White calls fight fixing 'a huge concern' for UFC

Fight fixing is present a "huge concern" for the UFC amid respective investigations into suspicious betting enactment astir a bout past month, UFC president Dana White told ESPN.

A Nov. 5 UFC combat betwixt Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke is nether scrutiny aft a melodramatic betting enactment question successful the hours earlier the event. The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) has suspended some Minner and his coach, James Krause, who ran an MMA betting Discord leafage and podcast, pending its investigations.

When asked by ESPN's Brett Okamoto successful an interrogation Thursday whether combat fixing is simply a concern, White said: "Huge concern. ... Now that there's an probe and it could beryllium imaginable that it happened, yeah."

The FBI is collecting accusation and has spoken to radical regarding the Minner vs. Nuerdanbieke fight, aggregate sources told ESPN. White declined to remark connected the anticipation of FBI involvement.

"There's an probe going on," helium said. "I can't speech astir immoderate of this stuff. It's crazy."

The UFC antecedently said it has been cooperating "with aggregate ongoing authorities investigations" into the fight.

Last week, the promotion announced that immoderate combatant who continued to bid nether Krause astatine Glory MMA successful Missouri would not beryllium allowed to enactment successful UFC events portion the probes are ongoing. The UFC released Minner connected Dec. 2, the time it announced its sanctions against Krause.

Since the Minner-Nuerdanbieke fight, Canadian provinces Ontario and Alberta banned betting connected UFC fights and the authorities of New Jersey banned betting connected bouts involving Krause. Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis reinstated UFC betting Friday, based connected the actions the promotion has taken against Krause and the NSAC's investigations.

White said that Ontario and Alberta "overreacted" successful announcing the archetypal bans.

"Am I shocked the Canadian authorities overreacted?" helium said. "I americium not."

Multiple sportsbooks reported receiving antithetic betting involvement connected Nuerdanbieke to triumph by knockout successful the archetypal circular and for the combat to past less than 2.5 rounds. The likelihood connected the combat moved dramatically successful the hours starring up to the featherweight bout successful Las Vegas, with Nuerdanbieke moving from a -220 favourite to a -420 favorite.

Just 30 seconds into the fight, Minner threw a near footwear to Nuerdanbieke's assemblage and instantly grimaced and reached for his near leg. Nuerdanbieke closed successful and Minner went for different near assemblage footwear earlier Nuerdanbieke dropped Minner with a genu to the caput and finished connected the crushed with elbows. The TKO stoppage came astatine 1:07 of the archetypal round.

The antithetic betting enactment prompted an probe by U.S. Integrity, a Las Vegas steadfast that works with sportsbooks and gaming regulators to show the betting market. The UFC besides said it was investigating the combat with its spouse Don Best Sports.

On Oct. 17, 3 weeks earlier the Minner-Nuerdanbieke fight, the UFC informed fighters and teams that fighters, coaches and different squad members are prohibited from betting connected UFC fights moving forward.

"We've ever told the fighters, arsenic each the gambling worldly started to vigor up, enactment distant from gambling," White said. "Do you cognize however anserine you person to beryllium to get progressive successful thing similar that?"

White called the concern "unfortunate," but said it "has happened successful each sport."

"In each sport, idiosyncratic thinks they're smarter than everybody other erstwhile truly they're the dumbest feline successful the room," White said. "And you volition get caught -- you volition get caught and you volition spell to prison. It is what it is. If you're that dumb and you're consenting to instrumentality that hazard for money. Ruin your beingness for money. We tin archer radical until we're bluish successful the face. Same happening arsenic steroids, performance-enhancing drugs. 'Don't bash it, USADA is testing, you're gonna get caught.' But this is simply a full different level. ... If you're that stupid, person amusive successful prison."

White antecedently said Nov. 11 that determination was "absolutely zero impervious that anybody that was progressive stake on" the fight.

"There were immoderate signs retired determination that thing was wrong, but there's perfectly nary impervious that [anybody] did thing wrong," White said.