Nasrat Haqparast was born in Germany but both his parents are from Afghanistan and he has proudly represented the country in all his UFC appearances, up until the last one. At UFC 266 he was not even designated with a nationality, and was told to leave his flag at home.
The 26 year old explained the situation in an Instagram story:
The Taliban-controlled Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which controls most of the country, uses a white field with a black Shahada. The internationally recognized Islamic Republic of Afghanistan uses the black, red, and green tricolour with the national emblem centered in white.
At least that’s what Wikipedia says, and it doesn’t look like the old flag will appear in the octagon again until this dispute is resolved. It means Haqparast is currently without a country, at least as far as the UFC is concerned.
