Dana White issued a public apology Jan. 2 after a video surfaced showing him hitting his wife during a New Year’s Eve party.
Video footage captured the president of the UFC and his wife Anne getting physical with one another while in the upper level VIP area of a crowded Cabo San Lucas nightclub. White said in an interview with TMZ that the incident was fueled by alcohol and that was the first time he ever laid hands on his wife.
“This is one of those situations that is, you know, horrible. I’m embarrassed,” White said. “You don’t put your hands on a woman, ever.”
The video shows White and his wife engaged in what appears to be a heated discussion before she put her head in her hands in an apparent state of distress. White’s wife then took a swing at him, swiping White in the face with an open hand. He responded by striking her with an open hand as well and the two continued a brief, physical scuffle before calming down and standing together once again.
TMZ’s Harvey Levin asked White to explain what happened that evening.
“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 shit together,” he said.
White then put the focus on his children and how they were affected when the video surfaced and put his actions on display.
“We’re more concerned about our kids. Since the video popped up, we showed the kids the video and we’re more focused on our family right now,” White told TMZ.
White was also aware that the public was going to pass judgment on him for raising his hand to his wife. (RELATED: Ring In ’23 The Right Way: By Taking Dana White’s Advice To Post-Pandemic ‘P*ssies’ Who Want To ‘Quiet Quit’)
“People are going to have opinions, and most of those opinions on this and most of the people’s opinions would be right, especially in my case,” White said. “You don’t put your hands on a woman, ever.”
Levin brought up the fact that alcohol was a factor but White was quick to step in and say that he wasn’t hiding behind intoxication on this matter.
“That’s no excuse. I’m literally making no excuses for this at all,” White said.
His wife had a slightly different response.
“Unfortunately, we were both drinking too much on New Year’s Eve and things got out of control, on both sides,” Anna told TMZ Sports. She went on to ask for privacy for the sake of her children.
White admitted his error and restated his beliefs.
“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,” he said.