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When you consider the UFC tends to attract athletes who tend to take at least a little bit of joy in beating the hell out other people, it shouldn’t come as a huge shock that some of those combatants have had trouble keeping the violence in the Octagon. Over the years, a number of notable names in the MMA world have ended up in legal trouble for their inability to control their rage—like Phil Baroni, who was recently arrested and charged with murdering his girlfriend in Mexico.
UFC president Dana White has historically attempted to claim the organization has little tolerance for MMA fighters who commit fairly heinous acts outside of the cage. However, it’s been difficult to take that stance seriously when you consider he’s the same guy who gave convicted domestic abuser Greg Hardy a contract before the disgraced ex-NFL player was unceremoniously released last year.
Now, White has found himself in a very uncomfortable situation courtesy of what transpired on New Year’s Eve. Earlier this week, he issued an apology after he was filmed slapping his wife (who had slapped him just seconds before) at a party in Cabo (the couple both admitted they’d been drinking too much and say they are working through the issue together).
It’s clear White regrets his actions. However, that doesn’t necessarily excuse them—especially when you consider the man who violated one of the most fundamental principles almost every guy is taught growing up (“Never hit a woman”) has said about similar situations in the past.
It would be obviously absurd to directly compare what White did with the incredibly disturbing incident that occurred in 2014 when a surveillance camera captured Ray Rice punching his then-fiancée (which ultimately ended his NFL career). However, as MMA Fighting notes, it’s pretty hard to ignore the perspective White shared after that video came to light, as he had this to say:
“We’ve been human beings in letting these guys, other guys make up for what they’ve done and come back.
There’s one thing that you never bounce back from, and that’s putting your hands on a woman. Been that way in the UFC since we started here. You don’t bounce back from putting your hands on a woman.”
If that is indeed true, it would seem White’s time with the UFC should come to an end sooner rather than later. With that said, it seems like the odds of that actually happening are fairly slim.