More details are emerging about UFC fighters getting offers to throw fights. A loss on Saturday night by top prospect Isaac Dulgarian triggered widespread speculation after a large number of bets were placed shortly before the fight on his opponent winning in the first round. The UFC released Dulgarian on Sunday and issued a statement on Monday addressing the allegations of possible manipulation:
The Nevada State Athletic Commission has withheld Dulgarian’s purse for the fight due to irregular betting activity. Reports suggest many of the suspicious bets were made through dormant sharp accounts and newly created ones.
Several fighters have since come forward with stories of people approaching them to fix fights. In a now-deleted X post, Vince Morales, who fought 11 times in the UFC, revealed he was offered $70,000 to throw a fight:
Lando Vannata shared on Instagram that he got seven such offers and women’s strawweight fighter Vanessa Demopoulos also stated that she turned down approaches to manipulate the outcomes of her fights.
Dulgarian’s former coach James Krause was indefinitely banned from the UFC in 2022
This isn’t the first time a betting scandal has engulfed the sport. Dulgarian’s former coach James Krause was indefinitely banned from the UFC in 2022 due to suspicious betting activity surrounding one of his fighters’ first-round losses.
