TBS has pushed back the premiere of Dana White’s Power Slap: Road to the Title by one week after the UFC president admitted to an instance of domestic violence on New Year’s Eve.
The show, which is based on a slapping league created in partnership with Ultimate Fighting Championship and Endeavor, will now premiere on Jan. 18, rather than the originally scheduled date of Jan. 11, a spokesperson for TBS said Thursday. The spokesperson affirmed the new premiere date, amid rumors that the show had been shelved.
The delayed premiere follows an incident reported by TMZ, in which a video appeared to show White slapping his wife, Anne, after she had hit him at a night club in Mexico. White later released a statement to TMZ apologizing for the incident, as did his wife.
“You’ve heard me say for years, ‘There’s never ever an excuse for a guy to put his hands on a woman,’ and now here I am on TMZ talking about it,” he told TMZ.
The eight-episode series is set to feature competitors from across globe competing in “slap fighting” in order “to earn a spot in the cast house, the first Power Slap rankings, in future Power Slap matches and world recognition,” according to the initial press release.
The league was formed by White, Lorenzo Fertitta and Craig Piligian, in partnership with Ultimate Fighting Championship and Endeavor, with the television show produced by Pilgrim Media Group. Nevada State Athletic Commission licensed the league and set defined rules, rankings and weight classes, according to the release.
