Getty Image
Six Power Slap competitors have been temporarily suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission after testing positive for numerous banned substances.
By comparison, since the beginning of 2022, according to the United States Anti-Doping Agency, six fighters in the UFC were suspended for banned substances.
According to Nevada Deputy Attorney General Joel Bekker and MMAFighting.com, the six Power Slap competitors were suspended for a laundry list of substances.
The list of drugs includes hormone and metabolic modulators GW-1516, sulfone, sulfoxide, and clomiphene; Buprenorphine, a narcotic and its metabolite norbuprenorphine; anabolic steroids Norandrosterone, drostanolone, tamoxifen and boldenone; and phentermine, a stimulant that can be prescribed for weight loss.
“Is there like a big bowl of performance-enhancing drugs down there somewhere that I don’t know about?” Nevada Athletic Commission chairman Anthony Marnell asked in reaction to the Power Slap suspensions. “I haven’t seen this in quite a while. I didn’t know you needed to use steroids to slap but I guess we’re going to find out”
Reactions to the drug suspensions on social media were equally incredulous.
“Surprising. I thought for sure those guys would have favored healthy life choices,” one person tweeted.
💀 when was the last time there was a mass suspension like this in any promotion, that's wild.
— Eddie (@slice223) April 25, 2023
“They should allow them to do as many narcotics as they want,” someone else responded. “It would make a little more sense knowing they aren’t doing that sober.”
wait wait wait, you’re telling me the dudes getting slapped in the face for a living are cracked out? color me surprised
— Ben🔜🌕 (@butze_) April 25, 2023
“They slap each other while unprotected, and they do this for a living,” another Twitter user wrote. “Them failing what is dubbed by pretty much everyone as ‘the IQ Test’ is not all that surprising.”
Oh come on. What’s the point then? I want my slappers juiced up on all the drugs.
— Yabba Dabba Doo (@MidsPlug) April 25, 2023
“A real stain on the integrity of the sport,” someone else joked.
This can only enhance the sport's reputation.
— Lex Jurgen (@Lex_Jurgen) April 25, 2023
“Definitely a great move by the NSAC is sanction this stuff…” another person tweeted.
Hey, ex-Nevada Athletic Commission chairman Stephen Cloobeck admitted that he “made a mistake” when he sanctioned Power Slap and he is “not happy about it.”
“So can we dance on this carnival show’s grave yet or…?” read another comment.
Power Slap, which debuted on January 18, 2023 on TBS, was not renewed for a second season and has since moved over to Rumble.