UFC president, Dana White is set to avoid punishment by the organization and their owners, Endeavor, following the release of footage showing him involved in a physical altercation with his wife on New Year’s Eve last during a family vacation in Cabo, Mexico.
White, the current and long-time president of the UFC, was filmed involved in a physical altercation with his wife at a nightclub on New Year’s Eve during their vacation, in which the former slaps his wife in the face following a verbal argument.
Endeavor have declined to comment on Dana White’s altercation with his wife
Initially refusing to officially comment on the situation involving White, Endeavor, the promotion’s parent company and owners, headed up by CEO, Ari Emanuel – are set to avoid punishing the organizational boss.
“What should the repercussions be? You tell me,” Dana White questioned assembled media during today’s media availability ahead of UFC Vegas 67. “I take 30 days off? How does that hurt me? I told you guys when we were going through COVID, COVID could last 10 years. I could sit it out and – you know what I mean? What would be the problem? It’s much like COVID, actually. Me leaving hurts the company, hurts my employees, hurts the fighters.”
“It doesn’t hurt me,” Dana White explained. “I could have left in 2016. I don’t know. Do I need to reflect? No, I don’t need to reflect. The next morning when I woke up – you know what I mean? I’ve been against this. I’ve owned this. I’m telling you that I’m wrong.”
“But listen, we’ve had plenty of discussions internally, with Ari (Emanuel), ESPN,” Dana White continued. “Nobody’s happy. Nobody’s happy about this. Neither am I. But it happened, and I have to deal with it. And what is my punishment? Here’s my punishment: I’ve got to walk around for however long I live – is it 10.4 years, or is it another 25 years – 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.”
Denying he should just take a leave of absence as some form of punishment, White reiterated that he will have to face his punishment through labels and criticism for the rest of his life.
“There’s a lot of things that I’m going to have to deal with for the rest of my life that are way more of a punishment than what, I take a 30-day [or a] 60-day absence?” Dana White said. “That’s not a punishment to me. The punishment is that I did it, and now I have to deal with it.”