As expected, Max Holloway — along with Paddy Pimblett and Gable Steveson — were slapped with $2,500 disciplinary fines for their cage-jumping celebrations at UFC 329 last month inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a big no-no in the wake of ButtGate at UFC 229 back in late 2018.
Blame the flying “Eagle.”
“We had close to 10 minutes of complete chaos [at UFC 229],” Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) Chairman Dallas Haun said during Wednesday’s meeting (via MMA Junkie). “When it was over, the police
holding cells in the back of T-Mobile Arena were full of people handcuffed, laying on their stomachs. In the city of Las Vegas, we want our guests to have a good time, but we also want them to be safe. That one incident caused the commission to take a very firm stance with that.”
Just ask Diego Lopes.
“We’re very clear with the fighters before they enter the cage,” Haun added. “Do not leave the cage for any reason. These three items, they’re jumping the cage to shake Dana’s hand. We appreciate the difference. Someone from the crowd behind Dana screaming something could change that in an instant. While we’re not comfortable and we don’t like doing these instances, for the safety of the crowd and having learned from UFC 229 in 2018, we feel very strongly about it.”
“A pretty rough night for all of us,” commissioner Anthony Marnell added. “It just can’t happen anymore.”
Not everyone agrees with the commission’s assessment.
“This is utterly ridiculous, I hate this rule,” former UFC champion and current analyst, Michael Bisping, said on YouTube. “A lot of fighters jump on top of the cage. It’s one of the best bits you want to celebrate. You’ve just won in front of 20,000 people, in front of millions of people watching live all over the world. You’re allowed to celebrate winning. Certainly if you’ve just won the world title.”
Bisping jumped the cage following his UFC 199 title win over Luke Rockhold (but was not fined).
“Boxers do it,” Bisping added. “In a boxing ring, they jump on the ropes and salute the crowd. That happens all the time, and apparently there’s no issue with that. But if MMA fighters jump on top of the cage, well then they’re going get fined. They might have their purses withheld. It is utter absolute dogsh*t. It’s nonsense. It’s a crime. It is the athletic commissions trying to get a few bucks for themselves. This rule needs to be changed.”
NSAC has been known to reverse longstanding rules, it just takes several years of outrage and disgust.
