lot of backlash for his new fight venture, Power Slap. Some people claim that it’s not a real sport. Others believe that the sport is dangerous since the fighters have no defense at work during their bouts. However, the 53-year-old promoter believes that the backlashes are aimed at him rather than his slap-fighting promotion.

The media and onlookers have heavily demonized Power Slap since the announcement of its inception. Moreover, Dr. Bennet Omalu, who is experienced in chronic traumatic encephalopathy, claimed that the sport is ‘dumb and unsafe’ during an interview with ‘The Sun’. The TV series ‘Power Slap: Road To The Title’ has already aired three episodes till now and has displayed some very explosive blows to the viewers.

However, Dana White believes that when the media hates a product, it’s basically a win-win situation. He recently made an appearance on the ‘Vegas Sports talk Uncensored Podcast’ and spoke about the media backlashes on his slap-fighting promotion.

Dana White claims that the media heat is on him

White mentioned that he had spent a lot of money to ensure his fighters’ well-being before the inception of the Power Slap TV series. He mentioned that boxing and MMA fighters also have injuries. Hence, White believes that he is the wrong guy for the media to attack, since he has been in the fighting industry for more than two decades. He also mentioned that the New Year’s eve incident with his wife had also added to the turmoil. White said, “When you look at the attacks that happened over the last three weeks on Power Slap, they are not attacking them, they are attacking me.”

The 53-year-old also promised to do something big with the Power Slap show in the coming weeks. “Wait and see what I do with this [Power Slap] thing in the next four weeks.” Dana White also mentioned that the first Power Slap event took place way before, in March 2022. Hence, people are only witnessing the initial stage of White’s new promotion.

“You are watching the evolution of this thing. Because the first event we did was in March [2022] to test thing out and try it,” said the UFC president. He added, “As we got our stuff together, you see the evolution of it.” White also said that things will get better as the episodes progress.

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The first episode of ‘Power Slap: Road To The Title’ pulled almost 295,000 viewers. It was very low, according to Dana White’s promotional standards. However, it saw a substantial gain in viewers in the second episode. However, the third episode could draw only 284,000 viewers.

It is still early to decide what happens in the future of Power Slap. Dana White has promised to deliver a significant amount of entertainment in the upcoming weeks. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

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