Credit: Power Slap
Blood could be seen streaming out of Jake Hager’s eye following a nasty slap incurred at Thursday’s PowerSlap 23 – a reminder that the non-sport in inherently disasterous to one’s health.
Hager was competing against Johnny Magna in the slap-fighting competition, which has come under frequent criticism since Dana White got involved in the business. PowerSlap (and slap fighting in general) features oppnents standing opposite one another, delivering full-force, open-handed slaps to the face that are completely undefended.
It’s a recipe for head trauma, and in this case, a seemingly severe eye injury.
Johnny Magna defeats Jake Hager via TKO #PowerSlap23 pic.twitter.com/CKnxJKayLh
— False Finish (@FalseFinishHQ) September 18, 2026
“He hit me right in the eye,” Hager could be overheard saying while blood appeared to leak from his eye, a cut on the side of the face, and even his ear.
Dana White later told Nina Drama the injury was the worst he’d seen, in any of his promotions. “Not good. That’s probably the worst injury that we’ve had in f*cking UFC, PowerSlap, anything,” stated White.
“It looked like his tear duct ruptured, something like that. Something crazy. I don’t give a f*ck if we’ve got to fly a doctor in from f*cking Germany, we’re going to get this guy taken care of.”
“The doctors said they’d never seen it before. Never seen it,” White added. “I wouldn’t even let our guys replay it, I’m a replay f*cking lunatic. Nobody needs to see that replay.”
Dana White tells Nina Drama that the Jake Hager injury was probably the worst they’ve had. Says he wouldn’t even let the production replay it. pic.twitter.com/nGawQJZFez
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) September 18, 2026
Unfortunately for White, the Internet doesn’t abide by his wishes, with Hager’s injury making the rounds on social media throughout the past 12 or so hours.
Hager rose to fame as “Jack Swagger” in the WWE, winning multiple championships in the professional wrestling promotion. He later signed on with rival AEW, joining Chris Jericho’s stable, while also competing for Bellator MMA. A former collegiate wrestler, Hager went 3-0 with on No Contest with Bellator, before moving on from fighting. The 44-year old is 1-2 in PowerSlap.