American neuroscientist Christopher Nowinski has slammed Dana White's new Power Slap series following its debut on Wednesday evening.
'Power Slap: Road to the Title', a reality series, is the UFC president's newest venture on TBS. In the premiere episode, an exhibition bout from 10 months ago between Chris Thomas and Chris Kennedy aired.
The duo stepped onto the mat for their welterweight showdown, with Thomas managing to floor Kennedy after just one slap.
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Check out the footage below. We'll warn you right now it isn't for the faint-hearted.
Thomas managed to knock Kennedy out, who alarmingly hit the ground. His entire body went limp as officials checked on his condition.
The referee ruled Thomas the winner. Kennedy was unable to stand with the referee and his opponent in the immediate aftermath of the fight.
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Nowinski, a former professional wrestler and founder of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, couldn't help but share his disgust at the show on social media.
The 44-year-old tweeted a clip of Power Slap along with a message claiming Kennedy may 'never be the same'.
He said: "This is so sad. Note the fencing posture with the first brain injury. He may never be the same. @danawhite & @TBSNetwork should be ashamed. Pure exploitation. What's next, 'Who can survive a stabbing'?"
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Kennedy had to be reminded of what had just happened by a doctor while on the ground. An official said: "You can sit on your butt right now. The doctor is next to you okay you got knocked out."
Kennedy then replied: "Got knocked out doing what, was I fighting?".
The controversy surrounding Power Slap only grew when footage of White in an altercation with his wife, Anne, circulated on New Year's Eve.
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TBS pushed the first episode of their new eight-part series back a week following the incident.
'Power Slap: Road to the Title' reportedly had 295,000 viewers on Wednesday. The lead-in for that show, All Elite Wrestling's flagship show AEW Dynamite, had 969,000 viewers.
Dynamite was the third-highest rated show of the night after two NBA games on ESPN, but the audience didn't carry over to Power Slap.
Topics: Dana White
Daniel Marland