White is the UFC president and founder of the new slap fighting promotion
UFC President Dana White seems optimistic about his upstart slap fighting promotion Power Slap.
Although the promotion is still in its infancy, White believes its popularity has already surpassed virtually every other sports league or franchise.
White made the claim during a recent appearance on comedian Andrew Schulz’s "Flagrant" podcast, when he mentioned the growth of Power Slap, saying it has "more followers than every professional sport and every professional sports team."
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UFC CEO Dana White on stage during the UFC 297 press conference at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre Jan. 18, 2024, in Toronto. (Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Schulz challenged White on the claim, asking, "Even more than Real Madrid and these soccer teams?"
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White doubled down on his position.
"I would say yes," White proclaimed.
Dana White: “(Power Slap) has more followers than every professional sport, every professional sports team, we have more followers than them”
— OOC MMA (@oocmma) June 5, 2024
Andrew Schulz: Even more than Real Madrid and these soccer teams?
Dana: I would say yes. pic.twitter.com/e7DRJ61OR2
Real Madrid is one of the most popular sports franchises in the world, boasting 50.8 million followers on X, formerly Twitter. The team plays in what is widely considered the most popular sport on the planet — soccer. Real Madrid competes in LaLiga, the top men's professional soccer division in the Spanish league system.
Dana White attends "G.R.O.A.T The Greatest Roast Of All Time: Tom Brady" for the Netflix is a Joke Festival at the Kia Forum May 5, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Netflix)
By comparison, Power Slap's verified X account had just over 40,000 followers as of Thursday. That figure pales in comparison to the WNBA's X account, which has more than 886,000 followers.
The WNBA has seen a sharp rise in popularity over the past several months as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink and others entered the league.
UFC President Dana White on stage during the UFC 290 press conference at T-Mobile Arena July 6, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
The Buffalo Bisons, a Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, have more than 57,000 followers on X. But Power Slap's Instagram following is considerably stronger. The league boasts 3.9 million followers on that platform.
Elsewhere, the NFL has 14.2 million followers on TikTok, which further works against White's assertions.
White founded Power Slap in 2022 and launched the promotion the following year.
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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
