Power Slap's Riyadh debut features two elite title matchups to kick off 2025

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Power Slap is rapidly growing. The promotion will make its debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for its second show outside of the United States on Thursday, January 30th. With a total of 13 matchups, Power Slap 11 will be looking to shake up multiple divisions.

Like on previous cards, Power Slap is bringing in two athletes to coach. For Power Slap 11, the coaches will be friends turned rivals. The current middleweight champion, Isaiah Quinones, will coach the red corner. Brandon Bordeaux will coach the blue corner. And who knows, this may just be the precursor for a rematch after an incredible first matchup.

Main Card

In the main event, a super heavyweight title rematch featuring 741 pounds of man will go down. Vasily “Dumpling” Kamotskii takes on “Da Crazy Hawaiian” Layne Viernes. The two already competed in a controversial draw at Power Slap 9 just a few months ago.

The co-main event features a battle for the light heavyweight title. The promotion’s first-ever heavyweight champion, Ron “Wolverine” Bata, will face Vernon “The Mechanic” Cathey. This is a matchup between two hard-hitting men with perfect beards looking to take the heavyweight title back to the States with them.

A rematch of women’s featherweights rounds out the main card. Sheena “The Hungarian Hurricane” Bathory squares off against Jackie “The Hybrid” Cataline. The last match between these two ended in a first-round DQ due to a club by the challenger. Additionally, the winner of the main event will have a new contender to deal. In the main card opener, Kalani “Toko” Vakameilalo takes on Danie “The Pitbull” van Heerden. This match will hold 723 pounds on the stage duking it out for a title shot.

If you know Power Slap, then you know the coin toss prior to the event is the most important. For the main card, striking first will be: van Heerden, Bathory, Cathey & Da Crazy Hawaiian. This is a massive advantage for all four.

Danie of South Africa hopes to get back in the title hunt. Bathory, the former judoka from Hungary, looks to get revenge on her former foe. Cathey, coming off a three massive KO victories, looks to officially take the belt from “Wolverine”. Lastly, Da Crazy Hawaiian would like a short day at the office after going the distance in his first match with Dumpling.

Prelims

Garrett “Flaco” Blakesslee vs. Luke “Lethal Strike” Simonds opens Power Slap 11. These light heavyweights are massive men with the ability to pack a punch. This match should be fireworks and will help emerge a new light heavyweight contender.

Then at heavyweight, we will see the return of Wes “Boom” Mena. He takes on Devin “Big Jinxx” Jenkins who is returning from Season 3 of the “Road to the Title”. This match will leave the winner ranked at Heavyweight.

The third match on the preliminary card will take place in the middleweight division. We’ll see the return of two hard-hitters. The pride of England, Darren “The Tarantula” Godfrey, will take on Merlis “Action” Muusikus from Estonia.

In the featured bout, an electric matchup between two vicious strikers takes place. Ke’ali’i “The Chief” Kanekoa, the former MMA and bare-knuckle fighter, looks to get back in the winning column vs. Brandon “The Ripper” Rhodes who looks to get over a DQ loss in his last match. Both have extremely high potential and have looked the part, despite suffering recent setbacks.

For the prelims, striking first will be: Simonds, Mena, Muusikus & Kanekoa

Early Prelims

In addition to the main card and prelims, there will be five unbroadcasted matchups. These will be posted on social media after the event. The bouts include:

Sean Kilmartin vs. Tyler Gross (Welterweight)
Troels Nielsen vs. Zakir Naimanbayev (Heavyweight)
Cole Young vs. Rod Alavi (Welterweight)
Nicole Schaefer vs. Tai Emery (Bantamweight)
Dayne Viernes (3) vs. Denis Vildanov (Super Heavyweight)

Winning the coin toss and striking first are: Gross, Nielsen, Young, Emery & Vildanov

The full event will stream live and free on the Rumble app starting at 12PM ET / 9AM PT.

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About Post Author

Jake Lippman

A native of Baltimore, Jake has always been a massive supporter of Baltimore sports. However, his passion took a new turn when he discovered MMA through ‘The Ultimate Fighter’. From there, his interest grew to encompass not only PPV events but, also the regional MMA scene and other forms of combat sports. With a focus on written work, Jake is eager to bring engaging, insightful, and thought-provoking content to The Scrap, covering regional MMA, Power Slap, and other Combat Sports conversations.

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