Dana White Breaks Silence on UFC Betting Scandal – Confirms FBI Investigation “It definitely doesn’t look good.”
Dana White escalated the UFC’s response to a betting scandal on Tuesday, confirming direct FBI involvement and warning potential fixers of criminal prosecution after suspicious betting patterns preceded featherweight Isaac Dulgarian’s first-round submission loss at UFC Vegas 110 on Saturday.
Dana White Warns Fixers Amid FBI Probe
Speaking in an interview with TMZ, Dana White confirmed that the UFC became aware of irregular betting activity approximately 1 p.m. on Saturday when IC360, an independent sports betting monitoring firm contracted by the promotion, alerted officials to unusual wagering on the fight between Dulgarian and Yadier del Valle.
Dulgarian, who entered as a -250 favorite, saw his odds shift to approximately -130 in the hour before the bout. Large sums of money flowed in on del Valle, a +200 underdog, particularly on a first-round finish prop bet. Multiple sportsbooks halted wagering on the matchup and later issued refunds to losing bettors.
Dana White Talks Isaac Dulgarian Betting Scandal
White said the UFC responded immediately by contacting Dulgarian and his legal representative to investigate the cause of the betting movement. “We called the fighter and his lawyer and said, ‘What’s going on? There’s some weird betting action going on in your bet. Are you injured? Do you owe anybody money? Has anybody approached you?’ And the kid said, ‘No, absolutely not. I’m going to kill this guy,'” White stated.
The fight proceeded as scheduled. Del Valle submitted Dulgarian via rear-naked choke at 3:41 of the opening round, cashing the suspicious underdog bets and first-round finish props that had generated the betting alert. Commentators Daniel Cormier and Michael Chiesa described the performance on broadcast as “white belt stuff,” suggesting the level of technical execution appeared unusually poor.
White confirmed that immediately after the finish, he contacted the FBI. “Literally, the first thing we did was call the FBI. I’ve met with the FBI twice today,” White said on Tuesday. During a morning meeting with federal agents, White stated he spoke directly with FBI Director Kash Patel. “I talked to him this morning. We just had an office full of FBI agents here. If you try to do this, we will be your worst enemy. We will immediately go after you guns blazing with the FBI and do everything we can to make sure you go to prison,” White said.
The UFC released Dulgarian from his contract on Monday, two days after the loss, though the promotion has not formally confirmed whether this directly resulted from the betting investigation. The Nevada State Athletic Commission also withheld Dulgarian’s fight purse pending the outcome of inquiries, though this action remains unconfirmed through official channels.
White addressed speculation regarding other fighters claiming they had been approached to fix fights, questioning why such matters were not reported to law enforcement immediately. “You’re seeing fighters coming out now saying, ‘Oh, I was approached.’ Really? Why didn’t you tell us that? Or more importantly, why didn’t you tell law enforcement that you were approached?” White stated. He suggested fighters making such allegations would now face FBI interviews. “It’s like if somebody comes up and says, ‘Hey, I want you to rob a bank.’ And you don’t tell law enforcement? It’s really weird that fighters are coming out now saying they were approached. They’re going to be approached now by the FBI.”
White emphasized the UFC’s commitment to betting integrity monitoring. “IC360, the best bet monitoring company in the business,” White said, operates continuously across all UFC events. “There aren’t hundreds of fights being investigated. It’s all clickbait BS. We’ve been with these guys for years. We take this very seriously and we’re watching every single fight that happens in the UFC.”
Regarding the current investigation’s scope, White noted that an earlier betting scandal remains active. “The investigation from a couple of years ago is still ongoing, and it will now be incorporated into this current inquiry,” White stated. That prior case involved coach James Krause and fighter Darrick Minner. In 2022, Minner faced Shayilan Nuerdanbieke at UFC Vegas 64 after suspicious betting activity prompted sportsbooks to flag the matchup. Minner was knocked out in just over a minute. Krause and Minner were both suspended indefinitely by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for failing to disclose a pre-fight injury. The investigation has remained ongoing without public resolution as of March 2024.
White acknowledged the seriousness of any confirmed fight manipulation while noting that no definitive proof has emerged regarding Dulgarian’s involvement. “I hate to see anybody in our sport do anything illegal. Fight fixing is absolutely insane. And I’m not saying this kid’s guilty, there’s no proof yet, but it definitely doesn’t look good,” White explained.
Caesars Sportsbook and William Hill responded to the suspicious outcome by issuing refunds to bettors who placed wagers on Dulgarian. “Mobile customers with losing bets on the Dulgarian fight will receive a cash credit within 24 hours,” Caesars announced. DraftKings also confirmed it was investigating the incident in coordination with integrity monitoring services.
The UFC issued its own formal statement regarding the betting monitoring processes. “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.”
