I’ve Received Questions: About UFC Vegas 110 (And the UFC Is not Answering)
On November 1, Isaac Dulgarian fought Yadier del Valle at UFC Vegas 110. Dulgarian was a betting favourite. Then the chances collapsed hours earlier than the struggle. Cash poured in on del Valle. Sportsbooks pulled the struggle. Others refunded bets after del Valle submitted Dulgarian within the first spherical. The UFC reduce Dulgarian from the roster. No suspension. No listening to. Simply gone.
Then UFC fighters began posting on social media that they’d been approached to throw fights. Vince Morales stated somebody provided him seventy thousand {dollars}. Vanessa Demopoulos stated she’d been approached and refused. Lando Vannata claimed he’d been approached seven occasions. All three deleted their posts. All three stated they have been joking.
Dana White lastly spoke on November 4. He did not deal with the systemic points. He attacked the fighters for not reporting the approaches sooner and threatened them with FBI investigations.
I’ve obtained questions.
And somebody wants to start out answering them.
I am numbering these questions for a purpose. When the UFC responds – in the event that they reply – I need everybody to see precisely which questions they answered and which of them they ignored. This is not an essay. It is a everlasting document. A guidelines. A public accounting of what essentially the most highly effective MMA group on earth refuses to deal with. So when Dana White holds his subsequent press convention and dances round three questions whereas ignoring 13 others, we’ll all know precisely what he is hiding. Let’s go.
1
What Did Isaac Dulgarian Inform You at 1 PM?
In response to Dana White’s personal assertion to TMZ Sports activities, IC360 contacted the UFC round 1 PM on struggle day about uncommon betting exercise on the Dulgarian struggle. White stated they known as Dulgarian and his lawyer and requested particular questions: Are you injured? Do you owe anyone cash? Has anyone approached you?
White advised us you requested the questions.
He did not inform us what Dulgarian answered.
So here is what I must know: What did Dulgarian say? Did he admit to an damage? Did he say he owed cash? Did he confess that somebody had approached him? Or did he deny all the things?
As a result of his reply determines all the things.
If Dulgarian admitted one thing was flawed – if he stated sure to any of these questions – you then knowingly let a compromised fighter stroll into the cage. You had hours to tug the struggle. You selected to not.
If Dulgarian denied all the things – if he stated he was wholesome, debt-free, and no person had approached him – then why did you narrow him from the roster the subsequent day with out clarification?
Both you let a compromised struggle occur, otherwise you destroyed a fighter’s profession primarily based on suspicious betting patterns alone.
Which is it?
2
Why Did the UFC Let the Combat Occur?
You knew one thing was flawed hours earlier than the struggle began. IC360 was waving pink flags. You known as Dulgarian to ask if the struggle was compromised. You had the ability and the time to tug it.
Why did not you?
Boxing died as a result of promoters let suspicious fights occur when they need to have stopped them. The cash was too good. The present needed to go on. Defend the enterprise, not the game.
Is that what occurred right here? Was it too late to refund tickets? Too costly to cancel? Too embarrassing to confess you had an issue?
As a result of here is what the timeline tells me: You knew one thing was flawed. You let it occur anyway. And when it blew up precisely the best way you have been warned it might, you narrow the fighter and pretended you have been the sufferer.
That is not integrity. That is harm management.
And here is the follow-up query that makes this worse: Studies counsel the FBI notified the UFC about betting irregularities earlier than the struggle began. If true, why let it proceed? If false, the UFC must make clear what truly occurred at 1 PM on struggle day and who knew what.
3
What Does Yadier del Valle Know?
Yadier del Valle received this struggle. He submitted Isaac Dulgarian within the first spherical at UFC Vegas 110, scoring the most important win of his profession.
Now that win is completely tainted. Sportsbooks refunded bets. The UFC reduce his opponent. Media protection focuses on fixing allegations, not del Valle’s efficiency. His second is gone.
If del Valle fought clear – if he had no information of any fixing try – then he is a sufferer right here. Somebody tried to rig his struggle, and now his official victory will at all times carry suspicion.
So what does Yadier del Valle know?
Has he been questioned by the UFC? By IC360? By the FBI?
Does he stand by his win? Or does he have doubts now too?
Did something appear off to him throughout struggle week? Through the struggle itself?
As a result of if del Valle is harmless, the UFC owes him solutions and safety. His profession should not be collateral harm in a betting scandal he had nothing to do with.
And if del Valle is not harmless – if he had information – then the UFC has a a lot larger drawback than one reduce fighter.
Both means, del Valle’s silence is conspicuous. And the UFC’s silence about del Valle is much more conspicuous.
Why is not anybody asking what he is aware of?
4
Why Did Sportsbooks Refund the Bets?
A number of main sportsbooks – together with Caesars, William Hill, and DraftKings – refunded wagers on the Dulgarian struggle. Some pulled the struggle fully earlier than it occurred. Others refunded after.
Sportsbooks do not do that calmly. They eat losses on a regular basis. Unhealthy beats. Sudden upsets. Controversial choices. They take the cash and transfer on as a result of that is the enterprise.
They refund after they consider the sport was rigged.
As a result of retaining cash from a set struggle opens them to fraud lawsuits. It damages their status. It invitations regulatory scrutiny. The most secure transfer – the one transfer – is to refund and make it go away.
So listed below are my questions:
What did the sportsbooks know that made them refund?
What proof did they see that satisfied them the struggle was compromised?
Which books refunded and which did not? What did those who refunded know that the others did not?
Have any bettors filed lawsuits towards the UFC or sportsbooks for fraud?
And here is the large one: If main licensed sportsbooks consider the struggle was mounted sufficient to refund cash, why is not that admission triggering extra aggressive investigations?
That ought to be handled as proof. As an alternative, it is being handled as harm management that everybody’s alleged to ignore.
Why?
5
How Are These Approaches Taking place?
A number of UFC fighters have claimed they have been approached to throw fights. Vince Morales stated he was provided seventy thousand {dollars}. Vanessa Demopoulos stated she was approached and refused. Lando Vannata claimed seven separate approaches.
We maintain saying fighters are being “approached.” However no person’s explaining the mechanics.
How is that this taking place?
Are these approaches coming by means of social media DMs? In-person at gyms? By way of intermediaries? Nameless encrypted messages? Cellphone calls from unknown numbers?
And if it is taking place to a number of fighters, is there a sample in WHO will get approached?
Are they concentrating on fighters with particular monetary vulnerabilities? Fighters on shedding streaks dealing with contract cuts? Fighters at particular gyms or with particular administration firms? Fighters who prepare in sure areas?
As a result of if there is a sample, that tells us that is organized. It is not random opportunists throwing out affords and hoping somebody bites. It is focused recruitment primarily based on profiling.
Who’s doing the profiling? And who’s doing the approaching?
This issues as a result of it determines the dimensions of the issue. Random approaches are one factor. A scientific community figuring out susceptible fighters and making calculated affords is one thing else fully.
Which one is that this?
6
What In regards to the Different Two Fighters?
A number of sources reported that two extra fighters on the UFC Vegas 110 card have been flagged for suspicious betting exercise. Not simply Dulgarian. Two others on the identical evening.
Who’re they?
What have been their fights?
What occurred to them?
Did you narrow them too? Are they underneath investigation? Did their fights get pulled? Did sportsbooks refund these bets?
Or did these fights occur, and we’re all simply pretending all the things was nice as a result of the betting patterns weren’t fairly suspicious sufficient to make headlines?
As a result of if two different fighters on the identical card have been flagged, that is not an remoted incident. That is a systemic drawback.
And if the UFC is aware of who they’re and hasn’t stated something, that is a cover-up.
So which is it? Who’re the opposite two fighters, and what’s being achieved about them?
7
Why Did the Fighters Delete Their Posts?
Vince Morales posted that he’d been provided seventy thousand {dollars} to throw a struggle. Then he deleted it and stated he was joking.
Vanessa Demopoulos posted that she’d been approached and refused. Then she deleted it and stated she was joking.
Lando Vannata posted that he’d been approached seven occasions. Then he deleted it and stated he was joking.
Three fighters. Three posts. Three deletions. Three an identical “I used to be joking” explanations.
Had been they joking? Or have been they advised to delete the posts?
As a result of here is what we all know: The UFC has immense energy over fighters. Contracts. Sponsorships. Future bookings. Media entry. A fighter who embarrasses the UFC can discover themselves reduce, buried on prelims, or dealing with an opponent they haven’t any enterprise preventing.
So when three fighters put up about being approached to repair fights, and all three delete these posts inside hours and declare they have been joking, I do not consider in coincidences.
Did the UFC inform them to delete the posts? Did their managers? Did their attorneys?
And in the event that they actually have been joking, why joke about that? Why make up a narrative about being provided cash to throw fights throughout the very same week {that a} main betting scandal is blowing up?
Both they have been telling the reality and obtained silenced, or they have been mendacity for consideration on the worst doable time.
Which is it?
8
What Is IC360 Really Doing?
IC360 is the UFC’s integrity monitoring associate. They’re alleged to detect suspicious betting exercise and alert the UFC when one thing appears flawed.
They did their job on November 1. They flagged the Dulgarian struggle. They known as the UFC at 1 PM.
After which what?
The struggle occurred anyway. Dulgarian misplaced precisely the best way the betting patterns predicted. Sportsbooks refunded bets. The UFC reduce Dulgarian.
So what is the level of getting an integrity monitoring system in case you ignore the warnings?
Listed here are my questions on IC360:
What number of fights have they flagged previously yr? What number of of these flags resulted in pulled fights? What number of resulted in investigations? What number of resulted in punishments?
What’s their threshold for flagging a struggle? What degree of betting irregularity triggers an alert?
Have they got entry to all sportsbooks globally, or simply sure licensed operators? As a result of in the event that they’re solely monitoring regulated U.S. books, they’re lacking the offshore motion the place the true cash strikes.
And here is the large one: Is IC360 impartial, or do they report on to the UFC? As a result of in the event that they report back to the UFC, they don’t seem to be an integrity monitor. They are a PR defend.
The UFC can say, “We now have integrity monitoring,” whereas nonetheless making the ultimate name on whether or not to behave on the warnings.
That is not oversight. That is optics.
9
Why Is not There Unbiased Oversight?
In boxing, athletic commissions regulate fights. They will pull a struggle. They will droop a fighter. They will launch investigations. They reply to state governments, not promoters.
Within the UFC, the UFC is the promoter, the league, and the de facto regulator. They resolve who fights. They resolve who will get reduce. They resolve what will get investigated.
There is no impartial physique with the ability to drive the UFC to reply questions.
IC360 experiences to the UFC. Athletic commissions solely regulate fights of their jurisdictions, and UFC Apex occasions in Las Vegas function underneath Nevada guidelines, however the UFC nonetheless controls the narrative.
So when one thing like this occurs, who investigates?
The FBI can examine felony exercise. However they transfer slowly, they usually solely act when there’s proof of a criminal offense.
Athletic commissions can examine, however provided that the UFC cooperates. And the UFC has no authorized obligation to share data with them.
The media can ask questions, however the UFC does not need to reply.
So we’re left with a system the place essentially the most highly effective MMA group on earth polices itself, and no person has the authority to drive transparency.
How is that acceptable?
Why is not there an impartial MMA integrity fee with subpoena energy, investigative authority, and the power to punish organizations that allow compromised fights occur?
As a result of proper now, the UFC can do no matter it desires, and the one consequence is unhealthy press.
10
What Occurs to the Bettors Who Did not Get Refunds?
Some sportsbooks refunded bets on the Dulgarian struggle. Others did not.
So in case you guess on Dulgarian at Caesars, you bought your a refund. For those who guess on Dulgarian at a e book that did not refund, you misplaced.
Identical struggle. Identical suspicious exercise. Completely different outcomes relying on which app you used.
That is not honest. And it raises critical authorized questions.
If a struggle is compromised, each bettor who misplaced cash on it has been defrauded. It does not matter which sportsbook they used.
So what occurs to the bettors who did not get refunds?
Can they sue the UFC for permitting a set struggle to proceed? Can they sue the sportsbook for retaining cash from a compromised occasion? Can they sue IC360 for failing to forestall it?
And here is the larger query: If sportsbooks are refunding bets, does not that create a authorized admission that the struggle was compromised?
As a result of if it does, that is proof. And if it is proof, why is not it being utilized in investigations?
Or are sportsbooks refunding bets particularly to keep away from creating that proof? Is that this a calculated transfer to make the issue go away with out admitting fault?
Both means, the bettors who did not get refunds are victims. And no person’s speaking about them.
11
How A lot Cash Really Moved?
We all know the betting strains collapsed. We all know cash poured in on del Valle. We all know sportsbooks pulled the struggle or refunded bets.
However how a lot cash are we truly speaking about?
Was this just a few thousand {dollars} from informal bettors? Or was this a whole bunch of 1000’s – possibly hundreds of thousands – transferring in coordinated waves throughout a number of sportsbooks?
As a result of the dimensions of the cash determines the dimensions of the crime.
If somebody guess 5 thousand {dollars} on del Valle as a result of that they had inside data, that is unhealthy. If somebody coordinated a multi-sportsbook operation to maneuver half one million {dollars}, that is organized crime.
So here is what I must know:
How a lot cash was guess on del Valle within the closing hours earlier than the struggle?
How a lot of that cash got here from recognized sharp bettors versus leisure accounts?
Had been there massive bets positioned from offshore books that U.S. regulators cannot monitor?
Did the identical accounts that guess closely on del Valle additionally guess on different suspicious fights?
As a result of if this was a one-time opportunistic guess, that is one factor. If this was a part of a sample – if the identical individuals who guess on del Valle additionally guess on different flagged fights – then we’re a community.
And if it is a community, somebody must be monitoring the cash.
12
What Did Dana White Imply by “Three-Yr Investigation”?
In his November 4 assertion, Dana White stated that fighters who do not report approaches may face “three-year investigations.”
Three years.
That is not a traditional investigation timeline. That is a risk.
What did he imply by that?
Is there an precise three-year investigative course of that fighters get subjected to? Or was he simply throwing out a scary quantity to intimidate individuals into silence?
As a result of here is what that assertion tells me: As an alternative of addressing the systemic drawback, Dana White is threatening the individuals making an attempt to reveal it.
Vince Morales stated he was provided seventy thousand {dollars}. Dana White’s response wasn’t, “We’re investigating who made that provide.” It was, “Why did not you report it sooner?”
That is not management. That is deflection.
And the “three-year investigation” line makes it worse. As a result of now fighters know: For those who converse up, you will be underneath investigation for 3 years. Your profession can be in limbo. You will be questioned. You will be scrutinized. You will be handled like a suspect as a substitute of a sufferer.
So fighters keep silent. And the issue will get worse.
Is that the aim?
13
Why Did This Occur at UFC Apex?
UFC Vegas 110 passed off on the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. No crowd. No gate income. Simply cameras and fighters.
Apex playing cards are lower-profile occasions. Smaller names. Much less media protection. Much less scrutiny.
Is that why this occurred there?
As a result of if you are going to attempt to repair a struggle, you do not do it at a pay-per-view occasion with hundreds of thousands of viewers and big media consideration. You do it at a Combat Evening card that most individuals will not even keep in mind.
So here is my query: Are Apex playing cards extra susceptible to fixing makes an attempt as a result of they’re lower-profile?
Do fighters on Apex playing cards receives a commission much less, making them extra inclined to monetary affords?
Is there much less oversight at Apex occasions as a result of they don’t seem to be thought-about as necessary?
And if Apex playing cards are extra susceptible, what’s being achieved to guard them?
As a result of if the reply is “nothing,” then we will see this occur once more.
14
What is the UFC’s Plan to Repair This?
Dana White gave a press release. He blamed fighters for not reporting approaches. He threatened investigations. He reduce Dulgarian.
However he did not announce any new insurance policies. He did not define any systemic modifications. He did not clarify what the UFC is doing in a different way to forestall this from taking place once more.
So what is the plan?
Are you making a confidential hotline the place fighters can report approaches with out worry of retaliation?
Are you growing fighter pay so seventy thousand {dollars} is not life-changing cash?
Are you working with sportsbooks to share knowledge and establish patterns earlier?
Are you pulling fights instantly when IC360 raises pink flags, as a substitute of letting them proceed?
Are you cooperating with legislation enforcement to trace down the individuals making these affords?
Or are you simply hoping this blows over so you may return to enterprise as normal?
As a result of proper now, it appears just like the UFC’s plan is to chop anybody who will get caught, threaten anybody who speaks up, and faux the issue does not exist.
That is not a plan. That is a cover-up.
15
Is This Simply the Starting?
This is what we all know for certain:
A number of fighters have been approached to throw fights. Not less than one struggle at UFC Vegas 110 had suspicious betting exercise. Presumably three fights on the identical card have been flagged. Sportsbooks are refunding bets as a result of they consider fights have been compromised. Fighters are deleting posts and claiming they have been joking. The UFC is reducing fighters with out clarification and threatening investigations as a substitute of addressing the systemic drawback.
This is not an remoted incident. It is a sample.
And patterns do not seem in a single day. They construct over time.
So how lengthy has this been taking place?
What number of different fights had suspicious betting exercise that did not get flagged? What number of fighters took the cash and threw fights with out getting caught? What number of occasions did IC360 increase issues that the UFC ignored?
As a result of if this has been taking place for months – or years – and we’re solely discovering out about it now, then the UFC has been sitting on a ticking time bomb.
And if they have been sitting on it, meaning they knew.
Which brings me again to the query I began with: What did the UFC know, and when did they understand it?
16
At What Level Does Silence Turn into Complicity?
The UFC has the ability to reply each query I’ve requested. They’ve the information. They’ve the information. They’ve the investigative assets. They’ve the authority.
They’re selecting to not use it.
Each day that passes with out solutions makes this worse. Each fighter who stays silent as a result of they’re afraid of a three-year investigation makes this worse. Each sportsbook that refunds bets with out explaining why makes this worse. Each media outlet that strikes on to the subsequent story with out demanding accountability makes this worse.
And day by day the UFC refuses to deal with this transparently, they’re telling us one thing.
They’re telling us that defending the enterprise is extra necessary than defending the game.
They’re telling us that reducing one fighter and threatening just a few others is sufficient to make this go away.
They’re telling us that they’d fairly handle the scandal than remedy the issue.
Boxing died as a result of the individuals in energy selected silence over accountability. They let the corruption unfold till no person trusted the game anymore. They prioritized short-term income over long-term credibility.
And by the point they tried to repair it, it was too late. The followers have been gone. The legitimacy was gone. The game grew to become a punchline.
MMA is standing on the similar crossroads.
The UFC can select transparency. They will pull fights when pink flags seem. They will shield fighters who report approaches. They will work with regulators to construct impartial oversight. They will show that the game is larger than the enterprise.
Or they’ll select what boxing selected.
Keep silent. Lower fighters who get caught. Assault anybody who asks questions. Let the rot unfold till no person believes the fights are actual anymore.
In some unspecified time in the future, silence stops being a PR technique and begins being complicity.
We’re previous that time.
I’ve Received Questions. Somebody Ought to Be Asking.
The UFC can repair this:
Pay fighters livable wages with actual advantages so seventy thousand {dollars} stops being life-changing cash.
Create impartial oversight that does not report back to the corporate being investigated.
Pull fights instantly when pink flags seem, even when it prices cash.
Defend and thank fighters who report approaches as a substitute of threatening them.
Launch IC360’s experiences and methodology so we will confirm the system works.
Determine and clarify each flagged struggle as a substitute of hiding behind imprecise statements.
Work with worldwide regulators to trace betting throughout all platforms.
Be clear about investigations as a substitute of letting them disappear into three-year black holes.
Admit when there’s an issue as a substitute of attacking anybody who factors it out.
Or they’ll maintain doing what they’re doing:
Keep silent. Lower fighters who get caught. Assault anybody who speaks up. Let investigations drag on for years with no outcomes. Threaten the individuals making an attempt to guard the game. Faux this is not systematic. Preserve fighters poor and determined. Let the rot unfold till everybody is aware of and no person believes the cage is actual anymore.
Boxing selected silence. Boxing selected cash over legitimacy. Boxing selected to guard the enterprise as a substitute of the game.
And boxing died.
Not unexpectedly. However finally. The belief disappeared. The followers left. The institutional credibility collapsed. What’s left is a shell that everybody is aware of is corrupt however no person has the ability to repair.
The UFC is standing on the similar crossroads. It will probably select transparency. Or it could select what boxing selected.
However the fighters are speaking. The screenshots are saved. The betting strains are collapsing. The sportsbooks are refunding. The patterns are rising. And Dana White is threatening the individuals making an attempt to guard his sport as a substitute of the individuals making an attempt to destroy it.
I’ve obtained questions.
And somebody wants to start out answering them.
