UFC Winnipeg was packed with controversy. Many fans believed Jamey-Lyn Horth was robbed in her fight against AJ Aldrich. However, one fighter appeared to be wronged more than once during the event, Canada’s Mike Malott. First, the broadcast team incorrectly displayed his birthplace as Cleveland, Ohio, during his walkout. 

Then, after securing the win, his Canadian flag was surprisingly snatched away. Malott, of course, retired UFC veteran Gilbert Burns by securing a knockout win in the third round. But when he sat up on the cage fence to celebrate, his team was about to hand him his native Canada’s flag, but a UFC official quickly snatched it away.

Mallot himself looked shocked by the move, but continued celebrating his win. Many were left dumbfounded by the incident, wondering why the UFC is against Canada when the fight itself was taking place in the country. As it turns out, flags are actually prohibited inside the Octagon because they can block sponsor logos that are paid to be visible during the broadcast.

“They are allowed to walk out with flags,” longtime MMA manager Daniel Rubenstein explained on X. “They don’t allow them to display flags in the Octagon because it blocks the sponsors and logos that paid to be on the canvas and Octagon posts.”

Flags were previously banned inside the Octagon after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The UFC aimed to avoid potential political tensions, particularly by preventing Russian fighters from displaying their flag. The rule applied to all fighters regardless of nationality. However, this ban was lifted in October 2023, and UFC CEO Dana White explained why.

“Yeah, flags are back,” White said. “I was on vacation during [Noche UFC], and the no flag thing drove me crazy, and I was like, yeah, f—k that we’re bringing flags back. It drove me crazy.”

But now, it appears that new broadcast and sponsorship rules are preventing fighters from bringing their flags inside the Octagon. Notably, flags were previously also banned during fighter walkouts, but this ban was lifted in October 2023. This remains unaffected due to new sponsorship rules. Regardless, while fighters are allowed to carry their flags during the walkouts, there’s one flag that’s banned from that as well.

Farid Basharat wasn’t allowed to carry the Afghan flag

Before UFC Vegas 84 in January 2024, Farid Basharat was denied the chance to walk out with the Afghanistan flag. And the bantamweight revealed that the issue stems from uncertainty surrounding which version of the national flag is officially recognized.

“I would love to walk out with the flag, but I don’t think they’re allowing the Afghanistan flag,” Basharat said. “Not the Afghanistan flag.”

The situation had already impacted his brother, Javid Basharat, who was denied permission ahead of UFC 294. 

“We tried in Abu Dhabi for Javid, and they said no,” Basharat added. “Because they don’t recognize the current government flag, and the old one is not an official flag. So what flag are you going to bring out? The Afghanistan flag I still a no-no.”

For Basharat, the flag is more than a symbol. It’s a connection to a homeland shaped by hardship. 

“People see war on TV, but they don’t realize it shapes entire generations,” he explained.

Basharat went on to beat Taylor Lapilus by unanimous decision. 

Even though carrying a country’s flag appears so minuscule, it appears the UFC wants to avoid controversy while giving its sponsors all the visibility they can.