South Africa’s Danie ‘Pitbull’ van Heerden to ‘klap’ for Power Slap title
South Africa’s Danie “Pitbull” van Heerden will challenge for the super heavyweight title at Power Slap 8 this weekend.
South Africa’s Danie “Pitbull” van Heerden will challenge for the super heavyweight title at Power Slap 8 this weekend.
Van Heerden, 37, will take on champion “Da Crazy Hawaiian” Layne Viernes for the belt.
Van Heerden, who fights out of Pretoria, stands 6-foot-3 and weighs in at 265 pounds (120kg).
The fight will be the feature contest on an eight-fight card and will be contested over five rounds.
Power Slap 8 will be held Fontainebleau Las Vegas, on Friday, 28 June, starting at 21:00 (local time – Saturday, 29 June at 03:00 SA time).
Layne Viernes won the coin toss and will slap first.
Van Heerden has a boxing and MMA background, including time spent in the EFC. His MMA record reads 23 fights, 15 wins and eight defeats.
Meanwhile, another Pretoria-native, Christine Wolmarans, will also slap on the same card.
She will take on Paige VanZant in a non-title fight.
Wolmarans is also a former EFC fighter.
Power Slap, which was founded in 2022, is an American slap fighting promotion company owned by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) chief executive officer Dana White.
When and why did you start training to be a Slap Fighter? May 2022 was the first Slap Fight in South Africa (SASFA). I got hooked, as I love competition, and this is not for the faint-hearted
What does fighting in Power Slap mean for you and your career? This is sports on a world-class platform and you’re never too old or heavy for anything. I want to prove to myself that whatever I put my mind to, I can and will come out on top
What are your ultimate goals in fighting? Becoming the champ and to be a household name and role model to youngsters
What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done? I wanted to commit suicide
What’s the best thing you’ve ever done? Not giving up in that dark time
Is there anyone you’d like to slap fight against? I would love to slap Logan Paul – easy win
Occupation/past occupation(s): Self-employed (appliance repair company), private security protection
Interview via official Power Slap website
Watch Danie van Heerden in action in a previous fight, below:
Power Slap 8 fight card
- Dayne “Da Hawaiian Hitman” Viernes (#1) vs Duane “The Iron Giant” Crespo (SHW, 3 Rounds)
- Jackie “The Hybrid” Cataline vs Katharina “German Gypsy” Lehner (WFW, 3 Rounds)
- Wesley “All the Smoke” Drain (#2) vs Isaih “Pretty Boy” Quinones (#6) (MW, 3 Rounds)
- Austin “Turp Daddy Slim” Turpin (#1) vs Vernon “The Mechanic” Cathey (#3) (LHW, 3 Rounds)
- Kamil “Polar Bear” Marusarz (#9) vs Dumpling (Vasilii Kamotskii) (SHW, 3 Rounds)
- Paige “12 Gauge” VanZant vs Christine “The Edge” Wolmarans (WBW, 3 Rounds)
- Emanuel “No Love” Muniz (champion) vs Anthony “Babyface” Blackburn (#2) (WW Title Match, 5 Rounds)
- Da Crazy Hawaiian (Layne Viernes – champion) vs Danie “Pitbull” van Heerden (#4) (SHW Title Match, 5 Rounds)
Coin toss winners and striking first are: Crespo, Cataline, Quinones, Turpin, Kamotskii, VanZant, Blackburn, L. Viernes.