There are growing calls for Dana White resign as president of the UFC following the release of public footage showing a violent altercation between himself and his wife.
TMZ released a video of the UFC boss hitting Anne White during a New Year’s Eve altercation at a Cabo San Lucas nightclub in El Squid Roe, Mexico.
Footage showed Anne with her husband standing on a balcony above the dance floor and things quickly erupted between the two.
As she attempted to walk away, White reached out to grab one of her hands before she slapped him in the face, to which he hit her back with an open hand.
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The two continued to grapple with one another as friends eventually broke them apart.
White’s soon-to-be-launched fighting competition, which has the unfortunate name of Power Slap League, has been delayed until January 18 following the footage being leaked.
The league sees two fighters slap each other in the face until one is victorious.
While the league might have delayed its launch, many are still demanding for White to be fired or step down.
White said back in 2014 that there's no bouncing back from hitting a woman and people feel that should apply to him today.
USA Today columnist Andy Nesbitt wrote that the organization must adhere to the president's own words.
He wrote: “It’s time for the UFC owners at Endeavor to listen to White’s words and show him the door. As he said, nobody bounces back from putting his hands on a woman, and rightfully so.”
TV sports journalist Stephen A. Smith also called for the UFC boss to be punished for assaulting his wife.
“We have to maintain consistency in pointing out — you do not put your hands on a woman if you are a man. You do not do it,” Smith said on First Take last week.
“Dana White knows that and all I can say is he has spoken out on men who put their hands on women before, and whatever punishment you would exact under these circumstances to somebody else is what he should apply to himself.”
Shortly after the video went public, White apologized and admitted he was ‘embarrassed’.
He told TMZ in part: "This is one of those situations that's horrible, I'm embarrassed.
He added: "But it's also one of those situations that is... right now, we're more concerned about our kids."
Anne added the incident was extremely ‘out of character’ for the couple.
She told TMZ: "Dana and I have been married for almost 30 years. 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 apologized to each other.
"I just hope people will respect our privacy for the sake of our kids."
SPORTbible has approached White and Endeavor for comment.
Topics: UFC, MMA, Dana White
Charisa Bossinakis