UFC star Beneil Dariush warned that a fixed fight “ruins our sport” amidst an ongoing FBI investigation into suspicious betting line movement.

At approximately 1 p.m. on Saturday, a large sum of money allegedly started being placed on Yadier del Valle, who was a heavy betting underdog against Isaac Dulgarian at UFC Fight Night 263. Ahead of the bout, CEO Dana White — who provided his two cents on a recent eye poke controversy — was notified of the unusual activity by IC 360, a bet monitoring company.

White promptly called Dulgarian and his lawyer, asking what they knew about the action, but was reassured that he had no involvement. Yet several hours later, the featherweight lost to Del Valle at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas via first-round submission — marking the first stoppage defeat of his career.

Speaking to MMA Junkie on Wednesday, Dariush described the incident involving Dulgarian as “wild” before asserting that he’s never been asked to fix a fight over his decade-plus career with the UFC. “I mean, this is wild,” Dariush said. “I’ll be honest: No one’s ever approached me, and I think they know I’d never accept that.

“That being said, I think if the FBI’s involved, they’re going to have access to all [Dulgarian’s] messages, all his phone calls, all his records, so it’s not going to take long before they figure it out – unless he did the whole business face to face. But even then, I wouldn’t be surprised because what they could do is, they could basically track the location of your phone, and everybody’s phone you’ve been in contact with.

“It’ll be very difficult to get away with it, but it definitely sounds like he might have done it. The fact that they’re moving forward that quickly, there’s a good chance they already have information they need.”

Dulgarian is far from the only fighter who’s been investigated by the UFC following suspicious betting activity. Back in 2022, Darrick Minner was released by the promotion company after information regarding his lingering knee injury was seemingly unearthed ahead of his bout against Shayilan Nuerdanbieke.

Once news of the health setback leaked, the betting lines subsequently moved heavily in Nuerdanbieke’s favor. Minner, meanwhile, lost via first-round TKO.

DON’T MISS:

According to Dariush, similar incidents threaten the integrity of the UFC if they continue to take place. “That totally ruins our sport if this is something happening on a regular basis,” he said. “What I’m about to say is not going to be popular, but I’m not a believer in gambling. I’m not a fan of gambling, so I wonder if they’re just going to remove gambling, but I don’t know if we can. It’s outside of our control. It’s outside of the UFC’s control.”

As the UFC and FBI’s investigation continues to progress, Dulgarian has been released from his contract. “If you try to do this, I’ve been very vocal and very open about this: We will be your worst enemy,” White said. “We will immediately go after you, guns ablazing, with the FBI and whoever else we need to get. We will do everything we can to make sure you go to prison.”