03 January 2023 , 12:05
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Dana White's wife has defended her husband after footage emerged showing the UFC president slap her during an altercation at a New Year's Eve celebration.
The UFC boss was in Mexico with his wife Anne to ring in the New Year when the couple started arguing, which saw White slap her twice. The video ended up with TMZ, who have released it, much to the combat sport supremo's embarrassment, forcing an apology from White.
But the 53-year-old's wife has given her side of the situation, explaining that the incident was out of character for her husband and insisting that this was the first time any such action had taken place. She also implored fans to respect the pair's privacy as they have three children.
Dana White with his wife Anne (WireImage)
White has been president of the UFC for decades (USA TODAY Sports)"Dana and I have been married for almost 30 years," she told TMZ after the video emerged, which showed her covering her face before he takes hold of her wrists and slaps her, to which she reciprocates. "To say this is out of character for him is an understatement.
"Nothing like this has ever happened before. Unfortunately, we were both drinking too much on New Year’s Eve and things got out of control, on both sides. We’ve talked this through as a family and apologised to each other. I just hope people will respect our privacy for the sake of our kids."
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In his own interview with the website, the UFC boss explained: "My wife and I were out on Saturday night on New Year’s Eve, and unfortunately that’s what happened. I’m one of the guys, you’ve heard me say for years, there’s never, ever an excuse for guy to put his hands on a woman, and now here I am on TMZ talking about it.
White is one of the most recognisable faces in combat sports (Getty Images)"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 s*** together, we’ve got three kids and this is one of those situations that’s horrible, I’m embarrassed, but it’s also one of those situations that right now, we’re more concerned about our kids.
"We have three kids and obviously since the video popped up, we’ve shown the kids the video. We’re more focused on our family right now. People are going to have opinions on this, and most of the people’s opinions would be right, especially in my case. You don’t put your hands on a woman ever. My wife and I love each other, we’ve been together for a very long time. We’ve known each other since we were very little, and this is just one of those unfortunate situations."
The pair married six years before White took over the UFC in 2001, having met while they were in school. Mrs White chooses to stay out of the spotlight, while her husband is one of the most well-known promoters in the history of fighting. They have two sons - Aidan and Dana - and a daughter, Savannah.