Dana White's Power Slap property is moving off the Rumble platform and will now air its events on YouTube

VeChain, the official blockchain logistics company of the UFC since 2022, is signing a separate sponsorship to become title sponsor of Power Slap's events

Dana White’s Power Slap property is moving off the Rumble platform and will now air its events on YouTube, and the UFC CEO has also found a sponsor to help finance the switch.

Vechain, which has been the official blockchain logistics company of the UFC since 2022, is signing a separate sponsorship to become title sponsor of Power Slap’s events and the official crypto token of the property. The deal is being announced this afternoon, with terms not being disclosed but it is believed to be for multiple years in length and eight-figures in value. The company, which is based in the small European country of San Marino, will have its name on all of Power Slap’s events starting with this weekend’s Power Slap 12 at the Fontainebleau resort in Vegas that will be airing on the YouTube platform owned by Google parent company Alphabet. It appears that Power Slap will be taking the money from Vechain to help subsidize it now airing on YouTube, after Power Slap previously received a rights fee from Rumble. The assets that Vechain will receive include broadcast integrations, brand placement on athletes’ kits and event marketing materials such as posters and promotional backdrops at press conferences, as well as social media content.

White: “I believe in Power Slap. I’ve been saying it since Day 1. How do I bring it to as many eyeballs as possible? I have offers right now from linear TV, (but) we’re going to go with Vechain. (Vechain Founder Sunny Lu) is looking at us as the marketing side of his business. Instead of building a whole marketing team and starting to spend money on marketing, we will be the marketing side of Vechain through Power Slap and the things we’re going to do on YouTube and influencers and all the other things we’re doing.”

SLAPPED SILLY: While this isn’t a traditional media rights deal between a property and a media company, White said he and his team had their first meeting with YouTube last week about working together to help with things like getting Power Slap exposure on the home page of the service when matches are taking place.

While Power Slap had offers from linear TV companies, White noted that traditional media companies are becoming increasingly disciplined on their spending and the market is crowded with combat sports entities trying to land deals.

White: “Now, I don’t sit around and f***ing wait for anyone or anything. I believe in Power Slap, I’ve seen how it performs, I know what it can do, so we go out and we just f***ing make s*** happen. We went out and did our own rights deal, and we’re going to do it ourselves.”

WHAT’S NEXT? Among those who have shown interest in hosting Power Slap events is Saudi Arabia, which hosted Power Slap 11 in January. According to White, Saudi General Entertainment Authority Chairman Turki Alalshikh has secured four more Power Slap events to be held in the Middle Eastern kingdom this year and an additional two next year. Execs with Power Slap also continue to work on getting the sport sanctioned in more states around the U.S., with Florida, Texas, Nevada and California all now approved and Missouri, Kansas and Louisiana not far behind.

Founded in 2022, Power Slap has over 22 million social media followers combined.

Meanwhile, White confirmed to SBJ that Thrill One Sports & Entertainment and Power Slap have merged as corporate entities, in a previously unreported development. Thrill One is the sports and entertainment holding company White is involved with alongside former UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta, with assets including Street League Skateboarding and Nitrocircus. Thrill One also owns the Nitrocross rallycross racing series, but it shut down that property in the middle of the season last year and is examining options for its future, including selling it, sources say. Endeavor still owns 10% of Power Slap, White said.