A concussion expert has urged combat sport officials to ban brutal power slapping events in Australia, but she fears teen boys may already be copying the potentially deadly slaps in schools around the country.
Footage of the Power Slap League, the heavily-criticised brainchild of UFC mogul Dana White, has gone viral in recent weeks with graphic videos showcasing vicious knockouts and confronting strikes to the head.
Dr Kerry Peek, a head trauma researcher at the University of Sydney, said any attempt to legitimise power slapping was "ludicrous".
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"There is absolutely every real possibility that someone could die," Peek told 9news.com.au, while analysing the unique dangers of power slapping.
White's latest venture features two opponents who face each other exchanging open-handed hits to the face one after another, until one wins the match.
There is a 30-second timer to deliver the slap, and another 30 seconds for recovery. Victory is determined by knockout, TKO or points.
Violent slap videos have shown men and women crumbling to the floor, with some fighters left twitching on the ground in an apparent state of severe concussion.
Peek said she will use those videos in her university concussion lectures this year because it so clearly illustrates to students "in real time what can happen if you get hit around the head".
The risk of brain trauma, and subsequent long-term damage or death, is higher in power slapping events, compared to other combat sports, she said.
There was no way, she said, events should ever be held in Australia.
"The issue with power slap is they're told to stand still, so there's nothing that the person being slapped can do to protect themselves," Peek said.
"If it was martial arts there are defensive moves, and in boxing there's defensive moves so you can lessen the risk of taking that full force.
"You can't in power slap."
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Peek said it could take just one slap for someone to suffer a serious brain injury.
So far, it appears no power slapping events have been held in Australia, and it's unclear if regulators would allow a promoter to hold a slap fight card.
A spokesperson from Combat Sports Authority, the NSW government agency which approves combat sport permits, said it would assess any application for a power slap event as it would for any combat sport.
An event must meet minimum safety standards, the spokesperson said.
"There have never been any requests for permits in relation to slapping contests, and therefore they have never been considered by the authority."
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https://twitter.com/ChrisNowinski1/status/1616101814830505985?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwBut, regardless of whether or not an event is held in Australia, the genie may already be out of the bottle, Peek said.
Fringe slapping events have been around for years in the US and eastern Europe, but White's high-profile involvement changes the landscape significantly.
Sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, White's Power Slap League began screening last month on US broadcaster TBS.
"I think the damage is done as soon as any country regulates it, it doesn't have to be in the country where you live," Peek said.
"Is this something that we're going to see in schools where kids are then having their own slapping competitions?"
While announcing the league's launch, White said he was going to take "the sport of slap fighting ... to a whole new level".
"The production level will be through the roof," he said.
"Everything about this thing is going to the next level."
'He may never be the same'
Since its TV debut in January, the league has attracted serious backlash, including attacks from those involved in other combat sports.
"He may never be the same," neurologist Chris Nowinski said of one slap contestant, whose body seemed to lock up in a "fencing posture" after being knocked out cold.
"Pure exploitation," Nowinski, a former wrestler, wrote on Twitter, declaring that White "should be ashamed" of himself for backing the event.
Boxing promoter Sam Jones called White's show "ridiculous and dangerous", and former UFC fighter Brendan Schaub blasted the league as the "stupidest shit" he's ever seen.
Schaub said the league does serious harm to mixed martial arts.
Power Slap League did not respond when asked for comment.
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After the first episode of the show aired in January, White revealed his organisation is working on improving the league's safety.
"Everyone is in a learning process right now," White posted on Instagram, in an exchange with a fan who was asking him about safety protocols.
During launch, White claimed that moving the league from the fringes to under his stewardship would immediately make contests safer.
But at a time when experts are understanding the effects on the brain of repeatedly heading a football and other forms of contact sports, Peek said the rise of White's power slapping events was nothing short of bizarre.
"It seems crazy to exploit people's potential long-term risk and brain health for entertainment, and it really is only to smack people around the head," she said.
"You could argue the same about rugby or American football ... but the sole aim of rugby and football is not to knock someone out."
