One of the lasting images from the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first event of 2025 was that of Victoria Dudakova slapping one of her coaches following a loss to Fatima Kline.
As it turns out, Dudakova has a more personal relationship with the object of her wrath: He’s also her husband. On Tuesday, Dudakova released a statement apologizing for the incident.
“The emotions have calmed down a bit,” Dudakova wrote on Instagram. “First of all, I would like to apologize to my husband and coach. I was upset that at such a difficult moment, he turned away from me and did not want to go into the cage.