Armenian UFC middleweight Edmen “The Golden Boy” Shahbazyan did not receive his Reebok fight-night apparel check from the promotion because he displayed the Artsakh flag during his main event fight with Derek Brunson on August 1, coach Edmen Tarverdyan told NEWS.am. A UFC employee was subsequently fired for the incident as well, the outlet reported.
The Republic of Artsakh, also known as the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus. It has an Armenian ethnic majority, though it is internationally recognized as a part of the nation of Azerbaijan.
Nasimi Aghayev, the Consul General of Azerbaijan, took issue with the Artsakh flag Shahbazyan displayed and he said that he sent a letter to the UFC protesting it.
As reported by Canyon News, Leyla Abdullayeva, spokesperson for Azerbaijani’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explained the contents of the letter. She said:
The letter notes that illegal organization is nothing but the result of Armenia’s military aggression and unequivocal position of the United States on support to Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity has been brought to the attention of UFC leadership. According to the UFC rules, it has been noted that only the flags of internationally recognized states are allowed to be demonstrated, and taking appropriate disciplinary measures against Armenian fighter for attempts to politicize competition and not to repeat such cases in the future has been demanded.
Tarverdyan, who is also Armenian, told the UFC during a phone call on August 4 that he and his fighter “wanted to stand by our country”. He continued, “We represent Armenia, in this way we present our complaint about the recent tense situation in Tavush and that Artsakh is our country, Armenians live there. and we must defend our nation. The goal of our team in the United States is to represent the Armenians, the Armenian nation, our country in all major tournaments. Edman’s coming out of the octagon with the flag of Artsakh had exactly that mission.”
Tarverdyan told the outlet that they did not receive the Reebok check as a punishment for displaying the flag. He said that “the Azerbaijani and Turkish embassies achieved their goal.”
The coach also claimed that he did not feel bad about losing the Reebok money, but he was upset that the UFC employee was fired. Tarverdyan said, “There was no such thing as harming the UFC.”
The Golden Boy has fought five times in the UFC since earning a contract with the promotion during Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018. He won his first four bouts in the UFC, defeating Darren Stewart by split decision, Charles Byrd by first-round TKO, Jack Marshman by first-round rear-naked choke and Brad Tavares by first-round KO.
The victories elevated The Golden Boy up the rankings, and on August 1 he found himself in his first ever UFC main event. Shahbazyan took on veteran middleweight fighter Derek Brunson, and he suffered his first career loss. The Golden Boy was rocked and nearly finished at the end of the first round, and it only took Brunson 26 seconds into the second frame to take Shahbazyan out.
Shahbazyan had a lot of hype behind him going into the bout with Brunson. At 22 years old, The Golden Boy is looked at as a young, talented prodigy with the backing of his manager, former women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey. After the loss, Rousey took to Twitter to thank Brunson for the learning experience.
Sometimes the greatest lessons a fighter can learn are in defeat. Rousey tweeted to Brunson: “Thank you @DerekBrunson, congrats on your well [deserved] victory and thank you for teaching @edmenshahbazyan lessons he needed to learn to be a champion
