Gambling is one of the best things to happen to the UFC.
It is a fabric of their broadcasts to announce the betting favorites and the odds of prospective prop bets. Since the laws on gambling have become less strict, betting on sports is more than a full-time obsession for people.
The UFC has a partnership with Draft Kings and even events such as Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series’ gets betting odds and a dedicated portion of the program discusses the favorite and underdogs.
Last week, the company overseeing integrity in gambling let the UFC know of suspicious activity related to the Isaac Dulgarian-Yadier Del Valle fight. Dulgarian was the favorite going in against a young Cuban prospect, Del Valle. Betting odds and proposition bets for the fight took a suspicious turn going into the fight with Dulgarian’s odds to win going down and the proposition of the fight ending in round 1 going up.
According to Dana White’s interview with TMZ, he was notified of the suspicious betting patterns prior to the Dulgarian fight. He stated he spoke with Dulgarian and his attorney prior to the fight and was assured that there was no impropriety. After being submitted in the first round, White called the FBI.
There are additional reports on the incident and the fact that other fights may have been under scrutiny due to the fixing of fights. But White shouted down those allegations. He did indicate that James Krause investigation is still open and the Dulgarian fight will be subsumed with Krause.
For those that may not recall, James Krause was a former UFC fighter and at the time trainer for UFC fighters. He had a show on YouTube which discussed gambling. In 2022, one of Krause’s fighters Darrick Minner did not disclose an injury prior to his fight and lost. There is an investigation of impropriety with the fight as UFC fighter Jeff Molina, another Krause-coached fighter, was suspended due to the allegation he better on the Minner fight with knowledge that he knew of Minner’s undisclosed injury. Shortly thereafter the UFC dropped Minner and Molina. Krause was persona non grata as the UFC stated that no fighter could associate with his gym.
In his TMZ interview, White made sure that the UFC distanced itself from the betting scandal. He indicated that he had questioned Dulgarian (with his lawyer present) prior to the fight. Immediately after the fight, he called the FBI. A question that has not been asked is whether there is an actual protocol between the UFC and its Integrity Compliance 360 when it receives word about a potential fixed fight that has yet to occur.
In hindsight, the UFC could have called off the fight and all gamblers would have been refunded their money. Would it have been prudent for Integrity Compliance 360 to give a recommendation as to whether or not to hold the fight? We will never know.
This external threat is something that the UFC can try to contain. Despite having friends in government, the UFC is fighting the question of whether fights in the past have been fixed. According to a report from Ariel Helwani, there have been several UFC fighters that were approached about fixing a fight. No reports on if someone went through on the alleged offer.
But there are two issues going forward for the UFC.
First, fighters are susceptible to fixing a fight due to the fact that many fighters are paid less than their perceived worth. The proliferation of gambling in every sport has made athletes a target from bettors. Whether it is to straight up win or perform to make a parlay, bettors have threatened athletes to perform to satisfy their own needs. Couple that with fighters who are not making a whole lot, certainly a fighter could supplement their income with the hopes of no one finding out.
Secondly, integrity issues in the UFC may detract viewers to the sport. Gambling is a huge component for the sport. But, if there is a probe that fights have been compromised, the UFC could lose out on potential revenues. First, from fans that will pay less attention to the UFC. Second, it may lose fans in general if they believe that the fights are fixed. Finally, the credibility of the UFC, which White helped build with the Fertittas and through his business shrewdness may go to the wayside if there is a perception (not even if proven) that the fights are rigged.
With another card Saturday we will see if people will scrutinize the fights more.
Originally posted in Patreon.
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