The person that stood firmly behind the ‘no domestic violence’ statement is in the limelight due to exactly what he was fighting against. Video footage dating from New Year’s Eve celebration shows Dana White assaulting his wife. The hero has become the villain.
“There’s one thing that you never bounce back from and that’s putting your hands on a woman. Been that way in the UFC since we started here. You don’t bounce back from putting your hands on a woman.”
It’s Time – Someone Should Take Dana White’s Place In The UFC
Believe it or not, these are Dana White’s words. He said this back in 2014 when a UFC fighter, Ray Rice was accused of domestic violence. However, 9 years later and here we are. He is the one receiving a backlash due to an incident like this.
The video footage shows Dana White arguing with his wife in a nightclub in Mexico. As the video shows, the vocal argument evolves to physical when Dana White grabs his wife by the hand and squeezes her. At the same moment, she takes a swing and slaps Dana White in the face. This is when things get spicy.
Without any hesitation, the UFC president raises his hand and slaps his wife back with no holding back. As soon as he raises his hand and tries to hit her again, people around them interfere and stop the ‘incident’.
As the video made its way to TMZ, it started spreading as wildfire over the internet. In a matter of hours, all worldwide sports outlets started publishing the story and sharing the video. The world saw the gross sight and Dana White is still under massive criticism from everyone.
Realizing that there is no going back from it, Dana White gave an interview for TMZ addressing the incident. He confessed to the ‘horrible incident’ and apologized to his fans and followers.
“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.” – Dana White started the interview for TMZ. “This is one of those situations that are horrible. I’m embarrassed – but it’s also one of those situations that right now we’re more concerned about our kids,” White continued. “We have three kids and obviously since the video popped up, we’ve shown the kids the video, and we’re more focused on our family right now.”
The UFC president then started convincing the public and the interviewer that this is the ‘first time’ that such a thing has happened. He even said that the situation escalated due to too much alcohol.
“I’m literally making no excuses for this thing at all. It never happened before.” – Dana White explained. “We’ve been drinking too much on New Year’s Eve and things got out of control, on both sides.”
However, whatever the case, the public is hesitant if Dana White is still fit to run the organization. Yes, he attempted to control the situation, apologized, and explained how it was. But, in the eyes of the public, this is far from enough of what is expected to happen to him. Physically assaulting other people is not acceptable by any means for a person of his caliber. Furthermore, assaulting a woman, his wife – it is a direct ticket out of the organization he is leading. At least that’s how the UFC fans see this.
Dana White has been the UFC president for more than 20 years. His role in the uprising of the MMA as a sport is unquestionable. However, parallel to this, Dana White has been struggling with many things over the years. One of those things is trying to portray the MMA fighters as ‘normal people’.
At the beginning of the sport, people saw MMA fighters as hooligans, outlaws, and as criminals. However, now, thanks to the UFC and other world-class promotions this is not like that anymore. Over the years, there was absolutely no tolerance for domestic violence in the MMA world. Whenever someone acquired a connection to something as bizarre and as gross as domestic violence, the promotions either suspended him for a period of time or permanently. And according to the practice until now, nobody was able to come back with the same shine after taking part in such a thing.
Dana White is the face of the UFC. That is clear. And after the incident, Endeavor, the media and Entertainment Company that owns the UFC saw the stock market price of the UFC fall by 6%. Now this, plus the need for an explanation to the media from the UFC president himself might force them to distance themselves from Dana White.
To make things even more ‘interesting’, Dana White is now the main face of a new sport that is in development. Ironically, that sport is ‘slap-fighting’.
“I saw some footage of slap fighting on social media and it instantly hooked me.” – Dana White said about the sport. “From the first day I saw it, I felt like this could be big.”
Days since the incident passed and there is no clear message from the UFC brand on whether they will distance themselves from Dana White. Looks like they are still waiting to see how this plays out in the eyes of the UFC fans. If people forget it until the first UFC event this year, then the UFC might continue with Dana White. However, if it keeps floating around, Endeavor will most likely consider replacing Dana White.
There are polls circling on Twitter, suggesting that Dana White should be replaced immediately. It is really shameful to have the face of a major organization like the UFC involved in domestic violence incidents. The public has spoken. Let’s see if
“You don’t bounce back from putting your hands on a woman.” – A wise Dana White once said. Let’s see if this is true in his case.
