UFC president Dana White has confirmed reports that the FBI is investigating a possible betting scandal in the mixed martial arts promotion.
This week, fighter Isaac Dulgarian was released by the UFC after his loss to Yadier del Valle on Saturday – a result that was deemed suspicious, as he was submitted in the first round after a late change in odds.
The American, 29, went from a -250 favourite to -154 just before the fight, which took place on the main card of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night at the promotion’s Apex venue in Las Vegas. Dulgarian tapped out to Cuba’s Del Valle, 29, due to a rear naked choke at the 3:41 mark of the first round.
The Independent did not receive a response after approaching the UFC for comment, but the promotion’s president has now opened up on the incident and confirmed the FBI’s involvement.
“Probably about 1pm that day... We’re with a company called IC360, and they are the best bet-monitoring company in the business,” White told TMZ. “They reached out to us and told us that there was some unusual action going on with that fight. Did we know anything? We didn’t.
“So what we did was we called the fighter and his lawyer, and said: ‘What’s going on? There’s some weird betting action going on in your fight. Are you injured? Do you owe anybody money? Has anybody approached you to... you know?’ And the kid said: ‘No, absolutely not, I’m gonna kill this guy.’
“So, we said: ‘Ok.’ The fight plays out, and [it’s a] first-round finish by rear naked choke. Literally the first thing we did was call the FBI. I’ve met with the FBI twice today.
“People [are] out there talking: ‘There’s hundreds of fights under invest–...’ It’s total bull****. Total usual clickbait bull****.
“IC360, we’ve been with them for years and we get a report after ever single fight that we do [...] We take this very serious, and we’re watching every single fight that happens in the UFC from the first prelim to the main event.
“So, when this did happen a couple years ago, whenever it was, that investigation is still ongoing – and that will be a part of this investigation, too.”
White was referring to an episode in 2022, in which the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended the licence of fighter-turned-coach James Krause, after one of his mentees lost in suspicious fashion. The commission said Krause’s licence would remain suspended during the course of its investigation.
The UFC forbade any of Krause’s fighters from competing in the UFC unless they ceased training under him, and the promotion stopped allowing athletes and those close to them to bet on UFC events.
White continued on Tuesday: “I talked to [FBI director Kash Patel] this morning, but then we just had an office full of FBI agents in here. If you try to do this... I’ve been very vocal and 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.
“You’re seeing things out on the internet where fighters are going: ‘I was approached.’ Really? Why didn’t you tell us that? More importantly, why didn’t you tell law enforcement that you were approached? Now you’re saying that you were approached?? It’s really weird. They’re gonna be approached now – by the FBI!
“Fight fixing is absolutely insane. To get to this level and go out and be a part of... And I’m not saying this kid [Dulgarian] is guilty, there’s no proof that he’s done this yet. But I can tell you this: it definitely doesn’t look good.”
