Max Holloway may lose a portion of his fight purse following his UFC 329 victory over Conor McGregor — and he’s not alone. Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) will decide on Wednesday if the former featherweight and BMF champ, along with lightweight contender Paddy Pimblett and heavyweight newcomer Gable Steveson, will incur disciplinary fines for cage hopping during the July 11 fight card in Las Vegas.
Pimblett defeated Benoit Saint Denis, not long after Steveson steamrolled Elisha Ellison.
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“For the record, this rule needs to be changed,” Pimblett’s manager, Graham Boylan told MMA Junkie. “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.”
Diego Lopes was dinged $5,000 for a similar infraction at UFC 300.
NSAC has been cracking down on airborne fighters ever since Khabib Nurmagomedov’s butt bombed Dillon Danis at UFC 229 back in late 2018, a fight that also involved McGregor. Speaking of the “Notorious” ex-champion, he’s currently sidelined after knee surgery to repair damage suffered in his loss to Holloway — just don’t expect much sympathy from the “Blessed” Hawaiian.
“The fight went the way it went,” Holloway said on YouTube. “I feel bad for the fans. It’s just crazy for the dude to be talking about, ‘It was slippery because of the dry ice’ or whatever. I don’t know what he’s talking about because I didn’t fall. Him talking about this ‘generational beating’ — the dude is delusional. To me, he felt slow in there. He felt slow; he looked old.”
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“If there was going to be a generational beating, it wasn’t going to be on his end, I’ll tell you that much,” Holloway continued. “It wasn’t going to be coming from his side. At the end of the day, I feel bad for the fans. It was a big event; a lot of people spent a lot of money. Shoutout to them for the support, but I had the man weak in the knees from the beginning, I guess.”
For much more on the UFC 329 event click here.
