Nevada has voted to hold Arman Tsarukyan’s and Diego Lopes’ earnings pending hearings on disciplinary matters.
At a monthly meeting Tuesday, the Nevada Athletic Commission voted to withhold 20 percent ($31,600) of Tsarukyan’s purse ($158,000) for swiping at a fan during his walkout, and five percent ($5,000) of Lopes’ $100,000 purse for hopping over the cage in celebration of his victoy. The Nevada Athletic Commission had temporarily held the funds from the T-Mobile Arena event in Las Vegas on April 13.
Executive director Jeff Mullen also revealed that UFC CEO Dana White said he’d pay Lopes’ fine, which came about after he hopped the cage following his finish of Sodiq Yusuff. White appeared to have given Lopes permission to jump the cage before the video showed it.
“After (Lopes) won, he jumped up and gestured toward Dana White, like, ‘”Can I come over?” Can I come over?’” Mullen said. “And White gestured like, ‘Come over.’ Then, I immediately stood up and took a step over that way and Dana White said, ‘I will pay his fine. I will pay his fine.’ Then our inspectors came around and proceeded to (assist) as I was trying to get him back in the cage also. Our inspectors came and escorted the man back…
