While it’s clear that this administration would not do anything to Dana White’s UFC, the FBI did question him and the organization after what appeared to be a compromised fight in November.
A fight between Isaad Dulgarian and Yadier del Valle ended in a first round submission for the Cuban-born del Valle. Dulgarian was a favorite going into the fight.
Two days after the fight Dulgarian was cut by the UFC. Dulgarian had trained with James Krause who was connected with another betting scandal a couple years ago involving Darrick Minner. In that fight, Minner did not disclose an injury leading up to his fight. The UFC banned fighters from training with Krause in 2022.
The UFC released a statement on the release:
“Like many professional sports organizations, UFC works with an independent betting integrity service to monitor wagering activity on our events. Our betting integrity partner, IC360, monitors wagering on every UFC event and is conducting a thorough review of the facts surrounding the Dulgarian vs. del Valle bout on Saturday, November 1. We take these allegations very seriously, and along with the health and safety of our fighters, nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport.”
White stated in an interview that he received a tip that there were suspicious betting patterns for the fight and he had questioned Dulgarian with his attorney present (not sure why his attorney was present). Dulgarian answered the questions for White and was ok’d to go out and fight. White stated that right after the fight he called the FBI.
After the news of the alleged fight fixing, multiple fighters came out to discuss how they had been asked to throw a fight.
Clearly the UFC cannot be happy with fighters coming out saying they have been approached to throw a fight. The integrity of the company is Paramount (pun intended) as it heads into its huge media rights deal. But the bigger issue is that one of the appealing things about the UFC is that gambling is a huge industry that helps with the robust revenues of the company. If gamblers believe that fights are fixed, then they will not bet on fights. Gambling sponsors provide lucrative revenue for the UFC and we cannot watch a broadcast without odds for a fight being talked about on the air. If there is a decrease in gambling, they will go elsewhere.
The UFC is not alone with its gambling issues. The NBA saw a gambling scandal involving one of its (then) current coaches and ex-players. Some of the accusations included letting gamblers know of injury updates that were not yet privy to the public. Thus, allowing gamblers to take advantage of odds that had yet to change based on the information. Similarly, the UFC is keenly aware that they must be vigilante in ensuring the integrity of the fights. If not for anything else, but so that gambling may continue.
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