What the Dana White incident means for himself and the UFC?

UFC, Dana White
January 18, 2020; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; UFC president Dana White in attendance during UFC 246 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Over the weekend, UFC President Dana White found himself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. White was in Mexico with his wife and kids taking in the New Year. On New Year’s Eve, White was seen with his wife Anne at a night club in Cabo.

The two seemed to be having a heated moment. In a video captured by TMZ, White’s wife was seen slapping him and the UFC president responded by slapping her back. A horrific scene that was ugly for all involved.

Since the incident, White and his wife have both issued statements regarding the incident. The couple has shared the sentiment that they are focused on their kids and maintaining their privacy. Anne White said that her husband had never done this before and the UFC president reiterated that in an interview with TMZ.

The family is still on vacation and are moving forward after the incident.

Will there be impact to the UFC?

There has been some blowback on Wall Street from the incident. Endeavor which is the parent company of the UFC saw it’s stock drop nearly 6% today after the video came out. Will there be any long-term implications from the incident?

I hate to tell people this, but there’s not going to be anything major that will come from this. Is it horrifying and appalling what happened? Absolutely. However, this is the same promotion that still employs Jon Jones after all Jones’ has done including accusations of domestic assault.

Dana White has said all the right things, but they are just words. He’s acknowledged the fact that there’s never an excuse for what he did and he’s right. There’s absolutely no excuse for his actions. White is on record for saying that a man should never put his hands on a woman no matter what.

People have called for White to be fired from his job as president of the UFC. That’s not going to happen. If he was in any other sports organization there might be that severe of repercussions after this incident. However, the UFC is a unique entity and honestly, White is as close too invincible as it gets.

Could White take some time off while everything cools down? Possibly, but I think there’s a better than 50% chance he will be in Brazil for UFC 283. I’m sure questions will be asked and I’m also sure that White will refer to his previous comments and keep the talk about the fights.