Hey guys, sorry that this post will be long, so I will just keep it to one topic related to Power Slap, which is a more thorough look into the first episode.
Deep dive into Episode 1
On the weekend, the UFC YouTube channel posted episode 1 of the Power Slap episode on their channel. The Power Slap Official YouTube has 92 subscribers, while the UFC channel has 14.8 million. I decided to do a re-watch of the episode, and just comment on a few things that stood out to me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHqGkJGk6gw&t=2142s
The episode starts out with a promo for the show, trying to make it comparable to the Ultimate Fighter show. It seems like the way they are marketing and presenting this to the public, is that its just another form of combat and that it will bring along all the action, drama and excitement that the Ultimate Fighter did.
1:20 – Dana says, “this is the opportunity of a lifetime”. An opportunity for what? Huge amounts of brain damage? It just sounds like a complete lie from a shady con artist. Its what someone in the porn industry would say when trying to recruit 19 year olds to get started; trying to disguise the fact their brains/bodies will be used and damaged for entertainment. All in exchange for small amounts of money that will pay for a few meals, with dreams of glory to keep them going.
2:10 – The show opens with Chris Kennedy taking the most brutal KO on the episode in terms of losing consciousness. Not only is he out cold, but you see his body stiffening up and twitching. The after show host said he was out cold for an extended amount of time. This is the show trying to give the people what they want, right off the bat. The term slap really down plays the force being delivered, as they are basically open handed palm strikes.
4:00 – Dana discovers slap fighting and seeing they are getting big views in Poland and Russia. This seems to be what fools Dana into thinking Power Slap will succeed in the US. Having views on YouTube or these short form social media platforms aren’t the same thing as creating a league for a sport, a TV show and live events.
4:14 – there is someone on the right side of the screen, receiving a slap, where I can’t quite tell if they are a man or a woman. I did some Google searching, and I don’t believe there were any inter gender matches in this Slap Fight Championship organization. I think it may have just been a feminine looking man competing.
11:45 – in the video introducing the coaches, there is a highlight showing another case of a guy getting KO’d and having his legs twitching. As an MMA fan, even these types of KO’s are rare there, whereas these contests seem to have those as more common outcomes.
12:30 – the two coaches of the show previously had an unlimited round championship match in the Slap Fight Championship, and it ended by decision after 27 rounds. To have unlimited rounds seems quite cruel and inhumane. Here is a video of that match that I found:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7GnAu9ymGI
12:55 – Here is Dana’s first mention of having a pay per view event following the eight episode season. That had me laughing out loud. I’m still laughing as I type this. Good luck with that Dana.
13:00 – Dana mentions “these guys will be ten times better than when they walked into the house”. Ten times better? More like their brains will be ten times more damaged.
14:00 – This match between Alex Asbury and Michael “Slap Jesus” Smith features two of the most down and out guys you will see. I don’t know either of their backgrounds, but I would not be surprised if it included jail time, crack addiction and stretches of homelessness.
14:45 – UFC Executive Hunter Campbell comments on Slap Jesus saying, “this guy looks certified out of his f*cking mind”. In this business and given what kind of talent they are looking for, that is a compliment. I will admit, that Slap Jesus is my favorite character through out this entire episode, as I found him the most entertaining.
17:15 – you see what appears to be chunks of skin from Alex’s lip, sitting on his shirt after his lip is lacerated. It is pretty gory.
22:25 – Competitor Anthony Green lets us know that he has 5 kids and works 2 full time jobs. That is just more information confirming the theory that the Power Slap is looking to exploit people who are desperate for money and opportunity.
28:00 – female coach Sheena Bathory appears on the screen. This lady has a judo background. She let the audience know during the after show, that she discovered her ability to take slap from some of the ex-boyfriends she has had. That was sad to hear, and just another case where we have a participant who has previously dealt with abuse/trauma in her life.
29:35 – Sheena delivers a KO slap to her opponent, who stumbles around on stage, after the safety staff fail to mobilize her and keep her in place. This clip has been used to promote this league and can be seen posted as short videos on YouTube and Instagram. Sheena then hugs her opponent and gets emotional, as she was competing against a friend. Shortly after you see the UFC executives react and an evil and sadistic laugh and smile from Dana; showing his true colors once again.
30:45 – Dana calls Sheena’s KO “one of the craziest knockouts I’ve ever seen”. Oh really Dana? You have seen every KO in the UFC for the past 30 years, many of which are quite epic, but a female slap fight KO, of a lady not defending herself, is one of the craziest you’ve ever seen? Once again, showing he is a lying scum bag.
31:30 – here we meet Welsey Drain. Yet another contestant missing front teeth. Here looks to be another poor guy they can exploit.
35:30 – Jon Kennedy does an interview after losing his match. I’m not sure after the loss this interview takes place, but he sounds quite injured and he sounds like he is slurring his words. He doesn’t look like he is that old of a guy. I would hate to see what he would sound like after a long run doing this.
41:10 – the coaches discuss how important winning the coin toss is, as the winner can end the match with one strike and not even receive a strike. I what real sport does a coin toss impact the likelihood of winning as much as this? It isn’t even close. The most important coin toss in sports I can think of is NFL playoff overtime, and even with that, they modified the rules this year to make it more fair. With the coin toss essentially deciding a high number of matches here, that is just more proof this isn’t a sport or a real competition.
Last edited by stacker604; 01-23-2023 at 03:11 AM.