At a press conference on Friday, the longstanding UFC president revealed a brand-new striking competition dubbed Power Slap. Men and women contestants from around the world will face off in the new endeavor to display "power, technique, and resolve." Two competitors square off and engage in a series of open-handed strikes to the face before one of them prevails in the bout. Many individuals objected right away since the idea of unconsciously hitting each other seemed harsh. To explain his new venture and reassure the fans that the sport will be controlled, and safety steps will be taken, White held a press conference during UFC 281 fight week in NYC. “I’m really into this,” White said. “I like it. The other thing is this stuff is going on. I know when we announced this, there were a lot of concerns about health and safety with some guys. Us getting involved guarantees that it’s going to be much safer.” Power Slap will begin airing on TBS in January thanks to an eight-episode agreement, White disclosed at a press conference in New York. Although the UFC president will not oversee day-to-day operations, he did confirm that fighters will be subject to drug and medical testing that is identical to that of the UFC. Additionally, a reference guide of the league regulations was sent to media representatives before the press conference, which you may view here. The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) has approved the series, making it the first slap league to do so, and it now has set regulations, weight divisions, standings, and "extensive medical testing." “I’ve been working on this since 2017. I saw some footage of slap fighting on social media and I was instantly hooked. From the first day I saw it, I felt like this could be big. I knew what needed to be done to make it a real sport just like we did with MMA,” said White. The Power Slap League's formal regulations were made public by Dana White. A coin flip will decide whether the winner wants to throw or receive the first slap, according to the Power Slap website. The slap delivery and healing times are both limited to 30 seconds each. There will be a minimum of three rounds in each tournament. The winner will be decided by knockout, technical knockout, or points, which, similar to MMA and boxing, will be based on a 10-point minimum requirement. Judges will award points based on the striker's efficiency, the defender's response, and their recovery time. Matches may also be declared a no-contest, subject to disqualification, or, if judged appropriate, submitted to the judges for a technical ruling. Clubbing, stepping, illegal wind-up, and delay of play are all strikes that result in fouls. Additionally revealed were the requirements for fighters to proclaim their choice of hand and the duration of the slap. A striker will receive a penalty if they deviate from the announcement. Defenders will receive fouls for flinching, blocking, or adding time to the game. Warnings, point deductions, re-strikes, loss of strikes, or disqualification are some of the consequences of fouling. With UFC sitting top in the ranking of top promotions of MMA, The Power Slap League won’t take much time to gain popularity. Dana White has made UFC the best promotion from scratch which leaves no doubt that Power Slap League would fail to provide entertainment.

The final Bellator MMA event of 2022 features some of the company's greatest competitors. The promotion's final three events of the year will feature a potentially decisive end to the Light Heavyweight Grand Prix, the next phases in the Bantamweight World Grand Prix, and an intriguing cross-over spectacle with Rizin. Bellator was all ready to conclude the last round of a 12-month Grand Prix tournament back in April. Vadim Nemkov's world championship belt was on the line during the set of five-round fights among eight of the best light heavyweight fighters in the promotion. Nemkov defeated Phil Davis in the first round before defeating Julius Anglickas (replacing Anthony Johnson) in the semifinals to advance to the championship game. On the other side of the brackets, Corey Anderson defeated Ryan Bader and Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov to earn a matchup with the champion in Bellator 277's co-main event. Fans, however, remained disappointed despite all of the effort and time. The promotion is now focused on Bellator 288 on November 18. In April, the 205-pound Grand Prix was unable to produce a victor. After an unintentional head-on collision after Round 3 left Vadim Nemkov with a significant gash on his head, and the match between him and Corey Anderson was declared void. A technical judgment would have been made if the round had ended. Nemkov retains the championship, and the $1 million prize remains open to be won. At Chicago, Illinois' Wintrust Arena, the champions will square off once more. “It’s very upsetting,” Anderson said told the assembled press after the bout. “Especially because I broke him, you know? You can’t say I wasn’t winning the fight and the clash happened. It is what it is. I went out there and did exactly what I was supposed to do like I said I was going to do. I said I was going to go out there and dominate. He can’t handle my wrestling, my ground-and-pound. I was pacing myself. And I knew, the fourth round, it was going to be over.” Bellator 288 will feature a lightweight title fight between champion Patricky Pitbull and quickly emerging unbeaten #1 contender Usman Nurmagomedov in addition to the light heavyweight main event. Usman is a fairly popular figure among MMA fans, and he is also related to former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who could be seen supporting the challenger in his corner for the title bout. Usman might compete with the favorite to win, not just because of his well-known last name but also because of his superb fighting skills. The current Bellator 288: Nemkov vs Anderson 2 fight card looks like the following: Vadim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson – Nemkov’s Bellator light heavyweight title, light heavyweight Grand Prix final Patricky “Pitbull” Freire vs. Usman Nurmagomedov – Freire’s Bellator MMA lightweight title Daniel Weichel vs. Timur Khizriev Tyrell Fortune vs. Daniel James Roman Faraldo vs. Levan Chokheli

Tyson Fury has stated that he must face Anthony Joshua before retiring from boxing, calling it a "travesty" if the fight does not take place. Fury, 34, has retired or threatened to retire on multiple occasions, but in an interview with The High Performance podcast, the WBC heavyweight champion stated that he still has unfinished business with Joshua. "I don't think I can retire today," Fury said. "Because I need that Joshua fight. We have been trying to make that fight for years. "It's the fight that people want to see. It's the fight that I want to see as a boxing fan." Fury is presently preparing for a WBC championship defense against Derek Chisora on December 3 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the British star had wanted to finalize an undisputed world heavyweight title bout with WBA, IBF, and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk early in 2023. Those preparations appear to have been derailed after Filip Hrgovic's team declared that he will face the Ukrainian next. Usyk upset Joshua in their rematch in August in Saudi Arabia. "For the last four or five years, there has been this three-headed monster: me, Wilder, Joshua," Fury added. "Joshua and Wilder have been slain, and I'm the last one standing. All of a sudden, you've got some new people coming up now - Joe Joyce, Daniel Dubois, Usyk's gate-crashed the party. "Now there's a load of new blood that wasn't there five years ago and it's like, 'can you beat this person?'. "But I think it would be an absolute dying travesty if me and Joshua didn't fight in this era." Whether Fury fights Joshua in the future or not he has to take care of what's in front of him right now. The Gypsy King faces Dereck Chisora on December 3rd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Canelo Alvarez hopes to avenge his loss to WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol by fighting him again next May. Alvarez's surgically repaired left wrist is being rehabbed, and his training is going well so far. He is confident that he will be able to return to the ring for two fights in 2023, beginning with a rematch with the unbeaten Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) in May, followed by a potentially crucial clash in September. Canelo's rematch with Bivol is crucial because he wants to show the boxing world that his poor performance last May was due to injuries to his left wrist and shoulder, which prevented him from training as much as he needed. Bivol has risen to prominence as a result of his victories over Canelo and Gilberto Ramirez. With Bivol's newfound popularity, a rematch between him and Canelo could generate a large number of DAZN pay-per-view purchases. It'll be a much bigger battle than the first time. "My scars are already closed. I'm doing my therapy very well, so I think it won't stop me so much," he said to bet365. "My fights are always in May or September. I think I'll be ready for May again." The only way the Canelo-Bivol rematch does not happen is if Bivol wins the undisputed title fight against unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev. A rematch with Bivol, whether in May or later in the summer, is the most logical next step for Alvarez. When Bivol first faced Canelo, he won decisively and was the stronger of the two fighters. Alvarez's defeat was only his second as a professional, so if given the chance, he'd like to set the record straight. Bivol's availability should be no problem as well. The unbeaten Russian defeated Gilberto Ramirez on November 5 and has nothing set in stone for 2023.

Alex Pereira recalls the discussion he had with Glover Teixeira and his other corners before the fifth round of his title match against Israel Adesanya at UFC 281. After four rounds of combat with Adesanya, former champion Teixeira's voice conveyed the severity of the situation. Pereira and the former light-heavyweight champion were unaware of his three-to-one deficit at the moment. However, they were aware that if they didn't take dramatic action, things wouldn't happen as planned. “I knew it was going to be a very hard fight,” Pereira said via a translator. “I tried to pace myself, but going into the last round, my corners and Glover kept it real with me. I looked at him and said, ‘Do I have to knock him out?’ And Glover said, ‘You do have to knock him out.’ And then I said, ‘OK, let’s do it.’” After four rounds of warfare, during which Adesanya played the bullfighter and once pounced on Pereira with a last-second assault, the middleweight title contender got right to work and delivered the crucial blows that precipitated a fifth-round TKO. A strong champion was eliminated in the final round for the second time this year due to one defensive slip-up. Referee Dan Miragliotta's decision was immediately contested by Adesanya, but Pereira insisted it was "totally correct." “People can say whatever, but Izzy was taking some pretty heavy hits,” Pereira said. “The referee is there for a reason, to keep you safe. So I think it was absolutely correct.” Pereira disagreed that he was in an unwinnable situation because of how far behind he was. He described how he had kicked the champion's legs so much that Adesanya afterward claimed his peroneal nerve had been damaged. And then there was the wrestling, which was a surprise as he resisted several takedown attempts from Adesanya and successfully executed one of his own. These accomplishments, however, were also based on a clear failure in the combination he chose to close the first round, which left him noticeably unsteady. “Very....very,” he said when asked how badly he was hurt. “It hurt me a lot. I’m not going to lie. But with that said, I think it helped me stay sharper, stay with it, and then I started to put more pressure, and also make him work more, which I think I was able to get him a little more tired, too.” After two victories in the kickboxing ring, Pereira had previously rejoiced in triumph over Adesanya on three separate occasions. But this one was in a completely different sport, on a much larger stage, and had much worse odds. White cited Pereira's corner speech as a turning event that was "right out of a movie." When that happened previously, Kamaru Usman was knocked out in the fifth round by a head kick after Leon Edwards had heard the motivational speech of a lifetime. But this time, a middleweight champion making his sixth title defense was the target. After that, Teixeira couldn't resist but celebrate his teammate by leaping over the octagon. The unexpected turn of events led White to consider a rematch right away. According to the UFC official, a fourth bout between the two wouldn't be unthinkable given the way the fight was progressing and Adesanya's standing as a champion. Pereira didn't require any extra motivation to take another swing at his three-time adversary. “It doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “They choose who I’m going to fight, and if that’s the fight they’re going to do, I’m going to be ready.”

The interim UFC featherweight title match between Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett will take place at UFC 284 right before Alexander Volkanovski seeks to become the newest champ-champ. The UFC has chosen to let Rodriguez and Emmett fight it out for the interim title to keep the featherweight division going. On February 11, the event is scheduled to take place at Perth, Australia's RAC Arena. The highly anticipated battle was revealed on Saturday during the pay-per-view broadcast of UFC 281, hours after the promotion had officially revealed the super fight between lightweight champion Volkanovski and undisputed champion Islam Makhachev. Rodriguez had stated that he wasn't interested in accepting an interim championship battle. He intended to wait for Volkanovski, whose desire to hold two titles concurrently has been widely disseminated. Rodriguez recently said he hadn't given up on his idea to take on Volkanovski next. The 30-year-old Rodriguez recently defeated Brian Ortega via TKO, but only after "T-City" sustained a shoulder injury early in the fight. Rodriguez has put on some of the most notable performances in recent featherweight history before then, though, and has been patiently waiting for his first title shot. The veteran must accept whatever he can receive, which will be a temporary belt. Emmett, meantime, has battled through the featherweight division's wilderness while weathering injuries and layoffs to maintain his position. He recently defeated Calvin Kattar by a split decision while on a five-fight winning streak, which put him in the running for the interim title. The last four victories were against Dan Ige, Shane Burgos, Mirsad Bektic, and Michael Johnson. The official UFC 284 bout schedule has not yet been determined.

Kiwi mixed martial arts star Brad Riddell will step away from the Octagon, after suffering a third straight defeat at UFC 281 at New York's Madison Sqaure Garden. Riddell, 31, was forced to submit to Brazilian Renato Moicano in the opening round of their lightweight contest, after early finishes against American Jalin Turner and Azerbaijani Rafael Fiziev over the previous 12 months. After winning his first four UFC appearances, culiminating in a Fight of the Night performance over American Drew Dober at UFC 263 in June 2021, the City Kickboxing fighter loomed as a possible title challenge in his division, but that dream has crumbled. Christchurch-born Riddell will now take a break from the sport, while he takes stock of his future. "I appreciate everyone that has been supporting me and standing by my side from day one through to these last two lacklustre performances," he posted on Instagram. "I'm going to step away from competing in MMA for a good while, until the fire to compete comes back. I'm not performing close to my capability and it's a dangerous job if you're not fully present. "I've been training hard for 15 years, in and out of camps with not enough rest of balance, and it's massively taken it's physical and mental toll on me. "I know this is the right choice because, as I write this, I feel a sense of relief for finally voicing what I had been feeling for awhile. It's a hard pill to swallow, as this is what I've done my entire life and fighting was my first love, but sometimes you have to face it." Riddell, known as 'Quake', says he will undergo surgery for some longstanding injuries, before continuing to train and coach. He's not the only CKB athlete contemplating his future, after Israel Adesanya lost his UFC middleweight crown by technical knockout to Brazilian rival Alex Pereira. Adesanya hints he also had "medical stuff" that requires attention, before he challenges for his title back. On the flip side, veteran lightweight Dan Hooker rekindled his career with a second-round TKO over Peruvian Claudio Puelles, after losing four of his previous five contests, while Carlos Ulberg won his third straight in the light-heavyweight division.

Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler are still at odds after their explosive lightweight fight at UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden in New York last night. Chandler, who was defeated, accused Poirier of poor sportsmanship in win, alleging he didn't appreciate how 'The Diamond' spoke to him after the fight. However, Poirier of Louisiana has retaliated after stating that former championship contender Chandler fishhooked him during the fight and fought like a 'dirty motherf-cker.' During an intense post-fight talk, Poirier called Chandler out on his cheating, reminding 'Iron Mike' that the UFC 'is my house.' “I told him this is my house,” Poirier told reporters at the UFC 281 post-fight press conference (h/t MMA News). “That’s what I told him. I said, ‘This is my house.’ That’s it. And I told him he’s a dirty motherfucker, too — for putting his fingers in my mouth and blowing his nose (on me), you know? But it’s all good.” I was telling him he was dirty, yeah,” he added. Poirier submitted Chandler with a rear-naked choke in a chaotic back-and-forth bout that lived up to expectations, earning both men Fight of the Night honors and an extra $50,000 in their purses. Poirier is presently ranked second in the UFC lightweight rankings, while Chandler is ranked fifth.

Calvin Kattar won’t be fighting any time soon. The "Boston Finisher" hurt himself during the first round of his battle with Arnold Allen at UFC Vegas 63 last October. He was attempting a flying knee. Eight seconds into the second round, Kattar lost consciousness permanently. He went back to his corner and persuaded the cage-side doctor he could carry on. One of the biggest victories in his professional career thus far, "Almighty" received the second-round TKO. After a few weeks had passed since his devasting defeat, Kattar revealed the findings of an MRI he had. The No. 7 featherweight will undergo surgery to repair a ruptured ACL in his right knee in the upcoming weeks. He won't be able to compete again until the end of 2023, according to the protocol. “There’s not much I can say, it is what it is,” wrote Kattar on Instagram. “I tore my ACL, getting surgery in a couple weeks. Should be ready to go at the end of 2023. The goal remains the same.” The news is undoubtedly disheartening for Kattar, who took a year off after losing to Max Holloway in a decision in January 2021. Allen, who claimed he didn't want to win in that manner, found the victory to be disheartening as well. “Obviously there was the injury with Yair and Brian and then Calvin. (Josh) Emmett (vs. Kattar), it was a real close decision,” Allen said after his win. “I wanted the performance to stand out so I could actually ask (for a title shot): ‘Look, this deserves it more than that and that.’ But now I’m in the same boat. We might as well all hang out together and talk about it.” Calvin Kattar (23-7) is now on a two-fight losing streak because, before his injury defeat to Allen, he lost to Josh Emmett through a split decision. With five consecutive fights as the main event, Kattar is 2-3 with one defeat coming to Max Holloway and two decision victories over Giga Chikadze and Dan Ige. He has also achieved success in his career by defeating Jeremy Stephens, Andre Fili, and Shane Burgos. Who do you want to see Calvin Kattar bring back?

The rumors were being circulated before that the former UFC women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm was interested in a crossover boxing match with an Irish undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor in front of her home crowd. But she seems to make an early return to combat sports after being fully fit. She appears to be looking out for the available options and now she has expressed her desire for Julianna Pena's match to be rescheduled. When Holm was diagnosed with hydronephrosis, a swelling of the kidneys that happens when urine does not correctly flow from the kidney to the bladder, she was unable to compete against Pea at UFC on ESPN 24 in May 2021. She had to leave the fight as a result of it. Holm (14-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) is interested in facing Pena, who recently lost the women's bantamweight title to Amanda Nunes in a rematch. “It does interest me,” Holm told reporters at a Thursday news conference in New York. “(The) last year’s been definitely a challenging year for me. It’s been a great year. Life’s still a big blessing. But I wound up having to have my kidney surgery, and so that’s why that fight didn’t go through. I had to pull out, and maybe that’s unfinished business we need to take care of now. So who knows.” At UFC 269, Pea shocked everyone by unseating Nunes to win the bantamweight championship. However, Nunes gave a devastating defeat in the rematch at UFC 277 to take her vengeance. Holm, who lost the championship to Nunes by submission at UFC 239, wasn't shocked to see "The Lioness" restore her position. “In their first fight, I know she got submitted. But from the minute the fight was going, it was the jab that set it all up, actually,” Holm said. “Going into the rematch, I thought as long as Nunes changes her game plan a little bit – because she kept walking into that jab and she wound up coming in and she fought lefty a lot, and she took away that direct jab, and then she was able to impose her will. So I wasn’t surprised that she was able to come in and dominate the fight. I know she has it in her. She’s a champion for a reason. She’s been there. She’s defended it.”

Heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is apparently still in limbo in terms of his contract situation with the UFC. It’s almost a full year since UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou stepped inside the Octagon. He’d since been involved in a dispute with the company, being one of the most prominent names in the roster with salary grievances, among others. “The Predator” recently sat down with entrepreneur Joe Pompliano and was asked about his contract situation. While he did reiterate a possible fight with former champion Jon Jones, he says everything is still up in the air. “Maybe Jon Jones, if we get things sorted out,” he said when asked about his next opponent (transcript by MMA Mania). “Because this contract situation hasn’t been sorted.” Ngannou’s grievances stem from money issues and supposed unfair treatment by the organization. And because he feels he has very little to no negotiating power, the 35-year-old is having apprehensions about re-signing. Ngannou can choose to be a free agent by December, once his champion’s clause expires. “And the contract says you have to fight when they tell you you have to fight. But your contract does obligate them to give you a fight. They can sit you down for two years. You can’t say anything,” he said. “So unless they want to make you fight, you won’t fight. So that’s something that caught my attention. What is this contract good for? How this contract protect me, on what? Nothing. I have nothing. “When you sign that contract, you give your ownership to the UFC. But technically, it’s not protecting you from nothing, from anything. “They can cut you whenever they want, they can give you a fight, yes or no, and they don’t have to answer to anybody,” he added. “They can do whatever they want. So why am I signing a contract? I have no protection in that contract. “Unless you can guarantee me something in that contract, there’s not a reason to do a contract. Matter of fact, you say I’m an independent contractor. Let me fight, I can fight for you and fight for someone else. “Why am I having exclusive contract with you with no benefit? I’m supposedly an independent contractor.” Ngannou last saw action at UFC 270 in January against former teammate Ciryl Gane, whom he defeated via decision. He elected to have knee surgery in May and had since recovered for a planned return before the year ends.

Carla Esparza can recall just about everything from her first reign as UFC strawweight champion. It's not because it was so memorable but because it was so short. Esparza won the inaugural strawweight belt by defeating Rose Namajunas on Dec. 12, 2014, in "The Ultimate Fighter Finale" of Season 20. Three months later, she was a former champion, having gotten stopped by Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 185 on March 14, 2015. Esparza regained the title on May 7, 2022, in Phoenix by again defeating Namajunas. This time around, though, she's planning to hold onto it a little longer. The biggest mistake she made the first time wasn't giving herself the time she needed to prepare. She had barely finished celebrating the holidays when it was time to get back to camp to prepare for Jedrzejczyk. This time, it's six months since she regained the belt by stretching her winning streak to six by besting Namajunas in an ugly, slow-paced match. The win over Namajunas, however ugly it was, marked the pinnacle of her career. And it came because of an adjustment she came to realize she needed. "The biggest takeaway is that I needed more time between fights to recover mentally and physically and build my way back up," said Esparza, who has defeated Namajunas, Yan Xiaonan, Marina Rodriguez, Michelle Waterson, Alexa Grasso and Virna Jandiroba during her current six-fight win streak. "I was able to do that this camp and I feel like I'm in a really great place both mentally and physically. It's been one of the best camps I've had. I feel like I'm going into this fight as the best Carla Esparza that I can be." On Saturday in New York City, she could fight her best and still not have it be enough. Esparza's opponent in the co-main event of UFC 281, Zhang Weili, is arguably the best athlete among UFC strawweights and has incredible physical skills. She was showing heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou some moves when she threw a light jab, leaned in and lifted Ngannou off the ground. Ngannou posted a video of the exchange on Twitter, where he said he weighed 293 pounds. Zhang said there is nothing to fear in Esparza's game, which clearly caught the champion's attention. She didn't get irate, but she's been underestimated for much of her career and is champion now nearly eight years since her UFC debut. She's got the confidence of winning over time and beating the best the division has to offer. And now that she's married — she walked down the aisle with her belt around her waist — everything is going the way she wants. "I think probably a lot of people have felt that about my game, but it doesn’t really matter what she thinks or what she fears,” Esparza said Wednesday at media day. “I’m going in there with my best game, and this is probably one of the best camps I’ve had. I’m just ready to go in there the best me and prove the world wrong, I guess." She noted that a fight is neither a weight-lifting competition nor a bodybuilding contest. Zhang is powerful and it's shown in some of her fights where she's run through opposition. Esparza 2.0, though, has shown to have a lot more staying power than the original version. She'll have to be at her best to defend against Zhang, but she's used all the lessons of her lengthy career to give herself the opportunity to do just that.