The UFC is under increasing scrutiny after a suspicious gambling scenario at UFC Vegas 110, where featherweight Isaac Dulgarian submitted to Yadier del Valle in the first round on November 1, 2025. The incident sparked a federal investigation and led several fighters to publicly claim they had received offers to fight, only to retract those statements within hours, leaving observers unsure about the distinction between frankness and comedy in an organization now under investigation by the FBI.
UFC betting scandal
The betting irregularities started about three hours before the fight. Dulgarian entered the fight as a -240 favorite, but IC360, the UFC’s betting integrity partner, identified substantial bets on del Valle to secure a first-round win. The odds changed dramatically, with Dulgarian’s moneyline dropping to around -130, while sportsbooks halted betting on the event entirely. Hours after Dulgarian’s submission loss at 3:41, both Caesars Sportsbook and William Hill announced they would issue refunds to bettors who had bet on Dulgarian to win.
Dana White confirmed that the UFC received the betting alert around 1 p.m. on fight day. The organization immediately contacted Dulgarian and his legal representation, questioning whether he had been injured, owed third parties or had been contacted about combat manipulation. Dulgarian denied all questions and told UFC officials he planned to beat del Valle in convincing fashion. Despite this assurance, White contacted the FBI immediately after the first round finish, kicking off what has become the promotion’s second major fight fixer in three years.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission withheld this Dulgarian’s entire fight portfolio was pending investigation, while the UFC released him from his contract on November 2. The decision reflected concerns beyond Dulgarian’s performance quality. Michael Chiesa, who provided analysis for the broadcast, described the featherweight’s showing as an “F performance” and “absolute trash”, noting his apparent inaction during the submission.
The situation drew comparisons to a 2022 incident involving featherweight Darrick Minner, whose coach James Krause became embroiled in conspiracy charges after Minner submitted to Shayilan Nuerdanbieke in 67 seconds under similarly suspicious betting circumstances. That investigation remains active and will now be included in the current study.
UFC fighters say they were paid money to lose
Momentum of the Dulgarian The gambling scandal accelerated through Monday, November 3, when multiple UFC athletes surfaced with stories of receiving financial incentives to deliberately lose fights. Vince Morales, an eleven-fight UFC veteran, posted on social media that he was offered $70,000 to host one of his fights during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bantamweight described the proposal as one that took place during fight week at the UFC Apex facility and claimed he did not take the offer seriously at the time.
Lando Vannata, a featherweight with 13 fights, stated that he had been approached seven times to arrange fights, adding that his record reflected his integrity.
Meanwhile, Vanessa Demopoulos, a strawweight competitor with ten UFC appearances, noted on social media that people had approached her about fight manipulation, highlighting her commitment to the principles of the sport.
Within hours of these statements, the story changed. Morales deleted his messages and replied with a new message: “Okay, sorry for all the terrible timing for what I thought was a good joke. Bad taste. This shit is so gross.” Vannata was given legal guidance in which he warned against discussing the subject in a humorous manner, then clarified that he had never been approached about picking a fight. Demopoulos set her Instagram account to private, retracted her statements and deleted the posts completely.
Dana White responds
The rapid turnaround raises substantive questions about the initial claims. Whether these were real revelations treated as humor or just ill-timed jokes enhanced by real scandals remains controversial. Dana White addressed the discrepancies directly during his response to the controversy. The UFC president labeled fighters’ claims that they had received solicitation offers as suspicious, noting that if they were actually contacted about illegal arrangements, reporting to law enforcement should occur immediately rather than months or years later.
“It’s like someone telling you to rob a bank with them. What, you’re not going to tell the police? It’s really weird that fighters come out and say they’ve been approached. They’re now going to be approached by the FBI,” White said.
Morales, Vannata and Demopoulos were joking, or were they?
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