Dana White slapped his wife Anne White at the New Year’s Eve party; the video almost went viral instantly, and every combat sports enthusiast has criticized the 53-year-old for his immature behavior.
Even though the UFC boss apologized the following morning in an interview and his wife released a written statement saying nothing serious happened between the two still some UFC fans have been calling for the American businessman to resign as the UFC’s president.
Last Wednesday, while facing the media before UFC Fight Night 217, Dana White was asked about his thoughts regarding his decision to leave the company.
Dana stated that the punishment he will receive, losing some respect for his future life, is sufficient for the incident, as he has spoken with several people about it, and they have all supported his decision not to resign.
“We’ve had plenty of discussions internally. With Ari [Emanuel], ESPN. Nobody is happy about this. Neither am I. But it happened, and I have to deal with it. What is my punishment? Here is my punishment: I gotta walk around… and this is how I’m labeled.”
The best negotiator in combat sports was also asked about self-imposed repercussions. Dana replied that the UFC needs him because if he walks away, the organization might collapse, so there will be no official punishment for him.
Dana White: "We've had plenty of discussions internally. With Ari [Emanuel], ESPN. Nobody is happy about this. Neither am I. But it happened and I have to deal with it. What is my punishment? Here is my punishment: I gotta walk around… and this is how I'm labelled" pic.twitter.com/YLuXPzL6Vu
— Shakiel Mahjouri (@Shak_Fu) January 11, 2023
“What should the repercussions be? You tell me. I take 30 days off? How does that hurt me? Me leaving hurts the company. Hurts my employees. Hurts the fighters. Doesn’t hurt me. I could have left in 2016. Do I need to reflect? No, I don’t need to reflect. The next morning when I woke up … I own this. I’m telling you that I’m wrong.”
However, out of all of these, Dana is truly sorry for the unwanted incident.
“There’s no excuse for it. It’s something that I’m gonna have to deal with and live with for the rest of my life.”
