Logan Paul Working With Arnold Schwarzenegger To Promote New 'Slap Fighting Championship'

Logan Paul has yet more bold plans that could shake up the combat sports world even more.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer has been working closely with Hollywood megastar Arnold Schwarzenegger to promote the relatively-unknown sport of slap-fighting.

Yes, the one where two people slap each other as hard they can across the cheek while standing either side of a small coffee table.

And Paul hopes the sport could one day serve as an avenue for MMA fighters to cross over into other codes.

After taking on Floyd Mayweather in an exhibition bout last year, Paul looks unlikely to return to the ring himself anytime soon.

In the meantime, he is using his promotional experience to help out slap-fighting promotion PunchDown.

The Poland-based company's Slap Fighting Championship event will make its debut at The Arnold Sports Festival this weekend and Paul has been recruiting to help bring more eyeballs to it.

But it's not just the one-off event he's interested in, Paul seems genuinely keen on helping grow the sport and provide a potential career pathway for mixed martial artists.

Alamy

"I mean, yeah, guys can go to the gym and train five hours a day, learning 12 different disciplines in mixed martial arts. But the slaps one, everyone knows how to do that," Paul told reporters on the Slap Fighting Championship conference call.

"Everyone has been slapping their brothers, sisters, siblings, and cousins since they were three years old. Anyone can do that. I think it's an easy way for MMA fighters, influencers, celebrities, anyone who has this online beef to settle it instantly without having to train for three or four months.

"You just go and slap the person you have the beef with or the dispute with and there's an audience because there's something entertaining. Arnold Schwarzenegger said it, you're standing three feet across such a short distance to see who can hit harder and take the most hits. I don't know, it might be crazy, but I just think there's something here."

Paul has even managed to secure broadcasting rights too with the event set to be streamed on his personal YouTube channel.

"This is not a one-and-done thing," Paul said. "Personally, I use case studies of what is working and where attention is to direct where I put my energy.

"Slap fighting has proven to work in Poland and Russia and I think it's pretty obvious that the sport is growing. As someone who's always trying to be on the cutting edge of new discoveries, I don't think this is a one-off at all. I think after we see the attention and retention that we get on Saturday, I think we're definitely going to be back for more."

Topics: Logan Paul, Boxing, Australia, Arnold Schwarzenegger

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry