UFC star Alexey Oleynik wore Vladimir Putin t-shirt and is banned from Ukraine

MMA veteran Oleynik wore a Vladimir Putin to the weigh-ins of a UFC fight in 2014 and was banned from entering his birth country of Ukraine the following year

UFC heavyweight Alexey Oleynik once wore a Vladimir Putin t-shirt to a weigh-in and was subsequently banned from entering his native Ukraine.

MMA veteran Oleynik will compete in his 77th professional fight tonight when he faces Ilir Latifi at UFC Columbus. Oleynik is the first and only fighter to compete and win across four different decades having turned professional in 1996.

Oleynik was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine which at the time was part of the Soviet Union. The 44-year-old, who is a naturalised Russian citizen, was banned from entering his birth country in 2015 after he wore a Vladimir Putin t-shirt before his second UFC fight.

The UFC heavyweight had reported ties to the Oplot fight club, whose name translates to “Stronghold” in English. The pro-Russian group was formed in Olenyik’s birth city and was opposed to Ukraine’s Euromaidan movement.

After living in Ukraine for three decades, Oleynik was labelled a “threat to national security” by Ukraine as he described being banned from the country as “absurd”.

“I have only one phrase about what happened, absurdity. But because of what was done, I also absolutely understand,” he told MK in 2015. “Simply because I have expressed, am expressing and will continue to express my civic position.

“I tell you, these are all people who came to power illegally. Open any encyclopedia and see the language of democracy. It will have nothing to do with what is happening now in Ukraine, because it was not a decision of the people, but a seizure by force.

“The marginal group of western Ukraine replaces concepts, they try to impose their attitude on others, but they cannot do it with those people who value us. And so many of them.

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“I lived there for 30 years, I have a lot of fans in Ukraine, I am respected there. Let them keep their borders safe. Anyone who wants to cross it, including me. If you know places and different moves, you do not need a passport or any other documents.”

Putin declared war on Ukraine last month after years of tension between the two countries. Over 3.5 million refugees have fled the country through its western border as the continues to get worse.

Russian fighters Shamil Abdurakhimov and Sergei Pavlovich were booed at UFC London as the heavyweights entered the octagon for their fight. Pavlovich knocked out Abdurakhimov in the first round as many fans continued to boo him when the official decision was read.