Fast-twitch reaction
Dana White hasn’t forgotten his recent brush with the FBI over shady betting activity involving one of his ex-fighters. After White pulled a key bout on the UFC 324 card in Las Vegas on Saturday, he later told reporters:
I’m not doing this sh*t again.”
The UFC President and CEO was providing his reasons for canceling the Alexander Hernandez vs Michael Johnson lightweight bout in Vegas just hours before the fight.
White stated he pulled the fight after US Integrity called him to report suspicious betting activity. The alert reportedly stemmed from leaked information of a Hernandez injury.
Instagram post leaks info
According to reports, an offshore sportsbook executive noted on social media on Saturday afternoon that his site had seen “irregular betting patterns” that forced it to drop prop bets and reduce its market limits.
MMA reporter Rueben Carter was first to reveal on X that Hernandez was injured “and someone in his camp leaked this info to a bettor on instagram:”
The MMA reporter shared the Instagram post stating “rumours A Hernandez is compromised” as the reason for the bettor picking Johnson to win via knockout, including related parlays. Carter not long afterwards reported the bout was off.
featherweight favorite Dulgarian was accused of throwing a fight
Dana White’s “not again” exclamation directly refers to the UFC making global headlines in November after featherweight favorite Dulgarian was accused of throwing a fight against Yadier del Valle.
Lesson learned
Despite getting a call from integrity services about a massive spike on prop bets for del Valle to win in the first round, White questioned Dulgarian before the bout, and convinced the fighter would compete to win, allowed the bout to continue.
Dulgarian, who White promptly fired afterward, meekly succumbed in the first round, setting off a betting scandal firestorm. This time round, however, White pulled the fight. He did so despite the UFC making its Paramount+ debut live from Vegas.
