Dana White on UFC: The president of the UFC, Dana White, was captured on tape on New Year’s Eve in Mexico, slapping his wife in the VIP area of a nightclub. On Wednesday, White told reporters that nobody should be justifying his conduct. White said he did not want his situation to detract attention from the athletes preparing to compete at this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 217 when he spoke to the media for the first time about the physical altercation at the UFC’s Apex. Follow UFC News Updates with InsideSport.IN
Dana White on UFC: The president discusses the consequences
White claimed that there have been internal conversations about the incident, including with ESPN, and that he has already dealt with — and will continue to deal with his “punishment” from the incident.
“What should the consequences be? Stated White. “I take a 30-day vacation? That hurts me in what way? I told you people that I could wait it out if COVID lasted ten years while we were dealing with [the COVID-19 pandemic]. It resembles COVID a lot. Me leaving hurts the company. Hurts my employees. Harms the fighters. I’m not hurt by it. I had the option of quitting in 2016 [the year Endeavor acquired the business]. Do I require reflection? I have opposed this. I used to own this. I’m here to admit that I’m mistaken.”
Dana White on UFC: ‘the focus should be on UFC Fight Night 217 fighters’
Our new main event matchup!
Your updated #UFCVegas67 poster has landed! pic.twitter.com/HCQx2t8zTO
— UFC (@ufc) January 11, 2023
“The fighters are the focus,” White remarked. “These guys have prepared for this fight by working out hard. It was my fault what occurred on New Year’s Eve. My error. Not their own. One thing I want to clarify in this situation is that I didn’t discuss TMZ because I didn’t see it coming or expect it to be the individuals supporting me. There is never a good reason. There is no defense for this, and no one should ever defend me. The criticism I’ve faced this week is entirely justified.”
UFC Fight Night 217: Strickland vs Imavov: full fight card
MAIN CARD
- Nassourdine Imavov vs. Sean Strickland
- Dan Ige vs. Damon Jackson
- Roman Kopylov vs. Punahele Soriano
- Raquel Pennington vs. Ketlen Vieira
- Raoni Barcelos vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Claudio Ribeiro
- Nick Fiore vs. Mateusz Rebecki
- Javid Basharat vs. Mateus Mendonca
- Carlos Hernandez vs. Allan Nascimento
- Nick Aguirre vs. Daniel Argueta
- Jimmy Flick vs. Charles Johnson
- Priscila Cachoeira vs. Sijara Eubanks
