The UFC is facing another alleged match-fixing scandal.
On Nov. 2, the UFC released Isaac Dulgarian, a fighter based out of Missouri (which recently legalized sports gambling). He lost via submission in the first round of his Nov. 1 fight in Las Vegas.
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani posted:
The official reason [for being cut] was attributed to last night’s loss, however, the bout has been the center of controversy after a ton of money started to come in on Dulgarian, a sizable favorite, to lose in the first, which is what happened.
Dulgarian reportedly said days before the fight that he believed UFC fighters should receive a percentage of gambling profits.
Following the fight, Caesars Sportsbook said it would refund losing wagers.
Recent UFC Match-Fixing Allegations
UFC fighter Darrick Minner was cut from the organization in late 2022 following a first-round TKO loss at UFC Vegas 64. In the hours before that fight, the betting line swung hard against Minner.
That bout ended up under formal investigation. Minner and his coach, James Krause, were suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for failing to disclose Minner’s pre-existing knee injury on his pre-fight medical paperwork.
UFC fighter Jeff Molina, Minner’s teammate, was also suspended for gambling on the fight.
No regulator or prosecutor has accused Krause of ordering Minner to throw the fight. Nonetheless, Minner fought with a compromised leg and lost quickly. Krause has been involved with gambling on the UFC.
Dulgarian had previously trained at the same gym as Molina, Minner, and Krause.
James Krause UFC Scandal
Three years after the 2022 fight involving Minner, Krause has not been charged with a crime related to UFC match-fixing.
As of 2025, he remains suspended by Nevada and blacklisted from coaching by the UFC. Multiple outlets have reported that the federal investigation into the Minner fight and related betting activity is still ongoing. There’s been no public announcement of the probe’s closure.
ESPN reported in 2023 that Krause had worked as an agent for ABCBetting.ag, according to multiple sources. The .ag domain is for gambling sites registered in Antigua and Barbuda.
U.S. officials have long said that offshore gambling sites are criminal enterprises.
Krause had also made public comments regarding being part of an online UFC betting group.
From the ESPN report:
Last March (2022), Krause launched a subscription service featuring his betting tips called the 1% Club on social media platform Discord. He told the podcast “The MMA Hour” in August that the Discord had about 2,000 subscribers, some of whom paid as much as $2,000 a month. Active members of the 1% Club included a self-proclaimed professional bettor known as “Shay” and several UFC fighters, including Molina, a 25-year-old UFC flyweight.
Krause also told the podcast he bets on UFC bouts, “every single card, just about every fight,” including some involving fighters he trains.
“I make more gambling on MMA than I do anything else,” he said.
[…]
Molina, the fighter trained by Krause and now under suspension in Nevada, wrote in the 1% Club on April 10 that “the insight Krause has in this sport is insane.”
“He’s trained w/ a lot of the fighters, lives and breathes this sport as a coach/fighter, & at times has the scoop on injuries — non-announced matchups — how fighters look in camp, etc.,” Molina wrote in touting the club. “In stocks this is called insider trading in MMA betting it’s called James Krause.”
Bottom Line: Is The UFC Rigged?
The latest allegations of UFC match-fixing have resurfaced the Krause case. Notably, authorities have not accused Krause of a crime despite the allegedly corrupted fight involving a fighter he coached and his alleged involvement with an offshore sportsbook.
In October 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted people in and around the NBA for alleged “insider trading” related to player prop bets. Prosecutors held a press conference to publicize the charges.
The Trump Administration has been critical of the NBA’s business, particularly regarding its relationship with China. Meanwhile, the administration’s relationship with the UFC is remarkably cozy.
President Trump, who has attended many UFC events, announced a UFC event on the White House South Lawn in 2026.
Following the Dulgarian scandal, some UFC fans shared a photo of UFC President Dana White with FBI Director Kash Patel, alleging that the UFC might receive special treatment in any sports gambling investigation.
Image by Артём from Pixabay
Discover more from GamblingHarm.org
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
