UFC’s Dana White Tips FBI about  Yadier del Valle vs Isaac Dulgarian Fight

The UFC is in another bind after it had to let go of a fighter over a betting conspiracy and alleged match-fixing. This comes against a backdrop of a high-profile scandal rocking the NBA, and the UFC historically facing issues with alleged fight-rigging.

UFC’s Top Man Says League Did Everything It Could

Commenting on the latest controversy, UFC’s boss, Dana White, said that he was disturbed by the information and allegations and that the bout between Yadier del Valle and Isaac Dulgarian had been passed on to the FBI for further investigation.

Case in point: it was the FBI who busted open the alleged ties between former and present NBA insiders and Mafia families in New York. Dulgarian raised eyebrows after what was described as a bizarre performance that was in stark contrast with UFC’s good taste.

Commentators, fellow fighters, fans, and analysts all were appalled at Dulgarian’s first loss by stoppage, not because of the loss itself, but because of the widely perceived compliance – as if the fighter was meaning to go out and lose.

White admitted that the UFC had received a report from betting companies that there was suspicious betting activity going down on the Dulgarian fight, so the organization acted and called in the fighter and his lawyer. White said that the league did not mince its words but confronted Dulgarian outright:

“So, what we did was, we called the fighter and his lawyer, and said, ‘What’s going on? There’s some weird action going on in your bet, some weird betting action going on with your fight. Are you injured? Do you owe anybody money? Has anybody approached you?’ And the kid said, ‘No, absolutely not. I’m going to kill this guy.’ So we said, OK.”

No Illegal Act Just Yet But Things Don’t Look Good

White insisted that the UFC had done everything in its power to guarantee the integrity of the sport, including notifying the FBI.

He insisted that the UFC took such allegations very seriously and wanted to make sure that every fight is fought independently and impartially, and still noted that Dulgarian, while losing a highly-controversial fight, with the odds dropping significantly in the build-up to the fight, was not yet found guilty of anything illegal.

White, though, remained skeptical: “It doesn’t look good.” Guaranteeing the integrity of the UFC is a particularly sensitive topic for White as he is now preparing to host a bout in the White House come next year, under the patronage of President Donald Trump.