Power Slap leaves Las Vegas for 1st time with New Orleans event

Catch up quick: Power Slap was founded by UFC founder and CEO Dana White in 2022 after White saw videos featuring a Russian pig farmer-turned-slap fighter known as Dumpling, according to the New York Times.

• Since then, the competition has found a massive social media audience, prompting White to claim it could eventually be "bigger than the UFC."

So far, Power Slap events have only been held in Las Vegas.

• "New Orleans is the perfect city to take Power Slap on the road. Last weekend's event was the fastest sell-out in the history of Power Slap ... and had the largest reach of any event with 2 million views on broadcast streams and almost 1 billion on social," White said in a press release. "The sport is exploding. Bringing Power Slap to New Orleans is going to be fun."

Yes, but: Not all are so sure Power Slap should be legitimized.

• "This is not a sport, OK? This is an event," Gregory O'Shanick, medical director at the Brain Injury Association of America, told the New York Times. "A sport is a contest of athleticism or skill. This is merely your physiological ability to withstand blunt-force trauma to the head. It's like seeing how many times somebody can run into a brick wall."
• One study, according to Sports Illustrated, has indicated a high concussion rate in Power Slap participants.

• At least one state — Alabama — has moved to ban the practice.

The other side: The organization was licensed by the Nevada Athletic Commission and White contends it's a sport to be reckoned with.

• "Getting punched in the head, or slapped in the head, or heading a ball, or hitting with helmets in football, it's bad for you. So as a grown adult living in America, you have the right to choose what you want to do," White said to Time magazine. "The doctors all talk about, 'Somebody could die'—I got news for all the doctors. We're all gonna die. How do you want to live your life?"

If you go: "Power Slap 14: The Bell vs. Mena" is scheduled for July 18 at the XULA Convocation Center. Doors open at 6:45pm. Tickets.

• Caesars New Orleans hosts the official afterparty.