EXCLUSIVE: UFC supremo Dana White reveals how his son blanked him after he was caught slapping his wife of 26 years while drunk in a nightclub – and says his ‘apology’ was actually from both of them, and directed at his kids

Dana White has revealed how his eldest son ignored him for four days after he was filmed punching his wife Anne during an argument at a club in Mexico on New Year’s Eve.

White, who was recently appointed as UFC CEO following the historic merger between the UFC and WWE, sat down with Talk TV host Piers Morgan on ‘Uncensored’ to discuss some personal and business matters.

One of the topics was the controversy White found himself in early this year, after footage showed him appearing to say something to Anne, who responded by punching him. He then punched her in the face before the fight was broken up.

In the weeks that followed, White issued a groveling apology, admitting there was “no excuse” for his actions at El Squid Roe in Cabo San Lucas.

Despite this, there were calls from the public for White to step down from his role in the UFC and, as he revealed in the interview, he also faced backlash from his family.

White found himself in controversy on New Year’s Eve after footage emerged showing the UFC chief punching his wife Anne (right) during a nightclub altercation

Morgan initially asked White how his relationship with his own parents shaped the strong bond he now has with his children.

“I’ve been married for almost thirty years,” White explained. ‘You experience many things in a marriage.

‘I just went through some things last New Year’s Eve, these things happen, what you don’t do is you don’t leave, you don’t give up, you don’t give up and you stay, you don’t stay together just for your kids, but you stay, I made a commitment’.

Morgan then delved further into the New Year’s Eve incident, asking White how difficult it was to overcome that obstacle as a family.

“I mean, everyone acted like there needed to be a big apology to the world,” White said. ‘No, the apology was to my children, to me and my wife.

“No one wants to see their stupid, drunk parents punching each other on TMZ, you know what I mean? Our oldest son didn’t talk to us for four days, and the other kids had to deal with some things too. It’s humiliating.

“The only apology that needed to be made was to our children, and the only relationship that needed to be dealt with immediately was between us and our children, and we did that, we dealt with it and we got through it as a family ‘.

Both White and his wife Anne faced media scrutiny in the weeks that followed, claiming the UFC chief “acted out of character” in the viral clip.

White revealed that his eldest son, Dana White III (center), refused to speak to either of his parents for “four days” after the incident in Mexico went viral

White revealed in his interview that he prioritized improving his family relationships

It was a moment that led to fans calling for his dismissal from the UFC, but from his interview with Morgan, White makes it clear that his main concern at the time was mending his family ties and not his business affairs.

“It’s definitely not fun, but it’s something that, you know, as a man you have to stand up and deal with it and handle your business, take your lumps and deal with whatever comes with it .

‘But like I said, the most important thing is to deal with it as a family first. As long as you get your family straight, I might as well say what everyone else is thinking.”

Despite calls for White to resign, the American businessman remained in his role as UFC president until this week – when he was recently named UFC CEO.

White takes on the new role as CEO of the company following their historic merger with the WWE on Wednesday afternoon.

White was present when Endeavor announced the successful merger between the UFC and WWE, which closed Thursday afternoon

In April, it was announced that WWE would be sold to the Endeavor group and merged together with UFC to form a brand new company.

Under the agreement, Endeavor – owner of UFC – will own a 51 percent stake in the combined company, while WWE shareholders will own 49 percent.

It was confirmed that the deal values ​​the new company at more than £17.3 billion ($21.4 billion) according to the companies, with UFC valued at £9.8 billion ($12.1 billion) and WWE at £7, 5 billion ($9.3 billion).

The name for the merger was just listed as ‘Newco’ in the filings, before it was moved to New Whale Inc. In May, a spokesperson confirmed that the name would be TKO Group Holdings.

Tune in to Talk TV tonight at 8pm to watch the exclusive interview with Dana White and Piers Morgan on Uncensored.