The possibility of a gambling issue in the UFC is a story that began this past November and will likely continue into 2023.
Notably, in October 2022, the UFC amended its gambling policy which highlighted that fighters could not place bets on themselves.
James Krause, a former UFC fighter and current coach of athletes on the promotion’s roster also runs a successful discord channel and admitted in an interview with Ariel Helwani that he gambles on his fighters and regularly has positive returns.
In November, Darrick Miner failed to report a prior injury heading into a fight with Shayilan Nuerdanbieke. Gambling lines saw heavy movement in hours leading up to the fight which Miner lost in the first round. US Integrity, a U.S.-based gambling integrity firm launched an investigation into the issue after multiple sportsbooks noted the line movement.
As a result of the investigation, Miner was cut by the UFC and Krause was prevented from cornering any of his athletes. The Nevada State Athletic Commission also suspended the two pending the investigation. In addition, in early December New Jersey and the provinces of Alberta and Ontario halted all gambling on UFC fights until further notice.
On December 2nd, the UFC notified all fighters coached by Krause that they must disassociate from him if they fight in the promotion.
Dana White was at first dismissive of the investigation but later changed his tone in public comments noting that the FBI was involved in the issue. He noted that “fight fixing” was a huge concern.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Krause-coached fighter Jeff Molina on December 24th as well as extending the suspensions of Miner and Krause. Molina was scheduled to fight in January but pulled out of the fight after being notified that the UFC would prevent Krause from coaching his athletes.
With gambling such a vital part of the UFC product, and MMA on a broader scale, integrity of the sport is vital. If a “fight fixing” scheme is uncovered it could prove damaging to the bettors, sponsors and the integrity of the sport as a whole.
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