The UFC has found itself inthe midst of another gambling controversy, but this time the promotion has had time to act in time.
After it previously alerted the FBI in 2025 about a potential match-fixing abuse involving at least one fighter, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has become more vigilant on the issue.
Isaac Dulgarian was previously suspected of having had something to do with match-fixing, although he has not been brought up on charges.
At the time, Dana White, the UFC’s president, said that he had spoken with Dulgarian right before the fight, precisely to address these concerns, but was assured that he - that is, Dulgarian - had not done anything wrong.
This leads us to UFC 324, which saw the fight between Alexander Hernandez and Michael Johnson in the lightweight division cancelled, due to what appeared to be a suspicious betting pattern flagged by the league’s monitoring and betting fairness specialist, Integrity Compliance 360.
When asked about the cancelled fight and whether the reason for its cancellation was indeed a suspected betting abuse, White replied in the affirmative. This time, the UFC did not take the fighters at their word.
"Yeah, it happened again. That’s what it is. We got a call from the gaming integrity service, and I said, I’m not doing this shit again. So pulled the fight. The FBI is already deep into this stuff, so I am sure this one will be next."
This was also the first event that debuted on Paramount+, part of a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar deal with the media. As to White, he couldn’t provide immediate information about the future of the fighters and what comes next.
The UFC is also planning to host a fight at the White House later this year.
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