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UFC president Dana White confirmed that the organization has been in talks with the FBI about “unusual” betting activity on a fight involving fighter Isaac Dulgarian.
Dulgarian was the heavy favorite heading into UFC Fight Night 263 over the weekend, but surprisingly lost in the first round via submission. It was the first stoppage loss of his career.
Cuba’s Yadier del Valle secures a rear-naked choke submission against Isaac Dulgarian in a featherweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on November 1, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
But behind the scenes and before the fight, White was contacted by Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) about what he called an “unusual” betting action that reportedly generated interest in betting on opponent Yadier del Valle to win in the first round.
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White told TMZ Sports on Tuesday that they contacted Dulgarian and his attorney before the fight to question him about his concerns.
“We called the fighter and his lawyer and said, ‘What’s going on? There’s some weird betting action on your bet, some weird betting action on your fight. Are you hurt? Do you owe anyone money? Has anyone approached you?’ And the boy said, ‘No, absolutely not.’ I’m going to kill this guy.’ “So we said, okay.”
White said that as soon as the fight ended, the UFC contacted the FBI.
Isaac Dulgarian returns to his corner after the first round of his featherweight fight against Christian Rodriguez during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 16, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
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“The fight develops and [it’s a] End of the first round via rear naked choke. Literally the first thing we did was call the FBI.
White said he has since spoken to the FBI several times. He stopped short of calling Dulgarian “guilty.”
“There’s no proof he’s done this yet, but I can tell you this: It doesn’t look good. It definitely doesn’t look good.”
(L-R) Christian Rodriguez punches Isaac Dulgarian in their featherweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 16, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
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Caesars Sportsbook issued a statement after the fight announcing that losing bets would be refunded.
The controversy surrounding the UFC comes amid explosive FBI allegations of illegal sports betting that involved allegations against Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former NBA player and coach Damon Jones.
