Dana White claims he should NOT be punished after hitting his wife on New Year’s Eve row

Dana White has explained why he shouldn’t be punished after he was caught hitting his wife on New Year’s Eve but admits he deserves the criticism he has faced for the altercation.

White has apologized for his actions that night in Cabo San Lucas, although he is still being urged to step down from his role as UFC president.

But speaking to reporters on Wednesday, White made it clear he doesn’t see the need to take any time off.

Dana White doesn’t think he should be punished after he was caught slapping his wife

White has been married to his wife Anne for 26 years and they have three children

“What are the consequences? You tell me. I’m taking 30 days off?’ he asked.

“How does this hurt me? My leaving hurts the company. Hurts my employees. Hurts the fighters. don’t hurt me I could have gone in 2016. do i need to think No, I don’t have to think. When I woke up the next morning… I own this. I’ll tell you I’m wrong.”

White added in the press availability ahead of UFC Fight Night 217, “There’s no defense for that. People shouldn’t defend me no matter what.

“All the criticism I have received this week and will receive in the future is 100 percent justified.”

White said he had no apologies for his actions and said he was “embarrassed” by the clip

He added that he’s had “a lot of conversations” with Ari Emanuel, the boss of UFC parent company Endeavor, and ESPN Brass and “nobody’s happy about that.”

The 53-year-old, who is worth an estimated $500 million after building the UFC into a global, profitable franchise, has been married to his wife for 26 years, since 1996, and they have three children together.

They celebrated New Year’s Eve at El Squid Roe in Cabo San Lucas. The video shows White appearing to say something to Anne, who responds by hitting him. He then slaps her on the back before the two are separated.

White quickly apologized to TMZ for his actions on Jan. 2.

“I’m one of those guys who says there’s never an excuse for a man to put his hands on a woman, and now I’m talking about it here on TMZ,” he said.

“It’s one of those horrible situations. i’m embarrassed We have three children and since the video surfaced we have shown it to the children and are now more focused on our family.

“People will have their opinion on this and people’s opinion would be right, especially in my case. You never attack a woman.”

His wife Anne is quoted by TMZ as saying: “To say this is out of character for him is an understatement – nothing like this has happened before.

“Unfortunately we both drank too much on New Year’s Eve and things got out of hand on both sides. We discussed this as a family and we apologized to each other.

Lorenzo Fertitta, Teressa Fertitta, Anne White and Dana White (left to right)

Judging by White’s own earlier words, he’s lucky to still have a job.

Speaking to Fox Sports Live in 2014 after footage surfaced of Ravens running back to Ray Rice and abusing his wife, White had a very clear domestic violence policy when it came to UFC.

“We were people by letting these guys and other guys make amends for what they did and come back. There’s one thing you never shy away from, and that’s laying your hands on a woman. It’s been like that in the UFC since we started here. You don’t flinch when you lay hands on a woman.”

While White remains in his role at UFC, he doesn’t think he’ll come out of this unscathed.

“I have to walk around no matter how long I live – is it 10.4 years or another 25 years? — and that’s what I’m called now,” he said on Wednesday.

“My other punishment is that I am sure that many people, whether media, fighters, friends, acquaintances, who had respect for me, now have no respect for me. ‘