‘Pathetic’… Fans react to plan for stricter punishments after Max Holloway’s UFC 329 fine

Max Holloway was one of three UFC 329 stars who were hit with a fine earlier this week.

‘Blessed’ had $2,500 of his purse withheld after stopping Conor McGregor in 69 seconds on July 11.

Paddy Pimblett and Gable Steveson were fined the same amount for their post-fight actions at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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Stricter punishments planned after UFC 329

The Nevada State Athletic Commission [NSAC] punished the three UFC 329 stars for exiting the Octagon while celebrating their victories.

While discussing the matter Wednesday, chairman Dallas Haun referenced Conor McGregor’s infamous post-fight brawl with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October 2018, and his desire to prevent something like that from happening again.

Commissioner Anthony Marnell called on the UFC to help crack down on outside-the-cage celebrations, while rejecting calls for the rule to be scrapped.

“Moving forward, fighters who leave the cage to celebrate should expect to face harsher punishments,” MMA reporter Nolan King tweeted following the NSAC’s most recent monthly meeting.

“Gable Steveson, Paddy Pimblett, and Max Holloway are being fined $2,500 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for #UFC329 cage-hops. Lots of talk about the Khabib vs. Conor incident in 2018, and discussion about stricter penalties going forward.”

MMA fans express their outrage

Fight fans took to social media to express their outrage about Max Holloway, Paddy Pimblett, and Gable Steveson being fined $2,500.

They also reacted furiously to the suggestion that fighters who scale the cage to celebrate will face a more severe punishment from now on.

“Really hope UFC covers this for them. This is stupid,” one fan said. While another added: “Pathetic, to say the least.”

“Ridiculous,” a third person tweeted.

“They actually have to pay money for celebrating their win,” another X user wrote.

“Lame,” someone else commented.

“They’re literally just stealing their money for celebrating their wins,” a sixth fan said.