It was a moment so shocking that even US rapper Travis Scott had to remove his shades.
Jackie Cataline, a 35-year-old Californian with a background in wrestling and mixed martial arts, lined up her target with surgical precision, stared intently at her opponent, then unleashed her open palm with violent force.
As Cataline connected with the cheek of Sheena Bathory, AKA the Hungarian Hurricane, her rival’s head juddered sideways violently and she was sent sprawling to the floor.
Welcome to the world of ‘slap fighting’, beloved of celebrities and rapidly gaining traction far beyond its Las Vegas home – not least in the UK, where the ‘biggest slapfight event in British history’ will be staged next month in Liverpool despite warnings from doctors that the sport could lead to brain damage.
Billed by promoters as “the ultimate test of toughness”, the activity was spawned in its current form by an American reality TV show called Power Slap: Road to the Title, which first aired in early 2023.
Ryan Phillips, AKA the King of Kings, right, lands a powerful slap against Rob ‘One-Eyed Wolf’ Perez at an event in Las Vegas in March 2022
Slap fighter Julia Kruzer strikes Adrianna ‘Flychanelle’ Śledź during the Slap Fighting Championships at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, in March 2022
Despite taking a heavy blow to the left side of his face, Sorin Comsa defeated Alexandru Gorczyca to win a Power Slap event in January 2023
Travis Scott’s amazement at the force of Jackie Cataline’s hit on Sheena Bathory was clear
The programme was dropped within three months amid dwindling ratings and the controversy that arose after Dana White, the American businessman who has masterminded the sport’s soaring popularity, was filmed slapping his wife in the face at a club in Mexico.
But clips from the show subsequently went viral on social media, with millions of clicks convincing video-sharing platform Rumble to pick it up for a second – and now third – season.
The rules are simple: contestants take turns to deliver an open-handed slap to the face, with the recipient losing points for flinching, raising the shoulders, or looking down. Fights that don’t end in a knockout are scored on points, with the force of the slap and the receiver’s reaction and recovery time all taken into account.
But according to medical experts who examined fight footage, 44 of the 56 contestants studied showed at least one sign of concussion such as a lack of co-ordination, slowness getting up, or a blank facial expression.
‘Slap fighting may induce traumatic brain injury in contestants, with potential for long-term consequences,’ warned the authors of a research letter published in the medical journal Jama Surgery.
Jackie Cataline’s much-viewed strike on Sheena Bathory sent the Hungarian tumbling
For all the force of Cataline’s slap, it was deemed an illegal palm strike and she was disqualified
Travis Aragon hits Jon Kennedy at a Power Slap event in Rio De Janiero in November 2022
Karol ‘Piccolo’ Wyłupek of Poland slaps Slovakia’s Pater ‘Alligator’ Truchlik during the Slap Fighting Championships at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus in March 2022
Ayjay ‘Static’ Hintz strikes Russel ‘Kainoa’ Rivero during a bout in Las Vegas last year
‘The risk is further augmented given that the contestants must stand defenceless, allowing their opponents to achieve complete and precise contact with their heads during each offensive blow.’
Although the study is the first of its kind, the rise of Power Slap, which is promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has been accompanied by a string of similar medical warnings.
Despite the obvious dangers, however, the sport’s popularity shows no sign of abating.
Much of that is down to the cult stars it has produced.
Few come bigger than Koa Viernes, AKA Da Crazy Hawaiian, a 33-year-old American who weighs in at a mighty 27 and a half stone and can fight with either hand.
Viernes, who previously worked in road construction and has a 59,000-strong Instagram following, tops the sport’s super heavyweight division.
‘I watched a Russian named “Dumpling” on YouTube and I said to myself, “I can do it better,”’ says Viernes. ‘Since then, I knew if ever given the chance to, I’d be the greatest that ever did it.’
John ‘The Machine’ Davis slaps Wesley ‘All the Smoke’ Drain at a 2023 event in Las Vegas
Azael Rodriguez slaps Jesus Gaspar at a Power Slap event in Rio De Janiero, Brazil, in 2022
Adam Hutchinson, AKA ‘Slap For Cash’, takes a shot at Dayne ‘Da Hawaiian Hitman’ Viernes
A contestant feels the force at a slap fighting event in Kagiso township, west of Johannesburg, South Africa, in August 2024
No less prominent on the women’s side is Bathory, who shot to prominence after becoming the first woman to win a Power Slap bout, against South Africa’s Christine Wolmarans last October (and, incidentally, defeated Cataline, whose big hit was ruled illegal).
Millions have watched footage of Bathory, a 32-year-old Hungarian with a background in judo, reacting to a forceful slap from Wolmarans by blowing her rival a kiss – and then knocking her out.
But neither Face Slap’s growing band of supporters nor the prospect of the first British heavyweight fight coming to Liverpool will do anything to allay safety fears.
‘The safety of this – I don’t want to call it sport – the safety of this dangerous activity really needs to be called into question,’ said Nitin Agarwal of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, one of the Jama Surgery report’s authors.
‘Repetitive concussions, we know, have a host of manifestations. Are people going to be suffering cognitive deterioration? Are they going to be suffering from ocular or eye and ear problems? Problems with gait and balance?’
Calling for the sport to be banned, Agarwal also expressed concerns that children might imitate the sport in playgrounds or at home.
‘We are really concerned about the long-term ramifications,’ he told The Times.
