Dana White Calls Out Critics Ahead Of Power Slap League Finale: 'What The F*** Do You People Know'
UFC President and Power Slap producer Dana White has a simple message for his critics: You don’t know what the f*** you’re talking about.
The outspoken, no holds-barred White didn’t hold back when he spoke to OutKick ahead of this Saturday’s Power Slap League finale (9 p.m. ET, Rumble).
Power Slap, which I have covered throughout its 8-week rollout, has come with some controversy. White says the reception has been “mixed,” but says a lot of it is unwarranted from the media, many of whom refuse to take the time to learn the backstory and the rules behind Slap.
'WTF DO YOU PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT RATINGS'
“You have these guys who do nothing, know nothing, have never built anything - nobody’s ever depending on them for a paycheck and you listen to them for their opinions, their attacks or whatever you want to call it that these guys are doing… and it’s been fascinating to watch," White said. "And I believe because of all the negativity and its attempt to kill it
White's passion for Power Slap was evident throughout the interview.
“I mean we had guys writing stories about us saying that, Oh the ratings were terrible on TBS, it’ll be cancelled after Episode 2… oh, it’s definitely not making it to future Episodes," White continued. "What the f*** do you people know about ratings? And what it means and what’s going on?
“What makes me laugh all the time is, and I say this about the UFC, I’ll read these stories about guys trying to write stories about our business - you know f***in less than nothing about our business. And then when you talk about Power Slap, you have no idea about the strategy that I built, the things that I have planned and why we’re doing this and why we’re doing that. But they’ll write their opinions about it and talk about how it’s going to fail when they have NEVER built a business in their entire lives,” White continued.
“These guys actually come out and try and write stories about something they know nothing about. It’s fascinating. And what’s even more fascinating to me? Why would anyone f’n read what they think?”
POWER SLAP HAS A SIMILAR ROLL OUT AS UFC
When I brought up that it reminded me of when Mixed Martial Arts (and subsequently the UFC) was starting to gain more attention, that there was plenty of people who thought it was barbaric for two men to get in a cage and fight, White completely agreed.
“It’s literally deja-vu," he said. "It’s exactly the same except at just a much bigger level now. Every week we’ve had publications writing about this that would never cover Power Slap in a million years. So it’s actually been good.”
The optics of two men slapping each other, which is fully regulated and in accordance to the Nevada Athletic Commission, may appear rough to some. Hell, even Congresmen Bill Pascall Jr. of New Jersey and Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska have publicly denounced it.
Others, however, absolutely love it.
PSL HAS GOTTEN OVER 1 BILLION VIEWS ON TIKTOK
The videos have gone viral across social media and there has been a big rollout at sports bars. Recently when I was in Nashville, it was being shown and bar-goers reacted with loud cheers.
White cites statistics that back up his belief that this buzz is only going to grow and that PSL is here to stay.
“Over the last 8 weeks, a billion views just on TikTok alone, 38.5 million a week on Instagram. We did a deal with Rumble TV. They got the International and that’s up to 15 million views for the episodes,” White said. “When you come out with something like this - the whole thing is a test. We built a social strategy, we built a digital strategy, we built a television strategy and you see what works. You keep what works, and you get rid of what doesn’t.”
POWER SLAP LEAGUE FINALE IS THIS SATURDAY
One thing for sure is the Power Slap League doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere. Hell, it’s even now legalized on various sports books for fans to place bets.
To see what all the drama and fuss is about, tune in Saturday night for the Power Slap League finale.