Recently, the franchise was under controversy as it banned athletes from carrying their national flag, which usually happens at the end of fights as the victor celebrates with their national colors.
However, this trend has been stopped recently, and people have started figuring out the reasons behind it. This trend hasn’t just stopped before and after fights but also backstage.
When asked about the decision to ban flags, UFC President Dana White was hesitant to speak about it.
“You guys know why,” White told the media at the post-fight press conference. “Let’s not even play that f–king game.”
The controversy hasn’t sat down well among many notable athletes, such as Sodiq Yusuff.
The featherweight contender always used to wear a banner with a Nigerian flag before and after the match. He also said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine could be one of the factors behind this ban.
“The flag thing, it was so weird,” Yusuff said.
“They always let me wear my bandana, but that weekend, they told me, they said, ‘Hey, if you wear the flag, we’re gonna fine you a lot of money.’ So it wasn’t worth it. They were like, ‘You can’t wear it anywhere the UFC cameras are gonna catch.’
“Because I think of what’s going on with Russia and Ukraine. They don’t want them to wear the flag because of the war, so they said they can’t just single them out, they said they’re gonna do everybody. So nobody can wear their flag,” Yusuff concluded.