Russian MMA fighter Alexey Oleynik said that there was no instruction for Russian fighters not to bring the flag into the Octagon before the UFC 273 tournament, where he defeated American Jared Vanderaa.
"It never happened. Nobody said anything to me. As usual, they asked me what music I was going to use for entering, whether I was going to take any object or flag with me. If you're going to do that, you have to provide this item for verification so that it's not prohibited according to the TV guidelines. The Russian flag is not one of those things. You can safely wear it," Oleynik told MMA.Metaratings.ru.
On the morning of April 10, Petr Yan fought for the bantamweight title against Aljamain Sterling in the co-main event of UFC 273. The Russian appeared in the fight without a national flag. Later the media wrote that the promotion advised the boxer not to wear the national tricolor. Yan lost this fight by a split decision.
Oleynik defeated American Jared Vanderaa on the undercard of UFC 273 in Jacksonville (USA). The fight lasted 3:39. Oleynik managed to take the fight to the ground, where he dominated the fight and performed a scarf hold. For this fight, the Russian received a bonus of $50.000 for the evening's performance. This is the ninth win for the Russian in the UFC and the 60th of his career.
In June 2021, Oleynik fought against Moldovan Sergey Spivak at UFC Vegas 29. In this confrontation, the Russian fighter lost to his opponent by the unanimous decision of the judges. Alexey has 60 wins, 16 losses, and one draw under his belt.