On New Year’s Eve UFC President Dana White got in a physical altercation with his wife in a nightclub in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Footage of that incident showed White striking his spouse in the face before he could be separated by other nightclub goers.
The footage was shared by TMZ along with video from White where he admitted to hitting his wife and claimed there were no excuses for that behavior.
Since then, White has seen the debut of his Dana White’s Power Slap League delayed by a week on TBS (owned by Warner Media). There has been no reaction from the UFC or its official broadcast partner ESPN.
A number of figures around the sport have shared differing opinions on this incident. Only a few UFC fighters have spoken out on the subject.
With a surprising lack of statements and reactions to this shocking incident, old comments regarding White and his relationship have started doing the rounds online.
This includes a 2011 interview featuring White’s mother, June White. She did the media circuit to promote her book Dana White, King of MMA.
In that interview, June White makes explosive claims about White’s relationship, alleging infidelity and further incidents of domestic violence.
“I don’t want to take anything away from him, for what he’s done for MMA and the UFC. I mean, Dana has a high school education, and that’s it. I think it’s pretty amazing, the things he’s been able to do in MMA and the UFC, but he’s not a good person,” she said. “He seems to have lost his character somewhere along the way. He mistreats people. It’s terrible the way he speaks to women and treats women. That really bothers me, because I don’t believe I’ve ever brought him up to behave like that.”
When addressing White’s marriage, his mother claimed that “everyone knows that he puts Tiger Woods to shame,” referencing the pro golfer’s cheating scandal that occurred around the time of the interview.
“Plenty of the ring card girls sleep with him,” she claimed, “There’s two of them I know for sure. … He slept with his sister-in-law in my house, which made me absolutely furious.”
“I mean, he goes after any girl he wants and usually gets them,” she continued. “His wife is – they’re constantly fighting. The honeymoon, she gave him the worst black eye I’ve ever seen and nearly lost his eye. So I don’t know if that’s his way of handling that, but he’s gone overboard with handling that.”
Bloody Elbow has contacted the Endevaour, ESPN and other stakeholders in the UFC, but has yet to receive a direct statement on this issue.
At this time of writing White remains the President and CEO of the UFC and the UFC’s relationship with ESPN appears unchanged.
‘Worst black eye I’ve ever seen’ - Dana White’s mother’s troubling claims resurface
