Russian flag causes spat between Islam Makhachev, Merab Dvalishvili

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Welterweight champion Islam Makhachev appeared rather irked by Merab Dvalishvili's reaction to his UFC 330 win.

While watching Makhachev (29-1 MMA, 18-1 UFC) retain his title against Ian Machado Garry less than two weeks ago, Dvalishvili took umbrage with the promotion allowing him to carry his Russian flag.

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"I thought they're not allowed a flag in there? They don't let me use the flag," Dvalishvili told Nina Drama. "This flag is banned everywhere in the world, and only of course they show here in the UFC. It's crazy."

Dvalishvili (21-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) will look to reclaim his bantamweight title from Petr Yan (20-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) when the pair battle in a trilogy bout, which co-headlines UFC 333 on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi. Yan put an end to Dvalishvili's title reign by defeating him at UFC 323.

"Yes, I did see his reaction," Makhachev said of Dvalishvili (h/t Red Corner MMA). "I saw the video of him watching my fight, and he didn't seem happy to see me succeed in the octagon, but I don't pay attention to things like that. He had already said some things about it a lot of times, but Petr Yan beat him and raised the flag afterwards. And I think he'll beat him again and make him silent."

Makhachev's teammate, Umar Nurmagomedov, said things are personal with Dvalishvili, and he wants to avenge his loss to him for all of Dagestan. Dvalishvili handed Nurmagomedov the lone loss of his career at UFC 311.

Dvalishvili cleared the air by posting a video addressing his comments. He insists he has nothing but respect for Makhachev.

"I like Islam Makhachev. I think he’s a great and humble champion. I respect all the hard work he has put into his career, I have nothing but respect for him.But when I saw his team bring the Russian flag into the Octagon, I was upset. And the reason I reacted that way is because, first during all five of my UFC title fights, I was never allowed to bring my Georgian or American flag into the cage.Second reason for me, this is very personal because of what Russian politics and the Russian government have done to my country. Russia occupies around 20% of Georgia, and there has been a history of war, occupation, and suffering against my Georgian people. Russia has also been responsible for terrible violence in Chechnya, and they are still killing people in Ukraine today. I also want to make one thing very clear: I don’t hate Russian people. I hate Russian politics and the Russian government. My problem is with the government and its actions, not with ordinary Russian people.And for me, the people of the Caucasus — Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, and other parts of the region — have their own identities, cultures, and histories. I respect the people of the Caucasus.So again, this was never about Islam personally.And last thing I want to say is that the The Russian media is always asking me provocative questions, and they will never translate this video honestly or show what I’m actually saying, because it doesn’t fit the narrative they want to create.Reality is the Russian government is a dictatorship and corrupt. There is no freedom of speech and if you protest anything in Russia you go to jail. This is facts."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Russian flag causes spat between Islam Makhachev, Merab Dvalishvili

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