• A slap fight has attracted the attention of the internet as one participant's face looks disfigured from participating.
  • Slap fighting has already arrived in America, and UFC boss Dana White is behind it.
  • See below for uncomfortable footage of a slap fight in Romania.

A recent slap competition showed one participant get hit so hard his face looked disfigured, and yet, somehow, he still won the fight.

Slap fighting has risen to prominence in the weird, wild world of combat sports, as the Nevada State Athletic Commission last year sanctioned the sport in the state.

Some of the most powerful people involved in the UFC have been behind slap fighting's push, with UFC boss Dana White and UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell involved in Power Slap — a new organization that will air matches Wednesdays on TBS.

With newfound interest in the controversial sport, other organizations are seeing their video footage resonate with online audiences.

One clip shows slap fighter Sorin Comsa with chalk and blood over the left side of his face. His cheek is swollen, his lip is sagging on the left, and his face looks almost unrecognizable from how he normally appears.

This was all because Comsa was competing against Alexandru Gorczyca in an RXF Slap Fighting tournament that streamed Monday on YouTube from Romania.

Despite how Comsa appeared after the open-handed strike — which he had to take defenseless — he won the match and earned €5,000 ($5,400) in prize money.

This is, therefore, the face of a winner:

This is the face of a winner. Foto: Photo by RXF TV

'This is terrible' and 'impossible to watch,' one boxing promoter told Insider

Boxing promoter Dmitry Salita expressed his disgust at the footage on Twitter.

"This is terrible," wrote Salita, who represents American star Claressa Shields. "Impossible to watch! This type of activity can lead to significant short and long-term damage! This is not a 'combat sport'."

There is a difference between slap fighting and boxing, which Salita touched on in a separate tweet.

Boxing is often called 'The Sweet Science' because there are skills involved in hitting while not getting hit in return. A boxing contest stops when one fighter cannot defend themselves properly.

However, it is at that most vulnerable point where slap fighting contests begin, as defending oneself is essentially outlawed — hence the outcry over its very existence.

Salita said: "There is an 'art' and a 'science' in both defense and offense" in boxing. "It involves skill, rhythm and intelligence."

Watch the viral slap fighting clip right here:

Slap fighting has already arrived in America

Dana White's venture, Power Slap, debuts on January 18 on TBS. It is a pre-taped reality TV show and is designed to showcase participants to a wider audience.

Successful combatants on Power Slap will go on to vie for a Slap belt in a regular combat sports schedule. Events are expected to take place at the UFC's TV studio, Apex, in Las Vegas, in front of a live audience.

The UFC recently sent Insider photos to showcase the official Power Slap belt.

Here it is:

The Power Slap belt. Foto: Photo by UFC / Power Slap

This is the UFC's trailer for its imminent slap fighting event:

The Power Slap TV show was originally due to air January 11.

However, the show was delayed a week because White had media commitments that were ultimately canceled in the aftermath of a now-infamous New Year's Eve altercation between White and his wife, Anne White, who were seen on video slapping each other at a nightclub in Mexico.

"There's no defense for this," White told reporters last Wednesday at a press conference in Las Vegas.

"All the criticism that I have received this week and in the future is 100% warranted."

'You don't ever bounce back from this'

Insider reminded White about a comment he made back in 2014 in response to seeing the video of former NFL running back Ray Rice knocking out fiancée — "You don't bounce back from putting your hands on a woman," he said then — and asked how he might bounce back from this.

"You don't," White told us. "You don't ever bounce back from this. For the rest of my life, however long that is, people are going to label me that. I did it."

White said it's something he "has to deal with and live with" forever.

Read the original article on Insider