A video showing Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) boss Dana White slapping his wife, Anne, in a nightclub has been viewed more than one million times in a matter of hours.
In the footage shared to Twitter, White can be seen slapping his wife at a New Year's Eve party in Mexico and repeatedly trying to hit her as the pair get into a physical altercation.
The video was posted to the Spinning Backfist Twitter account on Monday morning and quickly went viral.
"Well, this isn't good," the UFC-dedicated account captioned the video.
The married couple's fight in the VIP section of El Squid Roe in Cabo San Lucas was first shown by TMZ before later being shared on social media.
In the video, White is seen leaning into Anne to tell her something and she slaps him. The UFC boss then slaps her back twice as she tries to defend herself and the pair are quickly separated by those around them.
well, this isn’t good.
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) January 3, 2023
Dana White said “There was definitely a lot of alcohol, but there’s no excuse" about this per @TMZ pic.twitter.com/JsxYjdkGrY
White quickly responded to the leaked video saying to TMZ, "my wife and I were out for 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 a guy to put his hands on a woman. And, now here I am on TMZ talking about it."
He then explained he was worried how the incident would affect their three children.
"My wife and I have been married for almost 30 years," White said.
"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 where right now we're more concerned about our kids.
"We've shown the kids the video, and we're more focused on our family right now."
White added the pair had been drinking but that was "no excuse."
"People are going to have opinions on this, and most of the people's opinions will be right — especially in my case. You don't put your hands on a woman, ever. My wife and I obviously love each other ... This is just one of those unfortunate situations," he said.
"There was definitely a lot of alcohol involved, but that's no excuse.
"I literally am making no excuses for this thing at all. It's never happened before. It's the first time it's ever happened. People are gonna say what they're gonna say. It is what it is, and whatever people do say, it's deserved. I deserve it."
Anne also told TMZ: "to say this is out of character for him is an understatement — nothing like this has ever happened before."
White became president of the mixed martial arts league in 2001 and saw its growth from a company worth $2 million at that time to a $4.025 billion behemoth when it was sold to WME-IMG in 2016.
His estimated net worth is about $500 million, according to USA Today.
If you think you may be a victim or intimate partner violence or abuse, contact 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or 1-800-787-3224 TTY. Or chat with someone online at TheHotline.org, the National Domestic Violence Hotline advises.
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