UFC bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley has further defended his remarks about Dana White‘s altercation with his wife, insisting they were an example of “dark humor.”
2023 opened in a rough way for the MMA leader, with footage emerging of its president getting into a physical clash with his wife Anne. The video, which was obtained and released by TMZ Sports, shows the pair in a heated confrontation, which leads to Anne slapping White.
The UFC chief responds with a slap of his own, before appearing to launch further strikes as his wife disappears from camera view. In the aftermath, both White and his partner released statements.
Despite White insisting that there’s no excuse for the incident, a number of fighters have come under fire for seemingly defending the UFC president’s actions at the nightclub in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Last week, it appeared that one such athlete was O’Malley. The #1-ranked bantamweight reacted to the controversy in a podcast episode with his brother. Headlines quickly came out surrounding the Montana native’s apparent take on the altercation, which seemingly saw him suggest White’s wife “deserved” slapping back.
However, “Sugar” was quick to fire back at media outlets, insisting his comments were meant as a joke rather than a serious take on domestic violence. The 28-year-old has now further clarified his comments.
O’Malley Defends ‘Jokey’ Take On White/Wife Altercation
During a recent episode of the TimboSugarShow, a podcast hosted alongside his coach Tim Welch, O’Malley commented on the coverage and condemnation that surrounded his remarks about White’s wife.
O’Malley once again dismissed the notion that he was being serious, citing the remarks as an instance of dark humor, something he noted as a prevalent part of his podcast episodes.
“Dude, it was every journalism, or journalist, whatever. It wasn’t just them (MMA Junkie),” O’Malley said. “They got it in the comments… In the whole video, I was like, dark humor, making jokes on a bunch of bad sh*t. 95% (of what we say is f*cking around)… It’s the kind of humor that we like unfortunately. You look at our f*cking group chat, I’ll go to hell. But dude, Joe Rogan says the same thing. I’ve heard celebrities say the same thing. It’s like, it’s the most f*cked up sh*t that makes you giggle.”
While O’Malley has seemed to clarify his comments and insisted that White’s actions were wrong, the same can’t be said for some others in the MMA community, including upcoming light heavyweight title challenger Jamahal Hill.
As well as claiming that Anne White shouldn’t have struck her husband if she ‘didn’t want to get hit’ back, Hill went as far as to suggest that Dana White’s wife should have “acted like a real woman with respect and class.”
What do you make of Sean O’Malley citing “dark humor” as the context behind his remarks about Dana White’s altercation with his wife?
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