Former UFC competitor Brendan Schaub believes Dana White should face some consequences for slapping his wife in public.
The UFC president has come under fire in recent weeks after TMZ obtained a video of a physical altercation between White and his wife Anne at a Cabo San Lucas nightclub on New Year’s Eve. In the video, the two can be seen having a verbal spat before things escalate. While the footage has been the talk of the MMA community since it emerged, outlets like the UFC’s broadcasting partner ESPN have remained largely quiet, leaving White to conduct business as usual.
Brendan Schaub addressed the lack of repercussions during an episode of The Fighter and The Kid on YouTube alongside comedian and actor Bryan Callen.
“Dana White did a press conference today and was like, ‘For the fighters sticking up for me, don’t. It’s never acceptable. Quit sticking up for me. I don’t need you to stick up for me,'” said Schaub. “That’s what I’ve been saying from the jump. Let him deal with this. Fighters, you’re not getting an extra bonus. None of that sh*t. This is never okay. You don’t need to stick up for him. Let him eat his crow. Deal with it. I don’t think he should lose his job, but there should be some repercussions. There has to be. You can’t hit a woman in public like that. They could suspend him for two pay-per-views or something. I don’t know what you do.”
Dana White Says The Loss of Respect is His Punishment
In his first public appearance since the video went viral, White told those in attendance at the UFC 67 media day that the stigma he will carry with him for the rest of his life is more than enough punishment in his opinion.
“What is my punishment? You’re my punishment,” White said. “I’ve got to walk around for however long I live, whether it’s 10.4 years or another 25 years and this is how I’m labeled now. My other punishment is 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. There’s a lot of things I’m going to have to deal with for the rest of my life that are way more of a punishment than what, I take a 30-day, 60-day absence.”
Alongside ESPN, the UFC’s parent company Endeavor has chosen to weather the storm quietly which has resulted in a fair amount of criticism being lobbed at both parties. During his media day appearance, White did acknowledge that there have been internal discussions between himself and the two parties, but that reveal will do little to quiet the masses calling for Dana White’s career.
“Listen, we’ve had plenty of discussions internally with Ari [Emanuel, the Endeavor CEO], ESPN. Nobody’s happy. Nobody’s happy about this. Neither am I, but it happened and I have to deal with it.”
