Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has lifted the ban on the carriage of national flags by fighters in the Octagon. This announcement marks the end of the restriction initially imposed last year during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This ban even resulted in the confiscation of fighter Weili Zhang’s flag after a victorious match. However, during UFC Fight Night 229 on October 7, middleweight fighter Joseph Pyfer proudly waved the American flag following his impressive submission victory over Abdul Razak Alhassan.
The change of policy came to light during the post-match press conference held on Saturday, where White confirmed, “flags are back.” White shared that his decision to lift the ban was largely inspired by the recent Noche UFC event, celebrated in honor of Mexican Independence Day. During this event, the absence of visible national pride apparently irked White, who was on vacation at the time.
“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,” shared White. While he hadn’t initially been strongly opposed to the ban, White found himself increasingly perturbed by the inability of fighters to visually represent their countries. “Everybody’s too soft, everybody’s too sensitive about everything,” White opined, adding, “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.”