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The UFC is in the spotlight after a seemingly innocuous featherweight fight ended with an air of confusion and immediate skepticism. Isaac Dulgarian, a heavy favorite known for his wrestling prowess, stepped into the octagon to face undefeated prospect Yadier del Valle on the main card of UFC Fight Night: Garcia vs. Onama. The fight ended abruptly in the first round after Dulgarian shot for a takedown and found himself caught in a suspiciously easy rear-naked choke. What seemed on the surface to be a shocking upset was quickly overshadowed by the bizarre nature of the loss, leaving the MMA media and fans wondering if they had just witnessed a legitimate fight. The fight became even more controversial as highly unusual activity in the betting markets spiked in the hours leading up to the fight. The repercussions were swift and severe. Just two days after the fight, the UFC released Isaac Dulgarian from its roster. Furthermore, the Nevada State Athletic Commission is reportedly withholding Dulgarian's fight purse pending the outcome of the investigation. Dana White Responds The UFC CEO and President made it clear that he is against fight fixing and is doing everything in his power to catch the perpetrators responsible. He said in an interview with TMZ, “Literally the first thing we did was call the FBI. If you try to do this, we will be your worst enemy. We will go after you. We’ll do everything to make sure you go to prison.” UFC Fighters Come Forward This incident has also sparked wider concerns about the prevalence of fight-fixing in MMA. Shortly after the scandal broke, UFC veteran Vince Morales came forward on social media, revealing he was once offered $70,000 to throw a fight, which he refused. He shortly deleted his post, but the exchange was screenshotted by the USA Today publication, MMA Junkie: In MMA Junkie’s Instagram post of the screenshot, strawweight fighter Vanessa Demopoulos and featherweight Lando Vannata commented that they have been approached about fixing a bout, but rejected the offer. These admissions suggest the issue may be more widespread than a single incident. Dana White, however, reprimanded these athletes during his interview with TMZ. "It’s crazy — you’re seeing fighters come out now saying, 'Oh, I was approached.' Really? Why didn’t you tell us that?" he said. "Or, more importantly, why didn’t you tell law enforcement? Now you’re saying you were approached?" He continued, "It’s like someone coming up and saying, 'Hey, I’m going to rob a bank — you want to rob a bank with me?' You don’t do it, but you also don’t tell the police? It’s weird that fighters are just now saying they were approached. And they’re going to be approached by the FBI now." Not the First UFC Betting Scandal This is not the first time the UFC has been involved with betting scandals. In 2022, the promotion had a major betting scandal involving fighter Darrick Minner and his coach, James Krause. The two were allegedly involved in suspicious betting patterns after Minner suffered a first-round finish in a fight with Shayilan Nuerdanbieke. This controversy led to an investigation that discovered Minner withheld information about a pre-fight injury, and Krause gave this information to members of his Discord group chat focused on sports betting, which he later admitted in an interview with MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. The investigation led to the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspending all parties involved, with Krause being permanently banned from the sport and Minner being released from the UFC. The UFC also released UFC flyweight Jeff Molina due to his involvement with Krause. Notably, Dulgarian was among the fighters who had previously trained with the now-banned Krause. Ariel Helwani Investigates Today, Helwani has gathered even more information, claiming that federal authorities are aware of the scandal and are currently investigating the incident. He also revealed that fighters reached out to him privately and said they were approached about throwing fights:
