Dana White urges fans to not defend him in his domestic violence scandal
Dana White's New Year's Eve incident with his wife has been the center of attention since the turn of the year. The UFC president addressed the issue yet again in an attempt to further clarify his position on it.
In a press conference ahead of UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov, White requested the media not to disregard the sporting news and afford the hard-working fighters the coverage they deserve.
He also spoke about his regret for his actions:
"What happened on New Year's Eve is mine, my mistake. Not theirs. And obviously, nobody is more about free speech than me, and if one of the fighters wants to come out and voice their opinion on it, and whatever it might be, then by all means. I'm sure you guys have seen the TMZ video and seen my interview. It was a horrible personal experience and there's no excuses for it. Something I have to deal with and live with for the rest of my life."
Dana White also made sure to clear up the debate surrounding his actions and called out those who were defending him for being in the wrong:
"And one thing that I do want to clarify, and this thing that I didn't talk about on TMZ because I didn't expect it and I didn't see it coming, is the people that are defending me. There's never an excuse, I'm sure you guys have read some of the same stuff that I've seen. There's no defense for this and people should not be defending me over this thing, no matter what. All the criticism that I have received this week is a hundred percent warranted and will receive in the future... There's only one side of this [not his wife's fault]. It's my side."
Watch White's complete press conference on YouTube:
Daniel Cormier wants to see Dana White make up for his actions by becoming a voice to help victims
Former UFC champion Daniel Cormier spoke about Dana White's slapping incident and highlighted other issues surrounding it.
'DC' spoke about White taking accountability and expressed the need to see a change in the UFC president. He questioned how impactful White could be in the aftermath of the incident.
On the DC & RC show, Cormier said:
"In these instances, the one thing you think about first is the family. The children and the rest of the White family and how they will get through it, but Dana's making no excuses for his actions. Everyone knows that is wrong, but for me it's what happens next. How does Dana White become a voice for trying to help people in these situations?"
Check out Cormier's full comments on YouTube: