Actress and presenter Anna Khilkevich on the air of the program “There is a topic!” on , she talked about how she realized her idea to support Russian athletes with the country’s flag at the UFC 294 tournament in the United Arab Emirates and how she met the UFC president. Dana White .
At the UFC 294 tournament in Abu Dhabi on October 21, fighters and fans were banned from bringing their country’s flags. Khilkevich painted the Russian flag on his chest and attended the tournament. In the main fight, Russian Islam Makhachev knocked out Australian Alexander Volkanovski in the first round and defended the UFC lightweight championship belt.
— Do you wear a flag on your chest now?
– The flag is always with me!
– How did the idea come to you? How did you manage to achieve this?
— I saw news on the Internet that Dana White wanted to lift the ban on all flags. I was happy and thought of taking the rag flag with me.
Then it turned out that the ban was not lifted, but I really wanted to do it. So I bought some paints and painted. I didn’t know the consequences. I went to cheer on the guys who represent our country. Nobody noticed it. Or maybe they noticed, but didn’t tell me, not even Dana White.
“Did you have time to talk to White?”
– Yes. I came at his invitation. It was such a small talk [небольшой разговор]. We just exchanged a few words, we didn’t know each other personally. But on the Internet, we have been following each other for a long time. This is the second year he has extended invitations to us. This year I was able to meet you personally. I brought him a jar of Russian black caviar.
— Have you spoken to the athletes?
“We were in the same area as the athletes. But it is not good to distract them from the competition. I bumped into Magomed Ankalaev a little bit and wished him good luck,” Khilkevich said on .
Russian Magomed Ankalaev and Brazilian Johnny Walker fought on the main card of the UFC 294 tournament. If he wins, Ankalaev could become a contender for the UFC championship belt. The fight was declared a draw after an illegal knee strike to the head of a Russian athlete in the fourth minute of the first round.
Watch live broadcasts of UFC tournaments on and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
