NAC’s approval of slap fighting is an open-handed blow to brain trauma concerns | Opinion

“The commission administers the State laws and regulations governing unarmed combat for the protection of the public and to ensure the health and safety of the contestants.”

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That’s the final sentence in the Nevada Athletic Commission’s mission statement vowing to protect boxers, mixed martial artists, kickboxers, and other disciplines of combat sport. Now those words look questionable considering the commission’s decision Tuesday to approve and regulate slap fighting at the request of the UFC.

While slap fighting isn’t new, it often has been met with criticism because it lacks something the other aforementioned combat sports have, which is vital to career longevity: defense. You know, the whole “protect yourself at all times” thing? Not here. You get a mouthpiece and earplugs to protect your eardrums from popping.

When you’re the person getting slapped, if you tuck your chin too much or move your shoulder before getting your bell rung, that’s a foul. So, your best bet is to just stand there and brace yourself for impact as your opponent sizes up your face with a number of practice swings before unleashing a full-forced, open-handed slap.

That’s not to forget that you must stand with your feet parallel and shoulder width apart – a stance that would get you absolutely cooked in a real fighting sport. But not to worry, the recipient of the slap has a team of spotters behind them ready to catch their unconscious body to prevent their head from cracking on the ground after absorbing one of these open-handed strikes.

What happens if the slapper doesn’t knock out their opponent? That’s when the beauty of turn-based slapping kicks in. The slappee becomes the slapper, and they do this song and dance for a number of rounds, usually three.

This is how the “sport” has played out in organizations like Slap Fighting Championship, which recently has been backed by high-profile personalities Logan Paul and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Now UFC president Dana White wants in on the fun, and he – along with UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell, the Fertitta brothers, and others with an ownership stake – has the backing of the NAC to bring Dana White’s Power Slap League to life after Campbell convinced the commission this was a good idea.

It’s safe to assume the rules of this league will be similar to others of its kind, which is a far cry from what we’re used to seeing White promote, or attempt to promote. Over the years, he repeatedly has entertained going into boxing as a promoter, but he seemingly has closed the door on that idea (RIP Zuffa Boxing). His bread and butter, the UFC, is known as the gold standard of MMA and consistently hosts the best fights in the sport.

MMA in general is so appealing because its competitors come from various martial arts backgrounds, creating intriguing clashes of styles. Within the limited ruleset, the fighter can traverse whatever path to victory they think is best.

We see it every weekend: Fighter A will employ the Floyd Mayweather-esque “hit and not get hit” strategy, while Fighter B does the opposite by throwing caution to the wind, taking one, two or three strikes in order to return one. Both fighters think their approach is the best way to get their hand raised. Risk management is completely up to the fighter, to a point.

Once a fighter is no longer intelligently defending himself, the referee can and will stop the fight. Slap fighting completely removes the entire notion of intelligent defense and replaces it with mindless, hopeful bracing.

The only way to manage risk in slap fighting is to not participate. Because here, your brain is getting rattled by your opponent. It’s just a matter of whether or not you’ll be conscious after impact.

In real combat sports, you can theoretically win fights without being touched. Mayweather was lauded for his defensive abilities inside the boxing ring, limiting damage throughout his undefeated pro career. Former UFC champion Anderson Silva entered “The Matrix” at UFC 101, dodging multiple strikes from Forest Griffin and then landing the sniper shot to create one of the most popular highlights in the sport’s history, showcasing that effective defense and counterstriking can be awe-inspiring.

Yes, defense doesn’t always work as intended, and that’s OK. That’s part of the cat-and-mouse game. At least the fighter is able and encouraged to evade or block the incoming strikes.

Athletic commissions exist to regulate competition and protect athletes. Sometimes their decisions get things right, and sometimes they don’t.

In 2018, the New York State Athletic Commission perhaps went too far on the side of caution when they denied Paul Felder a UFC championship opportunity against Khabib Nurmagomedov because he wasn’t in the top 15 of the promotion’s rankings.

Earlier this month, the Colorado Combative Sports Commission was most likely correct in denying Melvin Guillard a license to compete in Bare Knuckle FC due to concerns for his health after losing 14 of his last 15 fights across MMA and bare-knuckle boxing.

No matter which side of the coin you were on in the Felder and Guillard situations, at least both fighters would have had the opportunity to intelligently defend themselves.

During his presentation to the NAC, Campbell argued that these slap fights would take place in seedy environments with or without regulation, therefore oversight would be the more thoughtful approach. On the surface, that sounds great. However, there is no amount of rule that can get around the fact this is the only combat “sport” in which its athletes are not allowed to defend themselves and are, in fact, penalized if they accidentally do so in the slightest of ways.

White and Co. have spent years polishing the UFC into a fantastic sports production, so much that you almost forget the core product is two people fighting in a locked cage. If they’re able to pull off the same thing with two people standing on either side of a table while one waits to go Will Smith on the other, well then more (slapping) power to them.

But no matter how you dress it up, slap fighting will always feel like something Larry, Curly and Moe cooked up.