Ashamed After 2022 New Year’s Eve Incident Involving Wife, Dana White Confessed His “Punishment” Last Year – “Nobody Is Happy About It”

Dana White found himself in the news for all the wrong reasons last year. After the news of his altercation with his wife during New Year’s Eve in Mexico was made public by a TMZ video, Dana White took full responsibility. A week into the incident, White admitted, “There are no excuses for it.” As we look back at the incident, what did Dana White have to say about it?

Dana White revealed the punishment for his action

The UFC CEO once addressed the incident involving his wife during a UFC press conference. He claimed to be ashamed of his actions and also stated that the people he knew were furious at him for the incident involving his wife, Anne, whom he has been married to since 1996. Dana White said, “Nobody is happy about this. Neither am I, but it happened and I have to deal with it.”

He also mentioned that he didn’t need to be defended because there’s never an excuse for hitting someone. Moreover, Dana White stated that he will be facing a lifelong punishment for his actions. “What is my punishment? Here’s my punishment. I gotta walk around for however long I live. Is it 10.4 years or is it another 25 years? This is how I’m labeled now,” Dana White added.

Backtracking to what he said in a news conference shortly after the incident, White was downright regretful. “There are no excuses for it. It’s something I’m going to have to deal with and live with for the rest of my life. There’s no defense for this, and people should not be defending me over this thing, no matter what. All the criticism I have received this week is 100% warranted and will receive in the future.”

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In the same interview, White was reminded of how he did not walk the talk. One of the reporters reminded him of what White had remarked on following an unrelated incident from 2014 that involved the former N.F.L. running back Ray Rice punching his then-fiancée. “There’s one thing that you never bounce back from and that’s putting your hands on a woman. Been that way in the U.F.C. since we started here. You don’t bounce back from putting your hands on a woman.”

UFC had a number of incidents that have forced the promotion to flex its muscles about its zero-tolerance policy. But did materialize for Dana White to face any repercussions? Apparently not. Here is one reason why that could be the case.

UFC may have suspended fighters with domestic abuse history. But does it have a documented policy in place?

It has been stated publicly that UFC has a zero-tolerance policy on domestic abuse. Back in 2014, former light heavyweight Anthony Johnson found himself on the receiving end of a restraining order filed by the mother of their two children which claimed that the fighter was involved in domestic abuse incident two years prior. Aware of the misdemeanor charged from 2009 in California resulting in Johnson being kept on probation for 3 years, Johnson was indefinitely suspended shortly after.

The same year, Will Chope, just hours before his fight against Diego Brandao, was released by the UFC. This happened when his discharge from the military in 2011 due to multiple assaults on his wife was brought to light. The official statement then announced, “The UFC does not condone behavior of this nature whatsoever and Chope has been released from his contract.” As a result, his opponent Brandao received both his show and win money for the bout.

Another case in 2014 was when the former UFC light heavyweight contender, Thiago Silva, was released for the second time when days after charges were dropped. Silva—who was arrested in February of that year after an alleged altercation with Silva’s estranged wife, Thaysa Kamiji, and her partner, Pablo Popovitch—was done away with by the promotion after his former wife released multiple videos on YouTube. She claimed that Silva was on drugs while carrying a gun.

Despite the many cases that have painted a dark picture for the promotion over the years, UFC never articulated a policy on domestic violence. when White’s altercation video became a hot topic around the same time last year, Dan Le Batard, a former host from their broadcast partner ESPN said, “Endeavor, the parent company, no comment. ESPN, the broadcast partner, no comment. U.F.C., no comment… You’re going to be OK with a video of a very powerful man slapping his wife a couple of times, if it is no comment, no comment, no comment from the powerful people in charge of policing this stuff.”

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