Video footage has appeared online which appears to show Dana White striking his wife
UFC president Dana White says that he is “embarrassed” after TMZ published a video which appears to show him striking his wife during a verbal disagreement on New Year’s Eve while at a nightclub in Mexico.
Footage posted online by the outlet shows White and his wife Anne seemingly in a heated argument, during which she slaps him – and he retaliates and strikes her back before onlookers attempt to calm the disturbance.
In a separate video issued by TMZ, White addressed the situation and offered an unreserved apology for his behavior.
“My wife and I were out on Saturday night on New Year’s Eve, and unfortunately that’s what happened,” White said, recounting the incident.
“I’m one of the guys, you’ve heard me say for years, there’s never, ever an excuse for guy to put his hands on a woman, and now here I am on TMZ talking about it. My wife and I have been married for almost 30 years, we’ve known each other since we were 12 years old.
“We’ve obviously been through some s*** together, we’ve got three kids and this is one of those situations that’s horrible, I’m embarrassed, but it’s also one of those situations that, right now, we’re more concerned about our kids.
“People are going to have opinions on this, and most of the people’s opinions would be right, especially in my case. You don’t put your hands on a woman ever. My wife and I love each other, we’ve been together for a very long time. We’ve known each other since we were very little, and this is just one of those unfortunate situations.”
It was added by TMZ that witnesses to the incident described both White and his wife Anne as being “heavily intoxicated” before the incident took place.
“There was definitely a lot of alcohol involved, but that’s no excuse,” White confirmed.
“I literally am making no excuses for this at all. It’s never happened before. It’s the first time that it’s ever happened, and people are going to say what they’re going to say. It is what it is, and whatever people do say is deserved. I deserve it. It happened. I don’t know why it happened.”
The UFC, as well as its parent company Endeavor, have yet to formally comment on the emergence of the video or on White’s subsequent statements.
According to the information available at this time, the authorities did not become involved and no charges have been filed, while White says that he and his wife have reconciled.
“Everybody always asks me questions about do I care about this, do I care about that?” he said.
“My legacy and all this other stuff with work doesn’t mean anything to me. It’s all about your family. It’s about your wife and kids. This situation, too, everybody’s going to have an opinion. We’re just worried about our family and focused on our kids right now. But me and my wife are cool, we’re good.”
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