Dana White does not believe fighters should be punished merely for jumping out of the Octagon to celebrate a victory. The UFC head honcho has now sent a clear message to the Nevada State Athletic Commission after Max Holloway, Paddy Pimblett, and Gable Steveson were penalized for doing so after their respective wins at UFC 329 in July.

Dana White believes there is a clear contrast between a fighter leaving the Octagon to celebrate and someone doing so with the aim to cause chaos. Speaking to reporters following Week 4 of the DWCS, the UFC CEO argued that fighters exiting the Octagon to cause chaos should definitely be punished, whereas an emotional celebration shouldn’t automatically result in a fine.

“It’s one of those tough things because these guys get so excited,” Dana White explained. “And, you know, 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 or something, then you should get fined. The perfect example is Khabib (Nurmagomedov) when he went after (Dillon Danis), you know, those types of things. But if you just get overly excited and you jump out of the cage, I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

The comments follow Max Holloway, Paddy Pimblett, and Gable Steveson being fined $2,500 each for climbing over the Octagon fence following their victories at UFC 329 in July. The Nevada State Athletic Commission first withheld the fighters’ purses and ordered all three to a disciplinary hearing.

According to Nolan King of MMA Junkie, each fighter was then fined the amount, which all three promptly paid after the hearing. However, unlike Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s infamous cage jump at UFC 229 in 2018—which caused NSAC to implement the cage-jump mandate—none of the three fighters at UFC 329 appeared to be trying to engage another fighter or start a confrontation. ‘Blessed’ and the rest simply crossed the cage to celebrate by shaking hands with Dana White.

NSAC chairman Dallas Haun nevertheless defended the commission’s position, explaining that fighters are not permitted to leave the Octagon for any reason in Nevada. In fact, he pointed to what happened at UFC 229 as the clearest example of why the commission wants the rule enforced.

After ‘The Eagle’ defeated Conor McGregor, the undefeated champion stepped over the cage and attacked McGregor’s teammate Dillon Danis, sparking a massive brawl that spilled beyond the Octagon. The NSAC eventually fined Khabib Nurmagomedov $500,000 and suspended him for nine months for his role in the incident.

So while Haun noted that the UFC 329 fighters were in a completely different scenario, he warned that things may change very quickly once someone leaves the controlled setting of the Octagon.

“So these three, they’re jumping the cage ​to shake [Dana White’s] hand, and we appreciate the ​difference,” the chairman said. “Someone from the crowd behind Dana screaming something could change that in an instant.

“I get the celebration, I ⁠get ​the emotion that goes on between ​all these guys, including Dana, and his energy and positive energy for everything ​that’s going on. But it just can’t happen anymore.”

For Dana White, however, the solution is much simpler.

“I mean, that’s pretty much common sense,” the UFC CEO added. “I mean, this isn’t some f—– big executive decision that needs to be made that they need to call and talk to us.

“I mean, 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 s—- out of them. But if they don’t, then they shouldn’t.”

With the NSAC now having made its position clear, Dana White’s comments show that the UFC boss sees a meaningful difference between an emotional celebration and the kind of dangerous incident that occurred at UFC 229.

Similarly, Michael Bisping has been even more critical of the commission’s attitude, calling the idea of withholding fighters’ purses for cage celebrations straight up criminal.

Michael Bisping calls NSAC withholding UFC 329 fighter salaries ‘a crime’

The UFC Hall of Famer did not mince words in his criticism of the NSAC’s decision, and the commentator pointed specifically to Paddy Pimblett’s celebration after his victory against Benoit Saint Denis, stating that climbing onto the cage has become a familiar part of MMA celebrations.

“It all goes back to when [Pimblett] beat Benoît Saint Denis, and what did he do? He celebrated,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “He jumped on the cage, like a lot of fighters do. He wasn’t the only one that night that jumped on the cage.

“No, Max Holloway did it. Gable Steveson did it. And they’re also under investigation, and they may have their purses withheld, or they potentially are going to get fined thousands of dollars. Now, this is utterly ridiculous. I hate this rule.”

The former middleweight champion also drew on his own experience at UFC 199, where he stunned Luke Rockhold with a first-round knockout to win the UFC middleweight title. ‘The Count’ climbed onto the cage during his emotional celebration.

“I did it at UFC 199, which was in California, which is one of the strictest ones in the world,” Bisping said. “A lot of fighters jump on top of the cage.

“It’s one of the best bits; you want to celebrate, you’ve just won in front of 20,000 people, in front of millions of people watching all over the world. You’re allowed to celebrate winning. Certainly, if you’ve just won the world title.”

Michael Bisping also questioned why MMA fighters face punishment for climbing a cage when similar celebrations are common in boxing.

“Boxers do it in a boxing ring,” he added. “They jump on the ropes and salute the crowd. That happens all the time, and apparently there’s no issue with that, but if MMA fighters jump on top of the cage, then they’re going to get fined; they might have their purses withheld.

“It is utter, absolute dogs—. It’s nonsense. It’s a crime. It is the athletic commissions trying to get a few bucks for themselves. This rule needs to be changed.”

While the NSAC has stated that the rule serves to safeguard fighters and spectators, the controversy is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. After all, Dana White and Michael Bisping both agree that innocent celebrations should be treated differently from fighters who leave the Octagon with violent intentions.