UFC Contender Weighs In On Ongoing Betting Scandal: “Totally ruins our sport”
Beneil Dariush believes the UFC’s latest betting scandal is ruining the sport.
Just three years removed from the sketchy situation involving former MMA fighter turned coach James Krause, UFC fighters are once again being investigated after unusual betting activity was detected ahead of Isaac Dulgarian’s fight against Yadier del Valle on November 1.
According to Dana White, who spoke extensively about the situation on Tuesday, revealed that the UFC was alerted by IC360 — the promotion’s sports betting integrity partner — on Saturday about unusual betting activity on that night’s featherweight showcase between Dulgarian and del Valle.
Dulgarian was a -250 when the day began, but an hour before the bout was scheduled to begin, a series of bets favoring del Valle came in and dropped Dulgarian to -150.
Dulgarian went on to lose the bout via a first-round rear-naked choke, eliciting criticism from the commentary team, including Daniel Cormier, who called Dulgarian’s defense “white belt stuff.” The UFC later released Dulgarian from the roster.
Since then, reports have revealed that the FBI is actively investigating Duglarian vs. del Valle and as many as 100 other fights for potential fight fixing.
“It just makes you wonder how much of this has gone on and how often it happens,” Dariush told MMA Junkie while discussing the scandal. “That totally ruins our sport if it’s happening on a regular basis. I’m not a believer in gambling, I’m not a fan of gambling, so I wonder if they will just remove gambling, but I don’t know if we can. It’s outside our control, outside the UFC’s control.”
Multiple UFC Fighters claim they’ve been approached to fix fights
In the time since Saturday’s card in Las Vegas, other fighters have claimed on social media that they have been approached about throwing fights. Vince Morales, who has 11 UFC bouts to his credit and last competed in March, said he was offered $70,000 to take a dive.
Vanessa Demopoulos, a women’s flyweight standout with 10 fights under the UFC banner, said she also has been approached about throwing fights.
In his interview with TMZ, White made it clear that he’s not certain of Dulgarian’s guilt, but admitted that “it doesn’t look good.” He also sent a stern warning to any fighter or coach attempting to fix fights.
“If you try to do this, I’ve been very vocal and very open about this; we will be your worst enemy,” White said. “We will immediately go after you, guns a-blazing, with the FBI and whoever else we need to get, and we will do everything we can to make sure you go to prison.”
