Russian MMA fighter made to cover up Nazi tattoo with duct tape

A Russian mixed martial arts fighter was told to cover up his Nazi tattoo prior to the start of his most recent fight. According…

By: Karim Zidan | 1 year ago
Russian MMA fighter made to cover up Nazi tattoo with duct tape
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

A Russian mixed martial arts fighter was told to cover up his Nazi tattoo prior to the start of his most recent fight.

According to The Mirror, Ivan Strelnikov was made to cover up the Nazi Wolfsangel tattoo across his midsection ahead of the finale of Hardcore MMA Season 1. The fighter could be seen at the start of the fight sporting green duct tape, which quickly peeled off as he began to sweat.

The 30-year-old went on to lose a unanimous decision to Azerbaijan’s Kenan Guliyev, bringing his professional record to 5-3.

Strelnikov, who ironically works in tattoo removal for his day job, had another tattoo on his shoulder covered up, as well as the phrase “born to be white” emblazoned across his stomach.

The Wolfsangel is an ancient runic symbol that was appropriated by Nazi Germany. It appeared as part of the divisional insignia of several Waffen-SS units, including the notorious 2nd SS “Das Reich” Panzer Division. As a result, it became a symbol of choice for neo-Nazis in Europe and the United States. More recently, the symbol has been associated with the far-right Azov Regiment in Ukraine.

This is not the first time that fighters have made headlines for their Nazi-affiliated tattoos. Russian fighter Roman Bogatov’s coach sported a Nazi Sonnenrad (Black Sun) tattoo during the UFC 251 broadcast and UFC fighter Andrea Lee ex-husband and former coach Donny Aaron had a pair of Nazi tattoos on his arm that he refused to cover up. More recently, a fighter was barred from competing in a Czech MMA organization after he was found to have a portrait of Adolf Hitler on his arm.

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About the author
Karim Zidan
Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.

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