After instituting a ban on fighters carrying flags out to the octagon and displaying them post-fight at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, UFC President and CEO Dana White has reversed that decision.
Speaking at the UFC Vegas 80 post-fight press conference, White revealed that the promotion’s recent Noche UFC card celebrating Mexican Independence Day had changed his mind. The decision, in fact, appears to be one White simply went along with originally.
“Flags are back,” White said following Saturday’s Fight Night card, which saw Bobby Green knock out Grant Dawson in a lightweight main event. “I was on vacation during the Mexican Independence Day, and the no flag thing drove me crazy. I was like ‘f*ck that, we’re bringing flags back.’ It drove me crazy.”
Noche UFC on September 16 was staged with the Mexican audience in mind, and it’s a tradition White is hoping will continue year after year. White expanded on his choice to lift the flag ban, explaining that “there’s a lot of things that go on in a company this big. You can’t micromanage everything. And sometimes things are done for the intentions of the right reasons and whatever.”
“Everybody in this room knows how 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 kind of like ‘eh. What’s the big deal if they don’t have flags?'” The event honoring Mexico changed his opinion on that. “Mexican Independence Day flipped the switch for me. I was like ‘that’s enough, I’m done with the no flags.'”
“Flags are back, if any flags hurt your feelings, too f*cking bad,” White finished. That should be music to the ears of many fighters, as the promotion has cards in Brazil and Canada coming up over the next few months.
