Dana White’s New Year’s vacation got a little out of hand this past weekend (Sat., Dec. 31, 2022).
A video surfaced today (Mon., Jan. 2, 2023) via TMZ, revealing the president of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in a nightclub alongside his wife, Anne, dancing. Things quickly took a turn, however, as White can be seen taking a slap from his wife before retaliating with multiple of his own.
“I’m in Cabo [San Lucas], Mexico with my family for the holidays, and my wife and I were out Saturday night on New Year’s Eve and unfortunately, that’s what happened,” White said of the incident. “I’m one of the guys — you’ve heard me say for years, ‘There’s never ever an excuse for a guy to put his hands on a woman,’ and now here I am on TMZ talking about it.
“This is one of those situations that’s horrible,” he continued. “I’m embarrassed. There was definitely a lot of alcohol involved, but that’s no excuse. I literally am making no excuses for this thing at all. It’s never happened before, it’s the first time it’s ever happened. People are gonna say what they’re gonna say, it just is what it is. And whatever people do say, it’s deserved. I deserve it.”
The timing of White’s incident comes at a time when he’s recently been heavily promoting his new Power Slap League project, which airs on TBS on Jan. 11, 2023.
Dana and Anne both appeared heavily intoxicated according to witnesses who also said escalated seemingly for no reason. Despite the rapid nature of the incident, it was over as quickly as it happened, said witnesses. In regards to why the incident broke out between White and his wife, the UFC boss couldn’t recall specifics.
“No, I don’t remember [what happened]. I don’t remember a lot,” White said. “Obviously, it’s one of those situations, it’s embarrassing for both of us, but more importantly, what we’re more concerned about are our kids.”
TMZ received a statement from White’s wife, who also expresses that the couple is again on good terms as they finish up their vacation.
“Dana and I have been married for almost 30 years,” said Anne White. “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 apologized to each other. I just hope people will respect our privacy for the sake of our kids.”
UFC returns to kick off the 2023 calendar year on Jan. 14, 2023, with UFC Vegas 67. The event’s headliner features rising Middleweight contender, Nassourdine Imavov, as he takes on one-time interim title challenger, Kelvin Gastelum.