UFC CEO Dana White announces end of flag ban: “If any flags hurt your feelings, too f**king bad”

UFC CEO Dana White has put an end to the flag ban.

Fight fans were surprised when Joe Pyfer was draped in the American flag following his second-round submission victory over Abdul Razak Alhassan at UFC Vegas 80. There had been a UFC policy in place banning flags inside the Octagon. This was in response to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Dana White Confirms UFC Flag Ban Lifted

Speaking to media members following UFC Vegas 80, Dana White explained the final straw in his decision to lift the ban on flags inside the Octagon (h/t MMAJunkie).

“Flags are back,” White said. “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.”

As one would expect, the UFC boss doesn’t care if anyone gets offended seeing flags back inside the Octagon.

“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.”

White also said that not everything can be micromanaged, but sometimes decisions are made for the right reasons. The UFC boss also admitted that his mentality towards being politically correct is to say, “I don’t give a f*ck.”

“Everybody in this room knows the way that I feel about a lot of things,” White said. 

Time will tell if the lift on flag bans will be reintroduced in the future, but it certainly doesn’t appear that White has any interest in making this just a temporary change. With special events such as Noche UFC, the ban lift is certainly welcome.