UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that the promotion’s ban on flags is officially over.
More than a year removed from the UFC’s initial ban on fighters flying their home colors inside the Octagon, White confirmed that the ban was officially lifted as of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 80 event inside The APEX in Las Vegas.
“Flags are back,” White told reporters during the post-fight press event. “I was on vacation during the Mexican Independence Day, and the no flag thing drove me crazy. So I was like, ‘Yeah, f*ck that. We’re bringing flags back.’ It drove me crazy.”
Dana White Doesn’t Care if Certain Flags Offend You
In May 2022, the promotion banned fighters from coming out with flags on the heels of the Russia-Ukraine war, but it appears that White has had a change of heart following Noche UFC, the promotion’s first event celebrating Mexican Independence Day.
“There’s a lot of things that go on in a company this big,” White said. “You can’t micromanage everything. Sometimes things are done for the intentions of the right reasons, or whatever. Everybody in this room knows the way that I feel about a lot of things. Basically, ‘I don’t give a f*ck,’ is the answer to most things.
“Everybody’s too soft, everybody’s too sensitive about everything. When the decision was made to do this, I was just like, ‘Eh, what’s the big deal if they don’t have flags?’ Mexican Independence Day flipped the switch and I was like, ‘That’s enough of the no flags thing.’ Flags are back. If any flags hurt your feelings, too f*cking bad” (h/t MMA Junkie).
Fight fans were quick to notice that Karolina Kowalkiewicz had the Polish flag draped over her shoulders following her unanimous decision victory over Diana Belbita. It became much more apparent that something had changed in the co-main event when Joe Pyfer proudly waved the American flag around following his submission victory over Abdul Razak Alhassan.
Are you in favor of fighters flying their flag inside the Octagon, or is it something that should have stayed on the UFC’s do-not-do list?