Slap Fighting Championship made its debut at Arnold Sports Festival 2022 this past Saturday, March 5 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. The event presented by “Iron Arnie” Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, YouTuber Logan Paul and Fanmio featured the five-match lineup.
Before the slap fighting got underway, Schwarzenegger and Paul addressed the throngs of fans in attendance and watching the live stream, expressing their excitement for the ensuing action.
“The slap fighting competition is one of the craziest events that we have here at The Arnold,” said Schwarzenegger. “When the idea was brought to me, I said to myself that we accept all kinds of sports that people sometimes consider odd. I knew I wanted to bring it in. The world’s best are here today and on this stage. I cannot wait to see this competition. I want the fans to let us know if we should keep bringing this back year after year.”
“With the combination of my home state of Ohio, Arnold Schwarzenegger and slap fighting, this is something I couldn’t say no to,” said Paul. “This is going to be absurd. Some big guys are going to hit the floor.”
Zalewski KO’s Viernes
The main event lived up to the hype, as Super Heavyweight Champion Dawid “Zales” Zalewski (17-0) landed a massive slap in round three that dropped Koa “Da Crazy Hawaiian” Viernes (9-1) and earned him a knockout victory.
Unbeaten Poland native Zalewski was able to bounce back after being seriously wobbled by a massive shot Viernes landed in round two which launched the Three-time Champion Zalewski into the arms of the fighter safety catchers. Viernes had looked strong in the first two rounds, absorbing Zalewski’s huge blows with little visible effect.
Despite the chants of “U-S-A!” filling the venue in support of Viernes, Zalewski was able to recover from the shot in round two to land the decisive blow and deliver an exclamation point on the Slap Fighting Championship’s debut at The Arnold Sports Festival.
In other matches
Directly preceding the main event, Peter “Alligator” Truchlik (4-1) won an overtime decision over Karol “Piccolo” Wylupek (2-2-1) in a light heavyweight contest. Truchlik appeared to land the two biggest shots of the scheduled three-round bout, but was forced into an overtime round due to a misfire in round two that delivered a slap far below full strength. After staggering Wylupek in the overtime round, Truchlik was able to earn a victory by judges’ decision.
Also on the card, Polish light heavyweights Mateusz “Kazek” Kazmierczak (2-1) and Michal “Kucik” Kucinski (0-1) went back and forth in a three-round battle, as Kazmierczak emerged victorious with a decision. Both men managed to stay on their feet throughout the bout, despite heavy incoming fire, ultimately leaving the decision up to the judges.
A light heavyweight showdown featured Maksymilian “Mad Max” Lesniak (6-2) delivering a crushing first round knockout over Nikolas “Predator” Toth (1-1). After stumbling slightly from Toth’s first slap, Lesniak returned fire with a blistering shot that put Toth down hard. While Toth claimed he wanted to continue fighting, the judges had seen enough and declared the fight a knockout win for “Mad Max.”
In the opening bout, Polish reality T.V. stars went slap for slap in a special attraction women’s bout, as Adrianna Sledz (2-0) remained undefeated with a unanimous decision victory over Julia Kruzer (0-1) after three rounds action.
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