Take a back seat Power Slap
UFC president Dana White has been under the microscope since unveiling the controversial slap-fighting league “Power Slap” last week.
530-pound men versus female strawweights
As brutal of a league as it is, Power Slap has nothing on a few other fighting federations across the globe. We’re talking team street fighting, 530-pound men versus female strawweights, and gruesome grappling in the front seat of a car.
Buckle up (pun intended), as here’s our list of three fighting leagues just as wild as Dana White’s Power Slap.
Team Fighting Championships
The UFC is the gold standard for combat sports in America. On top of the pre-fight extravagance, assembly of talented combatants, and competitive ranking system, it has a solid ruleset that both protects fighters and encourages brutality, thus creating the perfect blend for fighting enthusiasts.
If for some reason you were to remove all of the rules from the UFC, you would be left with Poland’s Team Fighting Championships (TFC). Think teams of five men in an expanded ring surrounded by ropes and car tires and you’ve pretty much got the full picture.
TFC took the internet by storm in 2014 and has delivered nonstop blows ever since. A 2021 event known as “The War 3” perfectly captured the raw emotion of the sport with its name alone.
The rules are simple and limited: no strikes to the adam’s apple or groin, and no biting or spitting. Everything else goes.
may team up on opponents to whatever degree they choose
Five referees sit inside the ring during the event to keep a close eye on the ten participants. Teams are not only allowed, but encouraged to employ a variety of street fighting tactics and may team up on opponents to whatever degree they choose. That makes drawing first blood essential, as teams can overwhelm their opponents with onslaughts of attackers.
Don’t throw this one on the television if the kids are around—better yet, consult with a doctor before tuning in.
Epic Fighting Championship
Not a fan of vicious and bloody team-fighting in a makeshift battle ring? Understandable. But you’ll love Russia’s Epic Fighting Championship (EFC).
This crazy fighting federation comes up with ideas that would leave even WWE chairman Vince McMahon blown away. Last year, 530-pound man Grigory Chistyakov stepped into the ring with 110-pound woman Aleksandra Stepakova for what can only be described as the mismatch of the century.
At one point, a member of the crowd even entered the ring and gave the giant man a kick in the back as he had his female opponent trapped against the octagon wall.
A few days before that fight, a 75-year-old man with head-to-toe tattoos and his 18-year-old grandson took on female fighter Yulia Mishko. Despite being outnumbered, Mishko walked out of the ring with a victory and a few bumps and bruises.
It comes as little surprise that Russia is the country responsible for conjuring storylines as crazy as these. Perhaps the EFC hierarchy has a future in Hollywood because nobody else could have come up with such ridiculous matchups.
Car-Jitsu
Looking for a more creative and less brutal form of fighting? Well, we don’t have the “less brutal,” but we certainly have the creative.
Have you ever watched an action thriller where the protagonist gets caught in a situation where they have to fend off an attacker while driving a car at high speed? I’m sure Tom Cruise has filmed this scene hundreds of times.
The next sport on our list, called “Car-Jitsu,” brings that to life. It combines the grappling of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and the venue of a car and voila, Car-Jitsu.
fighters have used seat belts to strangle their opponents
Participants start by sitting in the front seat of a car. Once the fight starts, they begin wrestling with each other and take full advantage of their surroundings. Fighters have used seat belts to strangle their opponents, smashed heads into windows, and basically used cars in every way that you have not (we hope).
The idea came from Russian Vik Mikheev, a BJJ and judo black belt who has a popular YouTube channel. He wants to grow the sport even further beyond the confines of his home country.
“In 2020, I came up with the idea of doing competitive grappling in vehicles,” said Mikheev. “Since October of 2020, I and my friends run small tournaments of Car Jitsu to study the aspects of jiu-jitsu application in such a confined space.”