Power Slap League: How to Bet on Dana White’s New Sport

Power Slap is exactly what it sounds like – a literal slap fight between two competitors. And you can bet on it! But where?

Dana White’s Power Slap League hopes to change perceptions of the entire concept of a “slap-fight.”

When you think of two grown men slapping each other, what comes to mind?

Maybe it’s an old-fashioned duel challenge. More likely, it’s this famous line from Chappelle’s Show.

But earlier this year, the Power Slap League gained popularity through an eight-episode run on TBS. Athletes competed throughout the series to earn spots in Power Slap 3 and Power Slap 4, separate stand-alone events aired on Rumble TV.

What is Power Slap?

To offer the easy answer, yes. Power Slap is exactly what it sounds like – a one-on-one battle between two competitors in which the combatants take turns slapping one another with open hands.

Founded by Dana White, best known as the President of CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Power Slap is billed as the world’s premier slap-fighting organization.

It’s licensed and sanctioned by the Nevada Athletic Commission, ensuring that for now all events take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Since the first event in March, the league has gained popularity with competitors and fans alike.

Fighters come from around the world to compete in UFC-type events. After the eight episodes on TBS, Power Slap has consisted of four events held in March, May, July, and August, with its next event scheduled for October 25.

Currently, there is a heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, and welterweight division. A handful of exhibition fights featured female competitors, but there is no formal women’s division to date.

What Are the Rules of Power Slap?

From a rules perspective, you’re looking at a mix between baseball and UFC-style fighting.

Fights last either three rounds or five rounds (when they make it that far). A coin toss determines who goes first – this is the baseball portion of the analogy. The advantages to going first are rather obvious, as knockouts are quite common in slap fighting.

However, each competitor gets to throw one slap per round, so if it comes down to a decision, the advantage swings (no pun intended) to the fighter with “last slap.”

How Does It Work?

When the fight begins, the referee directs each competitor to the “striker” and “defender” positions on either side of a table. Once the defender takes a legal position (long story short – face the striker, keep your chin even with the table, keep your hands behind your back) the striker may throw his slap on a count of 1, 2, or 3.

The Permitted Slapping Area is between the point of the chin and the eye line. Striking the eyes, ears, mouth, or temple is prohibited and may result in penalties up to and including disqualification.

Once the slap lands, that’s when the fun begins. A 60-second clock starts the amount of time the defender has to recover from the slap. The defender must return to his designated area within this time and be declared “Recovered” by the referee. 

If any part of the body other than the feet strikes the ground, a 10-count begins, similar to boxing. If the fighter regains his feet, the referee still must declare him fit to continue.

A victory by knockout is declared in favor of the striker if the count reaches 10.

Once the defender is confirmed as “Recovered” he becomes the striker, and the process repeats with roles alternated.

When each competitor has completed a turn in each role, that’s one legal round.

Power Slap Scoring

Again, knockouts are common but if the fighters complete three (or five) full rounds, a winner must be determined by decision.

Similar to boxing, each round is scored by a 10-point “must” system, meaning the score of each round will be 10-9, 10-8, etc. in favor of the stronger fighter.

(Like boxing, any score lower than 10-8 is extremely uncommon and frankly is a strong indication the fight should not continue).

The two criteria by which judges score the rounds are equally important:

• Damage and effectiveness of the Striker;
• Reaction and recovery of the Defender

How Can I Bet on Power Slap?

Maybe this all seems a little much? Power Slap is controversial, but here’s the news you’ve been waiting for:

You can bet on it!

BetFred and DraftKings are the two sportsbooks committed to offering odds and lines on the upcoming Power Slap 5 on October 25. Power Slap betting is a real thing.

Betting odds for Power Slap are available in the following states:

SPORTSBOOK	AVAILABLE STATES
BetFred	Colorado, Louisiana, Nevada, Washington
DraftKings	Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wyoming

Arizona also recently approved Power Slap betting and will be added to the respective lists in the coming days.

What Bets Can I Place on Power Slap?

The simplest Power Slap wager is the winner of each match. Typically, a favorite and underdog are assigned with respective odds. Here’s a hypothetical example:

Mark “The Hitter” Vetter (-190) vs. Smashin’ Sam Abbott (+160)

You would need to risk $190 to win $100 on Vetter, while a $100 bet on Abbott yields $160 if he is victorious.

But there are other possibilities, including:

Knockout vs. Decision:

You can bet on whether each fight ends via knockout, or whether the judges’ scorecards decide the winner.

Knockouts are common, especially in the heavyweight division, so these odds may reflect that reality. Choosing the specific fighter who will win by knockout or decision can increase your payout.

What Round Will the Fight End?

With knockouts so common, another way to increase your payout is to predict the exact round in which the fight ends.

In our above example, Mark Vetter is a -190 favorite, but predicting a first-round knockout victory correctly could yield a payout in the +300/+400 range.

Parlays

You can choose Vetter to win and combine him with another individual fighter to also win to increase your payout.

There is no shortage of options – the August card featured eight separate fights.

Prop Bets

Similar to the UFC’s Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night, Power Slap awards a bonus for the most impressive knockout on a specific card. You can wager on the identity of the fighter who wins this honor.

Power Slap is still in its first year of action, so rest assured that more bets will become available over time. Equally likely is more states and more sportsbooks starting to offer Power Slap wagering as the newest combat sports gains popularity!