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What initially appeared to be a routine UFC matchup between Isaac Dulgarian and Yadier Del Valle on Saturday night in Las Vegas quickly turned into a storm of controversy. Dulgarian, entering as the heavy favorite, delivered a shockingly poor performance. The Cuban phenom submitted him effortlessly in the first round, with ‘The Midwest Choppa’ offering almost no defense. The situation grew even more suspicious when the Armenian-American’s betting odds suddenly dropped just before the fight, fueling widespread allegations of fixing. Adding to the controversy, reports emerged yesterday that federal regulators have flagged over 100 UFC fights this year for abnormal betting patterns. Among those under scrutiny are Vince Morales and Vanessa Demopoulos, who initially confirmed that bookmakers had tried to influence their fights. Even featherweight Lando Vannata stepped forward, admitting regret over his involvement in such schemes. Surprisingly, just hours later, all three seemed to retract their statements. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad UFC Lando Vannata and Vince Morales‘s gambling “jokes” backfire UFC featherweight star Vince Morales recently revealed on X that someone offered him “70k” to lose a fight. Morales admitted that, despite having no intention of throwing the fight, he still lost. Adding to the humor, featherweight Lando Vannata joined in, saying, “Fair. I was approached seven times to throw a fight. My record reflects my integrity.” Since 2016, under Dana White’s promotion, Lando Vannata has competed in the UFC, currently holding veteran status with 13 fights, winning four of them. However, these kinds of jokes quickly stirred tension, especially following featherweight Isaac Dulgarian’s fight-fixing allegations. Then, when an ESPN journalist reached out to Lando Vannata via DM to “discuss” the matter further, his lawyer advised that this was not a topic to joke about. Vannata clarified, “To be clear I’ve never been approached about throwing a fight nor anyone I know. Because I’m not a h- and would never disrespect the martial arts for money.” ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Following Vannata’s clarification, Vince Morales addressed his earlier statement on X, admitting, “Okay, well sorry about all that 😅 terrible timing for what I thought was a good joke. Poor taste. This sh-t so grimy.” Morales, too, dismissed his comment as a joke. Meanwhile, women’s strawweight star Vanessa Demopoulos set her Instagram account to private and retracted her tweets, and Morales also removed his posts. Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports As a result, their statements, along with their later retraction of the so-called “joke,” will undoubtedly draw the fighters under the authorities’ scrutiny. Consequently, the key question now is whether these admissions will ultimately shield them from the FBI’s investigation. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad UFC responds amid Ariela Helwani’s claims that UFC was “aware” of betting activity The UFC’s reputation has come under heavy scrutiny following the recent betting controversy, especially after Ariel Helwani confirmed Harry Mac’s claim that “UFC was aware of this (betting activity) they were made aware of it” through federal channels. Despite this awareness, the UFC took no action prior to the event. Afterward, the promotion quietly parted ways with Dulgarian without offering an official explanation. However, Helwani made it clear that he does not question the promotion’s integrity. Even with mechanisms like U.S. Integrity (now IC360) in place, questions remain as to why such issues continue to surface. The controversy echoes back to the 2022 Darrick Minner / Jeff Molina / James Krause scandal, after which the UFC implemented third-party monitoring services. The latest situation has once again raised eyebrows. Responding to the Isaac Dulgarian incident, UFC officials issued a statement via Championship Rounds on X: “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.”
