Texas will recognize professional slap fighting, a controversial game in which two people smack each other across the face with an open hand, often until one is unable to continue.
State regulators voted to license the game, which has soared in popularity in recent years through viral videos on social media. That growth comes even as some physicians warn slap fighting poses a grave risk of brain damage and is little more than a gruesome display of violence.
Texas is the latest state to recognize slap fighting, already legal in Nevada, California and Florida. The seven-member Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation commission, appointed by the governor, voted unanimously in July to recognize the sport.
Supporters say regulating the game will improve safety. Commission member Dr. Ray Callas, a Beaumont anesthesiologist, said in the meeting that slap fights have already popped up across Texas, including Midland-Odessa, the Panhandle and South Texas, with no oversight. Matches will now be overseen by a supervising physician and EMTs.
“Ironically, slap fighting is a lot safer than other combative sports,” Callas said.
But the Brain Injury Association of America urged the Nevada Athletic Commission to ban the game in a 2023 letter, citing risks for repeated concussions and traumatic brain injury. It pointed to a 2021 slap fight that resulted in the death of a fighter in Poland.
In a public statement, Dr. Gregory O’Shanick, medical director emeritus for the association, likened slap fighting to a “real-time laboratory for sustaining a traumatic brain injury.”
“If instead of one person slapping another, this ‘sport’ involved one animal biting another, or even a human slapping an animal, the public outrage would be massive and rightfully so,” O’Shanick wrote.
Power Slap, the most high-profile of the companies looking to monetize slap fighting’s popularity, has already made clear it wants to expand. The league hosts events in Las Vegas, but Power Slap President Frank Lamicella told the state commission last year the sport would draw fans in Texas. Power slap is owned by Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship.
A department representative told commissioners the licensing board has also received an inquiry from a promoter wanting to bring slap fights to the Rio Grande Valley.
Commissioners must still establish guidelines for the program, said Tela Mange, a spokesperson for the state’s licensing and regulation department, adding that matches are unlikely to begin this year.
The rules of slap fighting are straightforward. The slap fights typically last three to five rounds, but never more than 10. Competitors take turns hitting each other in the face with an open hand, while those on the receiving end clutch a baton behind their backs.
Blows must land below the eye and above the chin. Flinching, ducking, blocking or dodging are illegal. A fighter has up to 60 seconds to recover and respond after receiving a blow. Fighters earn points based on the effectiveness and strength of their slaps and the defender’s reactions.
Fights can end in a knockout, a judge’s decision or disqualification for an illegal slap. Each event has two referees and three judges, and all slaps are subject to video review. The game has both men’s and women’s leagues.
Slap fighting reportedly originated in Russia then took off during the pandemic, according to multiple news reports. But the Houston Chronicle pointed out that Texas also has a claim to its foundation.
During a 2015 tattoo show in Lubbock, organizers arranged two men to face off across a folding table, as captured by a cell phone video. One man, knocked out cold, fell to the ground in the first round. The video is labeled “slap off contest gone right.”