Mike Malott speaks out after UFC official rips Canadian flag out of his hands following victory

CALGARY — Canadian UFC fighter Mike Malott has spoken out after a UFC official ripped a Canadian flag out of his hands when he was celebrating his victory in front of a home crowd in Winnipeg on Saturday night. In a clip that has now gone viral, Malott is shown sitting atop the octagon celebrating and about to wrap himself in the Canadian flag when the flag was suddenly snatched by a UFC official. Malott looks annoying and confused, gesturing towards the official to show the crowd his bewilderment. .The incident resulted in a tremendous amount of online backlash, with UFC officials claiming that fighters aren't allowed to have flags in the octagon, but this seems to be a rule that is only half-heartedly enforced..A couple days later Malott spoke about this incident with fellow Canadian Ariel Helwani on Helwani's show.Malott stated that he was previously told that as long as he wasn't inside the octagon, he would be allowed the flag, but when he went to do this, the official didn't let him."As I was pulling it (the flag) up, he snatched it out of my hand, and he did it all shittily too. He snatched it and looked at me, like, 'Dude, what the hell, man?'" Malott said of the incident."Number one, don't try and be a tough guy to me, like, I just fought in the cage, and number two, I don’t understand what the rule is that says I couldn’t have that flag. I walked out with it," he continued..Malott had done a similar thing when he fought in Montreal and was allowed the flag that time, so he expressed his confusion about why this time he wasn't permitted to hoist the Maple Leaf."I'm proud to be Canadian; I'm proud to be in a room full of Canadians and to perform with the flag metaphor, the flag behind my back. I want to physically and literally have the flag on my back," he said.UFC officials have given the explanation that flags aren't allowed in the octagon to prevent the covering up of sponsors, but as Malott points out, he was quite obviously outside the octagon, which makes the design of the official all the more confusing.The victory in Winnipeg marked Malott's fourth straight win in the UFC, with the Burlington, Ontario native fast becoming Canada's most competitive fighter in mixed martial arts.

Mike Malott speaks out after UFC official rips Canadian flag out of his hands following victory

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