Holloway, Pimblett and Steveson each fined $2,500 for jumping the cage at UFC 329

The Nevada Athletic Commission handed $2,500 fines to Max Holloway, Paddy Pimblett, and Gable Steveson on Wednesday after all three fighters jumped outside the octagon to celebrate their wins at UFC 329 in July. The penalties were deducted from the fighters’ purses, which the commission had withheld since the event.

The ruling sparked pushback from fighters who questioned the fairness of penalising celebratory leaps, but commissioners were firm: the rule is not changing, and competitors in Nevada are expected to follow it regardless of intent.

Commission chairman Dallas Haun acknowledged the difference between a celebratory jump and an aggressive one, but said the risk to spectators cannot be ignored. “They’re jumping the cage to shake Dana’s hand and we appreciate the difference,” Haun said. “Someone in the crowd behind Dana screaming something could change that in an instant. We’re not comfortable, we don’t like doing this in these instances, but for the safety of the crowd and having learned from UFC 229 in 2018, we feel very strongly about it.”

The rule itself was introduced in direct response to the chaos that followed Khabib Nurmagomedov’s fourth-round rear-naked choke submission of Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in October 2018. Nurmagomedov immediately vaulted the cage and engaged in a physical altercation with a member of McGregor’s team, triggering a brawl that spilled into the crowd and required security and police intervention. Commissioner Anthony Marnell described it plainly on Wednesday: “A pretty rough night for all of us. It just can’t happen anymore.”

With the fines now paid, the withheld purses have been released and Holloway, Pimblett, and Steveson face no further disciplinary action from the incident.