UFC has parted ways with a fighter whose loss on Saturday has been tied to curious sports betting activity.
Isaac Dulgarian lost in the first round at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas to Yadier del Valle after being favored in the event. Commentator and fighter Michael Chiesa called Dulgarian’s showing in the match an “F- performance” and “absolute trash.”
Shortly before the fight, Dulgarian’s odds to win dropped from about -250 to around -130. The betting monitoring firm IC360 alerted UFC of unusual activity on del Valle winning in the first round, according to ESPN.
The Nevada Athletic Commission has withheld its purse for Dulgarian, according to Uncrowned, which also first reported the news that the fighter had been cut for his loss.
“Like many professional sports organizations, UFC works with an independent betting integrity service to monitor wagering activity on our events,” UFC said in a statement. “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.”
Caesars Sportsbook said it would refund users who bet on Dulgarian to win. William Hill, whose U.S. operations are owned by Caesars, issued an identical statement a few minutes later. DraftKings noted “integrity concerns” with the fight but have not yet issued refunds.
The allegations of fight-fixing come just weeks after the FBI indictment of current NBA player Terry Rozier and former player and coach Damon Jones for altering their play or sharing nonpublic information for betting gains. The allegations stemmed from the same investigation that resulted in Jontay Porter’s lifetime ban from the NBA for gambling and sharing information and manipulating his play for betting purposes.
In the fighting world, UFC has let go of other fighters in recent years for ties to betting and match-fixing, including Darrick Minner, who was suspended, and Tae Hyun Bang, who served a 10-month prison sentence. In response to the news about Dulgarian, several fighters posted online that they have been approached about throwing fights, including Lando Vannata and Vanessa Demopoulos. Vince Morales said in a now-deleted post on X/Twitter that he had been offered $70,000 to throw a fight several years ago.
On Tuesday evening, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed the FBI is involved. White said UFC reached out to Dulgarian when IC360 initially alerted them to suspicious betting activity, and the fighter denied any injury or intentions to throw the fight. After his first-round exit, “Literally the first thing we did was call the FBI,” White said, who added he’d met with the FBI twice Tuesday and had spoken with the agency’s director, Kash Patel. White said reports about widespread match-fixing is “total bullshit,” but that this investigation will combine with the ongoing one into the Minner case.
“If you try to do this … we will do everything we can to make sure you go to prison,” White said.
White also condemned fighters who recently said they had been approached about match-fixing but hadn’t alerted UFC or the authorities. “They’re going to be approached now by the FBI,” he said.
