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Brett Okamoto
The UFC and the FBI are actively working together on an investigation into unusual betting activity prior to a fight last weekend in Las Vegas.
According to UFC CEO Dana White, sports betting watchdog Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) alerted the UFC to the unusual betting interest on the featherweight bout. isaac dulgarian And yadier del valle Saturday at UFC Fight Night. Dulagarian, who was an approximately -250 betting favorite, lost by submission in the first round.
Several sportsbooks told ESPN that large bets were placed on Del Valle before the fight. Caesars Sportsbook later posted that it would refund bets on Dulgarian. The UFC released Dulgarian from the promotion immediately following the results and are now working with the FBI on further investigation.
,[IC360] Reached out and told us there was some unusual activity going on in that fight [asked] Did we know anything,” White told TMZ. “We didn’t know. We called the fighter and his lawyer and said, ‘What’s happening? are you injured? Do you owe money to anyone, has anyone contacted you?’ The child said, ‘Absolutely not. I’m going to kill this guy.’
“The fight’s started, first round’s over – literally, the first thing we did was call the FBI. I met with the FBI twice [Tuesday],
While acknowledging the serious nature of fight fixing, White denied that Saturday’s incident is indicative of a larger issue in MMA. White said the UFC has a long-standing partnership with IC360 and is constantly monitoring any suspicious betting activity.
“There’s people talking, ‘There’s been 100 fights [flagged as suspicious],’ and this is typical clickbait bulls—,” White said. “We’re looking at every single fight that happens in the UFC,”
This is the second public federal investigation into suspicious betting activity surrounding the UFC. A former UFC fighter and famous coach, James Crusewas suspended from cornering in 2023 after an encounter involving one of his students, derrick minorAttracted unusual interest in betting. Miner lost in the first round, and it was later revealed that he entered the bout with a pre-existing injury. White said the investigation is still ongoing.
