Dana White rejects calls to resign and says his punishment is people losing respect for him

Dana White has refused to step down as the boss of the UFC as the fallout of his New Year's slap fiasco continues.

White made headlines after TMZ released a video of the UFC bigwig hitting Anne White during a New Year’s Eve altercation at a Cabo San Lucas nightclub in El Squid Roe, Mexico.

But the head honcho of the MMA powerhouse has now revealed he will not kowtow to calls for him to step down.

He says living with the shame and the loss of respect after what he has done is enough punishment.

White made an unexpected appearance at the UFC Fight Night 217 media day in Las Vegas, where he spent a quarter of an hour answering questions relating to the incident.

Alamy.

"It was obviously a horrible personal experience. And, you know, there’s no excuse for it. It’s something that I’m gonna have to deal with and live with for the rest of my life," he said, according to a video of the full media conference shared by combat sports channel The Mac Life.

"Nobody’s happy about this. Neither am I, but it happened, and I have to deal with it.

"What is my punishment? Here’s my punishment: I have to walk around for however long I live...and this is how I’m labelled now."

White, who in 2014 labelled domestic violence as 'something you don't bounce back from', went on to add what his other punishment is.

"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," he said.

"The punishment is that I did it, and now I have to deal with it."

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Footage of the altercation showed Anne with her husband standing on a balcony above the dance floor and things quickly erupted between the two.

As she attempted to walk away, White reached out to grab one of her hands before she slapped him in the face, to which he hit her back with an open hand and then shoved her to the ground.

The pair were then separated to prevent further escalation.

In the press conference, White argued that forcing him to resign would hurt both the business and the fighters more than it would him.

He also called on those rallying behind him in support to stop.

"One thing I do want to clarify … is the people that are defending me. There’s never an excuse," he said.

"There’s no defence for this. People should not be defending me, no matter what."

He added: "All the criticism that I’ve received this week, and will receive in the future, is 100-per cent warranted.""