The UFC is cooperating with the FBI over fight-fixing allegations raised after betting lines shifted dramatically for a fight involving Isaac Dulgarian this past weekend at UFC Vegas 110.<\/p>\n
Originally listed as a sizable favorite in his fight, Dulgarian\u2019s odds shifted towards opponent Yadier Del Valle in the hours leading up to the event, with some sportsbooks actually pulling some of the prop bets attached to the fight, such as wagers on a first-round finish. Dulgarian ended up being submitted in the first round, and afterwards several prominent sportsbooks, including William Hill and Caesars Sportsbooks, offered refunds to betters who placed wagers on the fight.<\/p>\n
Now UFC CEO Dana White is breaking his silence on the whole ordeal after he says the promotion was first alerted by IC360 \u2014 a sports betting monitoring service partnered with the UFC \u2014 about \u201cunusual action\u201d involving the Dulgarian vs. Del Valle fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe called the fighter and his lawyer and said, \u2018What\u2019s going on?\u2019\u201d White told TMZ Sports on Tuesday. \u201cThere\u2019s some weird betting action going on in your fight. Are you injured? Do you owe anybody money? Has anybody approached you?\u2019 And the kid said, \u2018No, absolutely not. I\u2019m going to kill this guy.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we said OK. The fight plays out, first-round finish by rear-naked choke. Literally the first thing we did was call the FBI. So we called the FBI, I\u2019ve met with the FBI twice today.\u201d<\/p>\n
White said he spoke directly to FBI director Kash Patel, and the UFC has been meeting with FBI agents ever since the fight ended.<\/p>\n
Dulgarian was released from the UFC, and the Nevada State Athletic Commission reportedly withheld his fight purse, although the commission hasn\u2019t actually confirmed that yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI talked to [Kash Patel] this morning and then we just had an office full of FBI agents in here,\u201d White said. \u201cIf you try to do this, I\u2019ve been very vocal and very open about this, we will be your worst enemy. We will immediately go after you, guns blazing, with the FBI and whoever else we need to get. We will do everything we can to make sure you go to prison.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course this incident comes after a separate fight-fixing scandal rocked the UFC back in 2022 when a similar situation unfolded involving Darrick Minner and his coach James Krause. On that night, the betting lines once again shifted dramatically and Minner was ultimately finished by Shayilan Nuerdanbieke in just 67 seconds.<\/p>\n
Minner was also released, and the UFC effectively banned Krause from having anything to do with fighters competing in the promotion any longer after an investigation was opened.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo when this did happen a couple of years ago, whenever it was, that investigation is still ongoing and now will be a part of this investigation, too,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n
At this stage, White admitted it\u2019s premature to blame Dulgarian for everything that unfolded and call him guilty, although he claims the investigation isn\u2019t looking great for him right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate to see anybody in our sport do anything illegal. But fight fixing is absolutely insane,\u201d White said. \u201cTo get to this level and go out and be a part of [fight fixing], and I\u2019m not saying this kid\u2019s guilty. There\u2019s no proof that he\u2019s done this yet, but I can tell you this, it doesn\u2019t look good. It definitely doesn\u2019t look good. We approached him before the fight, he and his lawyer they denied that anything [was happening].<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you hurt? Are you injured in any way? Do you owe people money? Have you been asked to do anything illegal? We asked him all the questions and everything was \u2018absolutely not, hell no.\u2019 So the fight went on and then like I said, fight ended by finish in the first round. Literally walked out from the octagon into my room in the back and called the FBI.\u201d<\/p>\n
White also responded to rumors that the FBI has actually investigated other suspicious fights that have supposedly happened in the UFC over similar fight-fixing allegations.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople out there talking \u2018there\u2019s hundreds of fights [under investigation].\u2019 It\u2019s total bullshit,\u201d White said. \u201cTotal usual clickbait bullshit. IC360, our company, they monitor all of the betting. Like I said, they\u2019re the best in the business. There aren\u2019t hundreds of fights being investigated. All clickbait B.S.\u201d<\/p>\n