A fight was quietly but conspicuously pulled from the UFC 324 early prelims hours ahead of the event on Saturday. The reason turned out to be what many were speculating.
UFC CEO Dana White confirmed to reporters late Saturday night that the lightweight bout Michael Johnson and Alex Hernandez was canceled due to a report of betting irregularities.
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“We got called from the gaming integrity service and I said, ‘I’m not doing this s*** again,’ so we pulled the fight,” White said.
It’s unclear what the irregularities were or who is suspected of misconduct. Still, it’s a familiar story for the UFC.
As White alluded, his promotion saw a major gambling scandal last year when fighter Isaac Dulgarian was cut from the roster following a suspicious loss to Yadier del Valle in November. That fight saw Dulgarian drop from a -250 favorite -154 just before fight time amid a cloud of strange betting activity. Dulgarian remains under investigation by both the FBI and Nevada Athletic Commission.
UFC veterans Darrick Minner and Jeff Molina also received three-year suspensions from the NAC for their connection to a 2022 fight that had suspicious betting activity involving Minner.
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Such stories have become commonplace throughout the sports world since the introduction of legal sports betting. The NBA and MLB have both seen players connected to suspicious betting activity, with potentially career-killing consequences.
Former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter was banned for life by the NBA and pleaded guilty to a felony charge of wire fraud after removing himself from games to manipulate prop bets. Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz haven’t pitched since being placed on leave after a set of bettors placed suspicious wagers on whether they would throw a ball or strike to begin certain innings, and now await trial on various charges.
There are other examples, which have left the leagues to navigate how to do business when anyone can get a slice of the action with a few touches of a smartphone.
