Issues related to their actions at UFC 300 have seen Arman Tsarukyan and Diego Lopes’s fight purses being withheld. Tsarukyan seemed to have punched a fan during his walkout at UFC 300. On the other hand, Lopes hopped over the Octagon right after securing a TKO win. These actions have been seen as violations.
The NSAC has scheduled a hearing for both Diego Lopes and Arman Tsarukyan after withholding their #UFC300 fight purse.
While the NSAC took issues with Lopes jumping the cage after his victory, the issue with Arman Tsarukyan stems from the Dagestani fighter punching a fan during… pic.twitter.com/UQNMOQn0uQ
— Nikhil Chauhan (@nickiiciao) April 26, 2024
Diego Lopes faced Sodiq Yusuff in a featherweight bout at UFC 300. The Brazilian won the fight in just 90 seconds via TKO. Tsarukyan was in a main card fight against Brazilian fighter Charles Oliveira. The Armenian fighter won a closely fought bout via split decision.
Reports suggest that both fighters did not receive payment for their wins at the milestone UFC PPV event. They are scheduled for a hearing before the Nevada State Athletic Commission for their violations. This is not the first time the NSAC has taken such an action. Igor Severino, who bit Andre Lima at UFC Vegas 89 in March, also saw his fight purse withheld by the NSAC.
Diego Lopes asked for permission from Dana White before hopping the cage at UFC 300
After claiming an impressive victory over Yusuff, Diego Lopes walked in the direction of UFC CEO Dana White who was in the front-row seat. While inside the Octagon, Lopes asked permission from White to hop out and talk to him. White granted the permission which led to Lopes peacefully hopping the cage and having a conversation with his boss.
A star in the making 💥@DiegoLopesMMA with a MASSIVE first round TKO victory at #UFC300 pic.twitter.com/ZoKU9PgqS1
— UFC (@ufc) April 14, 2024
On the MMA Hour, Diego Lopes revealed his conversation with White. Via a translator, Lopes said, “I jumped over the cage and talked to Dana… I said, ‘Dana, I’m going to be champion one day. Give me my rematch with Movsar Evloev on International Fight Week. After this, I’ll beat Movsar Evloev and go to Spain.’”
Withholding the fight purse seems to be the NSAC’s way. During UFC 210, Oliveira had also hopped the cage but received a different punishment. The New York commission suspended him for 60 days. Middleweight fighter Yoel Romero received the same punishment for similar actions at UFC 205.
Jose Also jumped the cage at UFC 142 to celebrate his win over Chad Mendes. It is unknown if he received any punishment after the event in Rio de Janeiro.
At UFC 235 Pedro Munhoz jumped the cage to celebrate his win over Cody Garbrandt. This resulted in a $2500 fine for Munhoz from the NSAC. Current UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis also jumped over the cage at UFC 290. No official reports state what he received as punishment but DDP revealed he had to pay a $10,000 fine.
Two years ago today: Khabib beats Conor at UFC 229 and then all hell breaks loose https://t.co/BWYgvzUtLY
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) October 6, 2020
On the other hand, the most violent cage-hopping incident was Khabib Nurmagomedov going after Conor McGregor’s team at UFC 229. Khabib’s fight purse was initially withheld by the NSAC and after the hearing, he received a $500,000 fine and a nine-month suspension for his actions.
Arman Tsarukyan reveals why he attacked the fan during his UFC 300 walkout
Tsarukyan was sure to land in hot water with the NSAC as soon as he was spotted jumping over to strike a fan during his walkout.
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According to Daily Mail, explaining the incident, Tsarukyan said, “He showed he wanted to punch me and I wanted to punch him back, that’s it. ‘If you show that it doesn’t matter who you are I am going to punch you in the face. ‘When you are close to me, it is automatic.”
White also worried that the UFC might get sued. However, that was not the case. Soon after the event was over, the fan claimed that he would not pursue any legal actions against Tsarukyan. However, he politely asked for tickets to McGregor‘s comeback fight at UFC 303. Tsarukyan promised him the tickets and the matter seemed to have ended.