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Read Full BioUFC President Dana White said he immediately informed the FBI of suspicions that Issac Dulgarian threw his fight against Yadier Del Valle over the weekend. In the wake of the allegations, more MMA fighters have come forward to reveal that they have received offers to throw fights.
Dulgarian has been released from the UFC following his loss in the first round by submission to Del Valle. White said he spoke to the fighter before the contest after betting irregularities were highlighted in the fight.
White said, “Probably about 1 o’clock that day, we’re with a company called IC 360, and they are the best bet monitoring company in the business. They reached out to us, and they told us that there was some unusual action going on with that fight — did we know anything, we didn’t.”
Dulgarian was a -240 favorite to win the UFC Vegas 100 main card fight, but del Valle was heavily backed to win in the first round in the hours leading up to the match. Dulgarian’s moneyline odds dropped to as low as -130, and several sportsbooks suspended betting on the bout.
On hearing of the suspicious bets, White approached Dulgarian before the fight. He added, “So what we did was, we called the fighter and his lawyer, and said, ‘What’s going on? There’s some weird action going on in your bet, some weird betting action going on with your fight. 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.’ So we said, okay.”
Despite the suspicions being raised, it appears Dulgarian did not heed the warning. He had previously stated that he believes fighters should be entitled to a cut of bettors’ winnings. In an interview last week, he said, “Don’t bet on me unless you’re paying me some percentage.”
After Dulgarian lost the fight, White immediately went to the FBI to report his suspicions that Dulgarian had deliberately lost. He said, “The fight plays out and first round finish by rear-naked choke. Literally, the first thing we did was call the FBI. So we called the FBI, I’ve met with the FBI twice today, so that’s the whole thing.”
Dulgarian Could Serve Jail Time if Convicted
In the aftermath of the fight, White was incensed, ranting, “They’re going to go to f****** federal prison. Federal f****** prison. If you’re that f****** stupid, and someone else wants to do it, knock yourself out. There’s not enough money in it to ruin your life and not go to jail, but federal prison.”
Dulgarian was then released from his contract with the UFC and is facing a criminal investigation. If found guilty, he could face prison time.
Korean fighter Tae Hyun Bang was sentenced to 10 months in prison after an investigation revealed he accepted a $92,160 bribe to throw a fight against Leo Kuntz at UFC Fight Night 79.
In that case as well, the UFC spoke to both fighters before the match to raise concerns about suspicious betting activity on the bout. Both fighters denied any wrongdoing, but the investigation proved otherwise.
Many have said that the UFC should have suspended the Dulgarian fight after the suspicious bets were noted. The fallout from the scandal could damage the organization’s reputation at a time when its popularity is at an all-time high. The UFC signed a $7.7 billion deal with Paramount earlier this year to screen events over the next seven years.
Other Fighters Reveal Offers to Fix Fights
As reports of a possible fixed fight surfaced, several fighters came forward saying they had been offered money to throw bouts.
In a now-deleted post on X, Vince Morales revealed he was offered $70,000 to throw a fight. He wrote, “All this throwing the fight stuff is crazy! I’ve been approached about doing it and it’s not something I could live with … even though I ended up losing the damn fight anyways.”
A user then asked, “How much were you offered?” to which Morales replied, “Penny’s (sic) considering how big of a deal it is. 70k.”
Morales deleted the posts and then attempted to cover his tracks, writing in a new post, “Okay well sorry about all that terrible timing for what I thought was a good joke. Poor taste. This shit so grimy”.
Vanessa Demopoulos, who has lost her last three UFC fights, also said she has been approached. In a comment on her Instagram account lilmonsterdemo, she wrote, “Yeah people have approached me to throw fights also. My integrity could never. We’ve spent our lives learning skills and honoring this sport. Can’t believe people compromise their morels [sic] like this.”
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani stated that he believes offers to throw fights are widespread throughout the UFC. Speaking on his podcast and later posted on X, Helwani said, “My understanding is that the Dulgarian controversy is not an isolated incident. I’ve spoken to multiple people who have either experienced or know of others who have been approached about their willingness to do something like this. Essentially: ‘Are you interested in throwing a fight for X amount of dollars?'”
As White noted, the amount of money offered does not seem sufficient to incur an FBI investigation. Particularly in the cases of Bang and Dulgarian, when both fighters were warned before the fight that suspicious betting had already been noted.
