Power Slap 5 Showcases Knockouts and Title Defenses

Power Slap 5 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on October 25, 2023, featuring four championship bouts. The main event introduced the promotion’s first super heavyweight title, while three existing champions defended their belts.

Viernes claims the inaugural super heavyweight belt

Layne “Da Crazy Hawaiian” Viernes defeated Kalani “Toko” Vakameilalo by second-round knockout to become the first super heavyweight champion. In the other title fights, Ron “Wolverine” Bata retained his light heavyweight title against Austin Turpin, Damien Dibbell defended the heavyweight belt against Nate Burnard, and John Davis retained the middleweight championship against Azael Rodriguez.

Four title bouts

The card mixed title defenses with the launch of a new division. Viernes’ win gave the super heavyweight class its first champion, while the results at light heavyweight and heavyweight kept the early title picture centered on Bata and Dibbell.

Career Milestones

The four title matches produced two decisions, a knockout and a technical knockout. John Davis defeated Azael Rodriguez by unanimous decision, with scores of 49–45, 49–45 and 48–46. Wolverine also won unanimously against Austin Turpin, taking identical 48–47 cards. Damien Dibbell stopped Nate Burnard by technical knockout in the opening round, while Da Crazy Hawaiian knocked out Kalani Vakameilalo in round two. On the supporting card, Vern Cathey and Wesley Drain recorded first-round knockouts. Ryan Phillips received a disqualification victory over Darius Mata-Varona. Those results give the event a more specific shape than a general description of powerful striking: two title contests needed the full distance, two ended early, and one supporting result was determined by a foul. The official record distinguishes each outcome rather than treating every victory as a knockout.

The title-fight scorecards describe five-round contests, whereas the two championship stoppages ended in the opening two rounds. The event therefore combined full-distance title decisions with early finishes on the same main card.

Sources

UFC: Power Slap 5 results; Power Slap: Power Slap 5 results; Biographical source.

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Power Slap 5 Showcases Knockouts and Title Defenses, Slap Fighting, Sports History