‘I Want To Save My Family’: Ukrainian UFC Fighter Emotional Following Win At UFC 272

Ukrainian UFC women’s flyweight Maryna Moroz did not hold back in the lead up to her appearance Saturday night at UFC 272 in Las Vegas. 

“F*** you, b****! I love my country,” Moroz told TMZ in a message to Russian president Vladimir Putin. “Don’t touch Ukraine!”

“It’s hard time for Ukraine,” Moroz continued. “I want to support my country, my president, whole army in Ukraine, and I want to say we don’t want war. I worry about my family right now.”

Moroz, who is from Vilnohirsk, Ukraine, had the impossible task of getting into the octagon Saturday night as her country attempts to fend off the Russian invasion. 

Not only did she get into the octagon, but Moroz won her 11th professional fight, submitting Mariya Agapova in the second round at UFC 272. 

LOCKS IN THE SUB 🔒

Maryna Moroz with the dominant finish to end it RD 2!

[ #UFC272 | Prelims are LIVE on E+ ] pic.twitter.com/ny7MJXjccI

— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022

With the win, Moroz moved to 11-3 in her MMA career. Following the dominant victory, Moroz was emotional in her post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. 

“If you know my country has war right now, and my family is in Ukraine,” Moroz said. “I had a hard week. I worried. I cried because my family right now is in a bad situation. Thank you for everyone who messaged me and supported me because this week was hard for me. I wanted to cry because of this war in my country. Thank you, everyone.”

Powerful words from an emotional Maryna Moroz competing in incredibly tough circumstances 💙💛#UFC272 pic.twitter.com/U35HcBvj3C

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) March 6, 2022

Moroz continued to discuss the situation in her home country in her post-fight press conference. 

“It’s hard. I think my mother right now is nervous,” Moroz said. “I’m nervous about my mother. I don’t want the Russian people to come and kill my family. Because many of my friends have died right right now.” 

“I want to save my family,” Moroz added. 

“I don’t want Russian people to come and kill my family.”

An emotional Maryna Moroz discuses the war in her native Ukraine.#UFC272 | Full video: https://t.co/kBFvqiC7ps pic.twitter.com/RwQvGIi8t3

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) March 6, 2022

In the main event of the evening in Las Vegas, Colby Covington defeated Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision (49-46, 50-44, 50-45) in a matchup between former friends. 

“It wasn’t my best performance,” Covington said in the post-fight news conference. “Just a lot of emotions going into it. That was a real friend of mine at one point in my career. … I let my emotions get the best of me. But it was still dominant. I showed the world how good I was.”

Covington dominated the match, scoring six takedowns on the night. With the win, Covington moves to 17-3 in his career. 

“He makes you worry about the takedown,” UFC president Dana White said in the post-fight news conference. “He fought the exact fight I thought he would fight tonight. You have to defend that takedown all night, so it sets up the striking for him.”

Following the win, the former interim welterweight champion called out former training partner Dustin Poirier for his next fight. 

“I’ll see you soon,” Covington said, referring to Poirier. “You’re next!”

Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].

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