Scotland's first slap fighting event at Glasgow University union cancelled

A controversial slap fighting event which was to be held in a Glasgow university union has been cancelled.

Slap fighting, considered a largely underground activity, is gaining popularity, amassing millions of viewers online.

The competitors, separated by a waist-level podium, stand across each other and take turns to deliver open-handed blows across the opponent’s face.

According to the official rules, opponents have a few moments to recover, and the fight continues until one of the participants gets knocked out – or until the judges decide the winner.

Flinching, dodging or deflecting blows is not allowed during the contest.

Organised by BritSlap/SlapFight UK, the headline fight at Glasgow’s University Union on Saturday was to see Dan “One Shot” Mitchell against Louis “The Razor” Robinson.

It would have been the first time an event of its kind has been held in Scotland as part of a wider weightlifting meet.

Glasgow University Union, however, confirmed the slap fighting element of the competition is no longer going ahead after discussions with organisers.

BritSlap said on social media: “It is with great regret that we must announce the cancellation of the upcoming SlapFIGHT UK event.

“This decision was made due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control.

“We understand the disappointment this may cause our fighters, fans, and supporters, and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience.

“We are actively working on solutions and will provide updates regarding refunds and future events very soon.”

It comes after a study published from the University of Pittsburgh last year investigated the link between slap fighting and brain injuries.

Analysing over 333 slaps during fights, researchers looked for visible signs of concussions – ranging from a diminished awareness of their surroundings to a complete loss of responsiveness.

They found more than half of the slap sequences resulted in participants exhibiting visible signs of concussion.

Nearly 80% of the fighters demonstrated a “visible sign of concussion at least once in the series of matches”, according to the study.

Dr Raj Swaroop Lavadi, lead author on the report, said: “Slap fighting may be entertaining to watch as a lay viewer, but as medical professionals, we found some aspects of the competitions to be quite concerning.

“Our end goal is to make all professional sports safer for the neurologic health of the athletes. It is really difficult to ban any sport, but it is possible to raise awareness about the associated harms.

“We were intrigued with the prospect of applying video analysis to identify signs of concussion in a competition that hasn’t previously been studied.”