Dustin Poirier becomes first UFC star to condemn Dana White for slapping wife

09 January 2023 , 09:28

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Dustin Poirier has condemned Dana White after he slapped his wife (Image: Getty Images)

Dustin Poirier has become the first high-profile UFC star to condemn his boss Dana White after video emerged of the promotional president slapping his wife.

White, 53, has apologised for the incident, which took place at a nightclub in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on New Year's Eve. The altercation was caught on video and later released to TMZ. Footage shows Mrs. White covering her face before her husband takes hold of her wrists. Mrs. White responds by slapping her other half before he reacts in the same way.

And Poirier, who has been married to his wife Jolie since 2009, has spoken out against White, claiming that it was "not a good look". He hasn't taken a particularly hard stance, but goes against the opinions that have been expressed by other fighters such as Jamahal Hill and Sean O'Malley who have commented in White's defence.

“I’m not sure. I have no clue. You should never put your hands on a woman. 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,” Poirier told Bloody Elbow.

When asked further about the incident and how White or the UFC should proceed, Poirier was sure to then add that he is “Staying out of it because I’d be talking out my a**. I don’t know what should happen [to White]." He then reiterated that he "doesn't know what should happen.”

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White apologised after the incident, telling TMZ : "My wife and I were out on Saturday night on New Year’s Eve, and unfortunately that’s what happened. 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.

Dana White with his wife Anne (WireImage)

White was filmed slapping his wife (Zuffa LLC)

"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.

"We have three kids and obviously since the video popped up, we’ve shown the kids the video. 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."

White's wife also 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 apologised to each other. I just hope people will respect our privacy for the sake of our kids."

Donagh Corby