Is Gavin Newsom giving UFC & Dana White a Golden State gift for Power Slap?
When UFC 298 in Anaheim was announced, you knew a curve ball was coming.
The state of California has been dreaming about a major UFC event for a long time. That’s why the announcement around Thanksgiving, under the radar no less, of UFC 298 happening in February of 2024 at the Honda Center in Anaheim took everyone by surprise.
My first reaction? The UFC doesn’t run to a high-tax domain unless someone is paying the bills or negotiating a new business angle to feed the Endeavor beast.
If you’ve been a dedicated reader of the Bloody Elbow Substack, you might recall an article I published last July regarding state athletic commissions facing a devil’s bargain in regard to Power Slap and UFC.
If you’re a state already attracting a slate of UFC shows, you don’t want the gravy train to stop. Legalizing Power Slap is one surefire way to make sure there are no calendar interruptions. And if you’re a state that has been desperately trying to recruit UFC forever and ever? Maybe you can scratch UFC’s back on Power Slap and perhaps some room can be made on the event schedule for you.
On November 29th, the California State Athletic Commission detonated a regulatory bomb with an agenda posting for their upcoming Saturday, December 9th meeting in San Francisco before the Devin Haney boxing fight at the Chase Center. At their next meeting, CSAC will be discussing and considering temporary licenses for both Bare Knuckle FC and Power Slap.
once California legalizes slap fighting, it’s going to go national and you as a taxpayer may end up paying for Power Slap events in your state.