Talking Points | Power Slap: Road To The Title Season 2

Take A Look At The Big Storylines That Emerged From Season 2 Of Power Slap: Road To The Title

When Power Slap burst onto the scene, no one really knew what to expect. It was a new sport to the mainstream media and delivered a unique entertainment value that differed from other combat sports.

After hosting a couple test events, Power Slap founder Dana White decided to follow the UFC blueprint and develop a reality competition to determine who were the best strikers in the game – and with that – Road To The Title was born.

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To be honest, the first season of Road To The Title was wild. It was a crazy combination of guys who had known each other through the regional scene of slap fighting and completely random athletes who just signed up because it was something new. The interesting mix of personalities, along with the constant improvements being made to Power Slap rules, made season one totally unpredictable.

Road To The Title concluded with a live event, Power Slap 1, which took place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, NV. Power Slap 1 featured strikers from the show, along with a few names that didn’t show up in season one. The action-packed event featured four title matches and was the coming out party for some of the sport’s biggest stars.

One of those stars was welterweight champion Christapher Thomas, aka “KO Chris”. The 32-year-old from North Dakota displayed Earth-moving knockout power in his five Power Slap matches, going 5-0 while winning each bout by knockout.

Another was contender Emanuel Muniz, who competed at middleweight during Road To The Title, but recently decided to move down a weight class to welterweight.

Thomas and Muniz were selected to come back as the coaches for Road To The Title season 2, culminating with the two competing for the undisputed welterweight title on February 9 at Power Slap 6.

Based off their performance in previous events, four strikers received first round byes in the competition: Garret Grimes, “Slappy Joe” Landman, Cody Belisle, and Coltin Cole.

Tension was high between coaches Christapher Thomas and Manny Muniz right off the bat, with the two getting into an altercation at the UFC APEX. This was a reoccurring theme throughout the season with the two coaches butting heads and trading words nearly every time they were in the same room. They’ll settle the score in the main event of Power Slap 6.

Light heavyweight Garrett Blakesslee won both his matches by knockout to advance and face TJ Thomas on the Power Slap 6 prelims.

Heavyweight Logan Greenhalgh showed off his power and his chin in his two Road To The Title matches, winning once by knockout and winning by gritting out a back-and-forth battle. He will face No. 2 ranked Duane Crespo at Power Slap 6.

Super Heavyweights Danie van Heerden and Makini Manu both looked incredible on Road To The Title season 2, showcasing iron chins and excellent technique en route to a featured prelim match on Power Slap 6. One thing that made both van Heerden and Manu worth watching on the show was the entertainment factor. Each guy brings a completely different, yet entirely entertaining, vibe to the Power Slap stage. Don’t miss this one on February 9.

Heavyweight Brian Ellis, who lost his first Road To The Title match due to a stepping foul which resulted in his opponent not being able to continue, returned as a super heavyweight for a second chance in the competition. Down 80 pounds to opponent Eviahn Scott, he switched striking hands mid-match and earned a comeback knockout. It was one of the best matches of the season and earned Ellis a Power Slap main card matchup with No. 3 ranked heavyweight Dorian Perez.

Due to a viral video from his time slap fighting in Romania, Sorin Cosma might have been the most well-known competitor on the season. After winning his first match he decided that he wanted to go home, passing up on the opportunity to compete in the semi-finals.

Delvin Hamlett looked phenomenal in his first match on Road To The Title before coming up short against Logan Greenhalgh in the semis. Power Slap brass liked the potential they saw out of Hamlett, though, asking him to open up the Power Slap 6 prelims against former light heavyweight title challenger Vernon Cathey.

Welterweight Zachary Zane ground out two wins on Road To The Title, showcasing next level toughness and locking in a spot against Cole Young on Power Slap 6.

Middleweights Branden Bordeaux and Eddie Brahimir collided early in the competition, both showing that they had the goods to compete in the sport. White was impressed by both. Bordeaux won the quarterfinal matchup, but White brought Brahimir back for a second chance. After Brahimir won that one by knockout, it was determined that the bosses wanted to see Bordeaux and Brahimir run it back – this time as ranked middleweights (Bordeaux No. 4 and Brahimir No. 6).

After a bad weight cut took Chris Debow out of the competition, Ed Smith aka “Slambo” stepped in and won by devastating knockout. It was a brilliant last-minute fill-in. But the day before “Slambo” was set to compete in his semi-final match he decided that he didn’t want to participate in the sport anymore and pulled himself out of the competition.

Middleweight Garrett Grimes capitalized on his bye, beating Merlis Muusikus in the semi-finals to earn a match with No. 2 ranked Wesley Drain on Power Slap 6.

POWER SLAP 6: KO CHRIS VS. MUNIZ, will take place Friday, February 9 at Durango Casino & Resort in Las Vegas during Super Bowl Weekend. Power Slap 6 is the live finale event of Power Slap: Road to the Title, Season 2, and is presented by Monster Energy.

Power Slap 6 early prelims begin streaming at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT, with the main card beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The event is available live and free across the globe on Rumble. Rumble is available for free on desktop, mobile and web at www.rumble.com, iOS, Android, Roku, AppleTV, FireTV, Google TV, Samsung TV and LG TV (https://rumble.com/our-apps).