UFC issued its first official remarks Monday on the brewing betting controversy involving Isaac Dulgarian and a suspicious fight result at this past weekend’s UFC Vegas 110 event.
In a statement, the promotion said it takes the allegations against Dulgarian “very seriously” and that UFC betting integrity partner IC360 is “conducting a thorough review of the facts surrounding the Dulgarian vs. del Valle.” Dulgarian was released from the promotion Sunday night, sources told Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani, following his first-round submission loss to Yadier del Valle at UFC Vegas 110.
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UFC’s full statement can be read below, via Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter.
“Like many professional sports organizations, UFC works with an independent betting integrity service to monitor wagering activity on our events. 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.”
Dulgarian came into the featherweight bout as the betting favorite, but tapped out to a rear-naked choke in a fight many onlookers deemed suspicious. The fight took place under a cloud of rumors regarding possible strange betting activity, with Dulgarian suddenly dropping from a -250 favorite to -154 just prior to fight time, with plenty of action also pouring in on a del Valle first-round win prop, according to data collected from BestFightOdds.com.
The bout was apparently questionable enough that multiple online sportsbooks, including Caesars Sportsbook, said they would refund bets users placed on Dulgarian to win.
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Dulgarian (7-2) had won two of his three UFC bouts prior to Saturday’s fight at the UFC APEX, yet mounted little resistance against del Valle’s fight-ending submission. UFC commentator and veteran fighter Michael Chiesa excoriated Dulgarian on the ESPN+ broadcast for the bizarre performance.
Saturday’s bout is not the first time rumors of suspicious betting line movement have accompanied a UFC undercard bout. Featherweight Darrick Minner was cut by the UFC in 2022 following a TKO loss to Shayilan Nuerdanbieke that was also accompanied by sudden late movement in the betting odds. That incident later came under investigation, with both Minner and his coach, James Krause, earning suspensions from the Nevada Athletic Commission.
Prior to that, South Korean fighter Tae Hyun Bang was handed a 10-month prison sentence after accepting a bribe to lose a UFC prelim bout to Leo Kuntz at an event in Seoul. In that instance, Bang was reportedly warned by UFC officials after the suspicious betting line movement was spotted. He ended up winning the fight via split decision, but was sentenced along with three others involved in the scheme.
