El Paso joins growing popularity of Slap sport

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) – Popularity continues to grow for a unique sport, Slap fighting.

UFC President Dana White recently announced a new venture, a television series named ‘Power Slap.’ It's set to debut on Jan 18. The series puts eyes on the rare sport.

The sport concept includes two opponents facing each other at a distance and exchanging open-handed hits to the face.

El Pasoan Michael Okuma has been a fighter in the sport for a year. After hearing about it on social media, he says it quickly caught his interest.

“It came across my feed one day, and I was sucked in by it, and I was like, I could do that,” he said.

Several matches later, he says he’s been undefeated.

Much like other sports Okuma said, it takes a lot of practice.

To keep safe during the match, there are rules like no clubbing; palms must be open, no stepping and no flinching.

“I mean, it's just nerve wracking, it's like any type of combat event, you're competing against somebody, you're really not thinking about it your nerves are kind of on edge, and you just want to perform,” said Okuma.

Okuma said it is a dangerous sport and should only be practiced by professionals taking extra precautions.

Still, he said he enjoys seeing the sport grow in the Borderland.

“We’re just basically just trying to get a little small family out here from El Paso, and we're just trying to represent the city,” said Okuma.