sport news Dana White's new slap-fighting league is slammed by expert trends now

Dana White's controversial Power Slap league has drawn criticism from fight fans and non-fans, alike, and is now being condemned by a leading neuroscientist.

Chris Nowinski, a Harvard Ph.D. and former wrestler who has criticized the sports world's handling of concussions, took issue with one recent clip in which one combatant appeared to show immediate signs of a significant head injury, known as a fencing posture.

'This is so sad,' Nowinski tweeted. 'Note the fencing posture with the first brain injury. He may never be the same.'

A fencing posture or fencing response involves victims' hands shooting into an unnatural position with their forearms flexed outward.

Nowinski, who also played college football for Harvard, took aim at White, the promoter, and TBS, which airs the brutal competition.

'@danawhite & @TBSNetwork should be ashamed,' Nowinski added. 'Pure exploitation. What's next, ''Who can survive a stabbing?'''

The sport was first popularized three years ago in Eastern Europe with a series of viral videos starring 370-pound Russian sensation Vasiliy Khamotiskiy.

Known as 'Dumpling,' Khamotiskiy was seen in one video knocking a massive opponent unconscious to win 30,000 rubles, which was about $475 at the time. Other viral videos show Dumpling training by squashing watermelons and flipping tractor tires.

The social media exposure helped grow the sport into a pay-per-view event, but things turned tragic in October of 2021 when a Polish slap fighter and body builder named Artur 'Waluś' Walczak was knocked down four times and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage at a 'Punchdown' event in Wrocław, Poland. The 46-year-old was taken to the hospital, placed in a medically induced coma, and ultimately died in November from multi-organ failure, according to Polish reports.

In the aftermath, Polish authorities launched an investigation into the safety conditions for competitors at Punchdown 5, while promoters insisted that Walczak's health remained highest priority after his fourth and final knockdown.

'The competitor [Walczak] remained aware, but the disturbing neurological symptoms observed by the rescuers prompted them to call the ambulance service,' read a statement from Punchdown.

Punchdown has since changed its name to Slap Fighting Championship.

Other slap promotions have been in existence longer than White's circuit, including the Missouri-based SlapFight.