Vic Darchinyan: Complaints from Turkish and Azerbaijani embassies indicate that they are in panic

By Lusine Shahbazyan

Complaints from the Turkish and Azerbaijani embassies indicate that they are in panic, Vik Darchinyan, the former world flyweight champion of professional boxing, told NEWS.am Sport, commenting on the criticism from the embassies of Turkey and Azerbaijan following Edmen Shahbazyan's entry into the octagon as part of the UFC Fight Night 173 with the flag of Artsakh.

"Edmen Shahbazyan is a young athlete showing great promise. I am proud of his deed. He showed the Artsakh flag to a large audience.

The reaction of the Turkish and Azerbaijani embassies to Edmen's act suggests that they have fallen into panic and are trying to resist what happened. I salute Edman. He presented our people with honor and I am sure he will continue in the same spirit. I believe that he will soon become the UFC champion," he said.

Earlier, in an interview with NEWS.am Sport, the head of the Glendale fighting club Edmond Tarverdyan, who is the personal trainer and manager of Edmen Shahbazyan, said that the UFC employee was fired for allowing an Armenian athlete to enter the ring with the Artsakh flag.