The Nevada Athletic Commission is going to have to cut Diego Lopes a check after Friday’s hearing … sort of.
Lopes was fined $5,000 when he hopped over the fence after his UFC 300 finish of Sodiq Yusuff in April.
Friday, the NAC cut that suspension in half in an adjudication with Lopes. Officially, his fine will be $2,500 plus legal fees of $157.04. Because the commission already withheld $5,000 from Lopes, which was 5 percent of his $100,000 purse, he’s due the difference.
At a prior hearing, NAC executive director Jeff Mullen said UFC CEO Dana White said he’d pay Lopes’ fine. Video showed Lopes appeared to ask White for permission to jump over the fence before he did 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 around and escorted him back in the cage.”
Lopes (24-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC) knocked out Yusuff (13-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) just 89 seconds into their featherweight fight at UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. After a loss in his UFC debut, Lopes has three straight first-round finishes, all around the 90-second range.
Also at Friday’s hearing, the commission extended the temporary suspensions of Arman Tsarukyan, Igor Severino and Jay Jay Wilson for resolution at a future meeting.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
