“Power Slap: Road to the Title,” Season 2 won’t be on TBS.
Monday, TBS media relations confirmed to MMA Junkie that the slap-fighting reality series headed by UFC president Dana White will not return to the network for a second season, after an initial report by MMA Fighting.
Power Slap 1, the first live-streamed event in the promotion’s history, was held Saturday at the UFC Apex. It streamed on online video platform Rumble, which White revealed will be the home of the reality series for the next two seasons.
“I know the formula for this stuff now,” White told reporters at a news conference after the event. “We’re going to move fast. I’ve got a two-year deal with Rumble. And the Abu Dhabi deal, we’re still working it out with them. But I’d love to do two seasons with them, do Season 2 and Season 3 over there.”
White said the fight night numbers on Rumble totaled. 1.1 million total views. As of the time of this publication, the Power Slap 1 video lists 3.05 million views.
“Power Slap: Road to the Title,” Season 1 aired eight episodes that kicked off Jan. 18. The series aired following All Elite Wrestling and averaged 293,500 viewers per episode.
Slap fighting’s approval by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) in October and the subsequent series launch was met with criticism from many health professionals, including concussion expert Chris Nowinski, who called Power Slap, “sad” and labeled it “exploitation.”
Former NAC chairman Stephen Cloobeck, who helped approve slap fighting recently told the Associated Press he regretted the approval and called it “a mistake.” Cloobeck stepped down from his position in early 2023.