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UFC president Dana White apologized for a physical altercation with his wife, but there’s been silence in other quarters since the video of the incident was published by TMZ on Monday.
ESPN — UFC’s broadcast and streaming partner — declined comment when reached by Front Office Sports on Tuesday. Endeavor, the parent company of UFC, and UFC haven’t returned messages seeking comment.
Anne White could be seen in the footage captured at a New Year’s Eve party at a Cabo San Lucas club slapping her husband of 26 years after Dana White said something to her. White then slapped his wife before the altercation was broken up.
“There was definitely a lot of alcohol involved, but that’s no excuse,” White told TMZ. “I am making no excuses for this at all. It’s never happened before. It was the first time. I don’t know why it happened. My wife and I apologized to each other. We apologized to our kids.”
In the aftermath of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice’s assault of this then-fiancée, White was asked about domestic violence.
“There’s one thing that you never bounce back from and that’s putting your hands on a woman,” White said in 2014 per MMA Fighting. “Been that way in the UFC since we started here. You don’t bounce back from putting your hands on a woman.”
White has been UFC president for over two decades, and was instrumental in setting up a deal where casino magnates Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta acquired UFC for $2 million in 2001.
Endeavor — known as WME-IMG at the time — along with two private equity firms, bought a controlling interest in UFC for $4 billion in 2016. Ahead of its 2021 IPO, Endeavor and its partners acquired the other 49.9% for about $1.75 billion.
White’s Power Slap promotion, billed as “world’s premier slap fighting organization,” debuts on TBS on Jan. 11. A message left with Turner Sports also was not returned on Tuesday.
Endeavor’s stock closed at $21.20 on Tuesday, down nearly 6% in on the day.
