The Nevada Athletic Commission will need to issue a payment to Diego Lopes following the hearing on Friday. Lopes got slapped with a $5,000 fine for jumping the fence after beating Sodiq Yusuff at UFC 300 in April.
Continue reading to find out more about NAC’s decision and the hearing!
On Friday, the NAC decided to cut that fine in half during a hearing with Lopes. Now, he only owes $2,500 plus $157.04 in legal fees. Since they already took $5,000 from his $100,000 purse, he’s getting some money back. At an earlier hearing, Jeff Mullen (NAC Executive Director) mentioned that UFC CEO Dana White had offered to pay Lopes’ fine. The video showed Lopes seemingly asking White for the go-ahead to jump over the fence before he actually did it.
Mullen explained that after Lopes won, he gestured towards Dana White as if asking for permission to come over. White responded with a gesture indicating he could. Mullen then stood up and started moving in that direction when White said he would pay Lopes’ fine. Inspectors assisted in getting Lopes back into the cage, escorting him back inside.
Lopes (24-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC) took out Yusuff (13-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in just 89 seconds during their featherweight match at UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas. After losing his UFC debut, Lopes has been on fire with three straight first-round finishes, all clocking in around 90 seconds. During Friday’s hearing, the commission also decided to extend the temporary suspensions of Arman Tsarukyan, Igor Severino, and Jay Jay Wilson. Their cases will be addressed at a future meeting.
So, what are your thoughts on the NAC’s decisions during this hearing? Share your thoughts in the comments!
