LAS VEGAS – Dana White doesn't think things need to be overcomplicated when it comes to handing out fines to his fighters who leave the cage in celebration.
The Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) on Wednesday fined Max Holloway, Paddy Pimblett, and Gable Steveson each $2,500 for their UFC 329 cage-hop celebrations. Longtime commissioner Anthony Marnell suggested the NAC reach out to the UFC and ask for cooperation in cracking down on the effort, adding that stricter fines may come if that effort came up short.
White, however, thinks a specific line should be drawn as to when fighters are and aren't fined.
"It's one of those tough things because these guys get so excited," White told MMA Junkie and other reporters when asked about the situation after
DWCS 90 on Tuesday. "When you're caught up in the moment, when you think about how hard they train, they're gone from their families, they cut weight, they do all this stuff, and then they win, they're not thinking about fines or any of that stuff. What I think should happen is if you jump out of the cage to do something violent, then you should get fined... The perfect example is Khabib (Nurmagomedov) when he went after (Conor McGregor). Those type of things. But if you just get overly excited and you jump out of the cage, I don't think that's a big deal."
The Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor example was the prime one used by commission members when discussing why they've cracked down on fighters who scale the cage in recent years. However, White thinks there's a big difference between that situation and an athlete jumping on the fence to salute the crowd or jumping over it to shake the UFC brass' hands.
"This is pretty much common sense," White said. "This isn't some f*cking big executive decision that needs to be made that they need to call and talk to us. It's pretty simple. If a guy jumps over the cage with bad intentions toward another fighter or somebody in the crowd or something like that? Yes, fine the sh*t out of them. But if they don't, then they shouldn't."
The trifecta of UFC 329 fines drew criticism from many ends of the combat sports universe, including from Pimblett's manager, Graham Boylan, of Intensiti Fighter Management, who called for a rule change in a text to MMA Junkie.
"For the record, this rule needs to be changed," Boylan wrote. "Yes, it’s the fight game, and systems need to be in play to make it all work, but this rule does nothing to support that. It’s 2026. Apply a little common sense."
The Nevada Athletic Commission holds its next monthly meeting Sept. 30 in Las Vegas.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dana White draws 'common sense' line on fining UFC fighters who leave cage
