Dana White says he won't step down as UFC president, despite outrage over wife slap video
12 January 2023, 15:59 | Updated: 12 January 2023, 16:06
Dana White has says he won't step down as UFC president after footage emerged showing him slapping his wife in a nightclub.
The MMA mogul initially apologised for the incident, in which he slapped his wife after she slapped him, in an interview with celebrity news outlet TMZ.
Yesterday, White fielded questions from journalists, and said his actions were indefensible but the impact on his reputation was a much greater punishment than time away from the company.
Asked if there could be repercussions following the incident, he said: “I take 30 days off? How does that hurt me? I told you guys as we were going through [the Covid-19 pandemic], Covid could last 10 years, and I could sit it out.
"It’s much like Covid, actually. Me leaving hurts the company. Hurts my employees. Hurts the fighters. Doesn’t hurt me.
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"I could’ve left in 2016 [when the company was acquired by Endeavor]. Do I need to reflect? I’ve been against this [domestic violence]. I’ve owned this. I’m telling you that I’m wrong.
“Here’s my punishment: I have to walk around for however long I live, and this is how I’m labeled now. My other punishment is that I’m sure a lot of people, whether it be media, fighters, friends, acquaintances, who had respect for me might not have respect for me now.
"There’s a lot of things I have to deal with the rest of my life that’s way more of a punishment than, what, I take a 30-day or 60-day absence?”
An interview from 2014 recently resurfaced in which the the UFC chief, 53, told Fox Sports: “You never bounce back from putting your hands on a woman.”
White said he stands by the sentiment: “You don’t bounce back from this," he said. "For the rest of my life, people will label me that. I did it.”
He added: “One thing I do want to clarify in this thing that I didn’t talk about on TMZ, because I didn’t expect it or I didn’t see it coming, is the people that are defending me.
"There’s never an excuse. There’s no defence for this, and people should not be defending me, no matter what. All the criticism I’ve received this week is 100 per cent warranted.”
White's wife Anne, with whom he's been married for 27 years and has three children, defended her husband after the incident became public.
Speaking to TMZ, she said: “Dana and I have been married for almost 30 years. To say this is out of character for him is an understatement — nothing like this has ever happened before.
“Unfortunately, we were both drinking too much on New Year’s Eve and things got out of control, on both sides. We’ve talked this through as a family and apologised to each other.
"I just hope people will respect our privacy for the sake of our kids.”
