UFC lightweight star Dustin Poirier had a predictable response to the recent controversial video of UFC President Dana White slapping his wife.
Dustin Poirier via UFC-Ultimate Fighting Championship YouTube
“You should never put your hands on a woman,” Poirier said. “I don’t know the repercussions that come along with somebody of his stature, running these businesses and doing something like that. I have no clue. It’s not a good look for sure.”
The video surfaced via TMZ on New Year’s Day. In it, the UFC President gets into a dispute with his wife that turns physical. White first addressed his actions in an interview with TMZ.
“My wife and I were out on Saturday night on New Year’s Eve, and unfortunately that’s what happened,” White said. “I’m one of the guys, you’ve heard me say for years, there’s never, ever an excuse for guy to put his hands on a woman, and now here I am on TMZ talking about it. My wife and I have been married for almost 30 years, 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 that right now, we’re more concerned about our kids.
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“We have three kids and obviously since the video popped up, we’ve shown the kids the video” he continued. “We’re more focused on our family right now. People are going to have opinions on this, and most of the people’s opinions would be right, especially in my case. You don’t put your hands on a woman ever. My wife and I love each other, we’ve been together for a very long time. We’ve known each other since we were very little, and this is just one of those unfortunate situations.”
The UFC and its parent company, Endeavor, have not commented publicly on White’s situation. As of now, it seems like there won’t be any formal punishment for White. The one thing the incident did affect was the launch of his new Power Slap League on TBS. The launch date was pushed back a week and will air this Friday.
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After the UFC’s debut event last weekend, White responded to the criticism that he faced no professional repercussions.
“What should my punishment be?”, White asked rhetorically. “And you say, ‘There’s going to be repercussions in your personal life, but none in your professional life.’ But what matters other than my personal life? Nothing. Nothing matters except for my personal life.”
“Here’s my punishment,” White continued. “I’ve got to walk around for however long I live — is it 10.4 years, or is it another 25 years — and this is how I’m labeled now. My other punishment is that, I’m sure a lot of people, whether it be media, fighters, friends, acquaintances, who had respect for me, might not have respect for me now.”
Dustin Poirier via Thug Maka YouTube
It seems that one of those people may be Poirier, although he’s also not sure what White’s punishment should be.
“I’m staying out of it because I’d be talking out my ass,” Poirier said. “I don’t know what should happen.”
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