Merab Dvalishvili hits back at Islam Makhachev and reveals two reasons behind Russian flag comments

After his win over Ian Machado Garry, Islam Makhachev celebrated with his team in the octagon at UFC 330 and openly displayed the Russian flag. 

The celebration sparked a reaction from Merab Dvalishvili, who was closing following the fight, alongside UFC creator Nina Marie Daniele. He argued that the Russian flag is banned from being displayed inside the octagon. 

That led Makhachev to lash out at Dvalishvili for his comments, accusing the Georgian of being just jealous of his success and predicting he would lose to Petr Yan at UFC 333. Now, ‘The Machine' has responded and explained the reasoning behind its reaction.

Merab Dvalishvili responds to Islam Makhachev's criticism over Russian flag comments

In his latest Instagram video, Dvalishvili responded to Makhachev, asserting that his comments were not intended as a personal attack on the welterweight champion. The former champion praised the Dagestani star and said he has tremendous respect for what he has accomplished throughout his career.

"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,” Dvalishvili said.

However, Dvalishvili explained that seeing Makhachev's team bring the Russian flag into the octagon triggered his reaction. He pointed to his own experience competing for UFC championships and claimed he was never allowed to bring either the Georgian or American flag into the cage during his title fights.  

“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,” Dvalishvili explained.

Interestingly, the former bantamweight champion explained that the second reason behind his comments was personal. He acknowledged that his reaction stemmed from his views on Russian politics and its history with Georgia and other nations. However, he maintained that he has no issue with the Russian people.

Dvalishvili continued, "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... 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.... 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."

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments below:

Dvalishvili has been involved in a war of words with members of Khabib Nurmagomedov's team. Especially with Umar Nurmagomedov, he faced and defeated him at UFC 311. The bad blood between them continued to boil, and recently, Umar shared that the rivalry has become personal not only for him but for the whole Dagestan nation.