Fight fixers beware—Dana White and the UFC aren’t messing around. After last Saturday night’s fight between Isaac Dulgarian and Yadier del Valle at UFC Vegas 110, Ariel Helwani reported that ‘The Midwest Choppa’ was removed from the UFC roster. The fight itself has been enveloped in a betting scandal, as Dulgarian’s odds of beating del Valle crashed hours before he entered the cage. Despite being the favorite, the 29-year-old presented little resistance to a rear-naked choke submission less than four minutes into the fight.

The lackluster performance raised eyebrows, with many noting how quickly he folded once del Valle took control on the ground. Following the controversy, major sportsbooks, including William Hill and Caesars, announced they would refund losing bets on the fight. UFC analyst Michael Chiesa criticized the performance from Dulgarian, who is known for his grappling, stating, “I’ve got to be honest here, that was an F- performance. It was absolute trash.” Now, Dana White has spoken out on the situation during an interview with TMZ Sports.

Dana White promises to people in jail

Speaking to TMZ Sports, White said the UFC has been working with IC360, its betting-integrity partner, which monitors betting activity for every fight. “They reached out to us and they told us that there was some unusual action going on with that fight,” White revealed. The company asked whether the UFC was aware of anything, and later the promotion reached out to Dulgarian directly. “We called the fighter and his lawyer and said, ‘What’s going on? There’s some weird betting action going on in your fight. Are you injured? Do you owe anybody money? Has anybody approached you?” White said.

Dulgarian denied any involvement and promised to “kill this guy.” The UFC watched the fight unfold, and after seeing how it played out, White said they called the FBI immediately. “The first thing we did was call the FBI. I’ve met with the FBI twice today.” Dulgarian’s fight caused many to doubt other fights in UFC. White reassured them, claiming, “People are out there talking, ‘Oh, hundreds of fights under investigation.’ It’s total bulls—t. Usual, clickbait bulls—t,” White said.

Although there’s no proof that Isaac Dulgarian was involved, White claims things aren’t looking good for the 29-year-old. “I’m not saying this kid is guilty,” White said. “There is no proof that he’s done this yet, but I can tell you this: it doesn’t look good. It definitely doesn’t look good.” White reminded people that similar problems surfaced in 2022, when the Nevada Athletic Commission banned former fighters Jeff Molina and Darrick Minner amid an illegal betting scandal, and added that the earlier investigation remains active. 

“So when this did happen, a couple of years ago, whenever it was, that investigation is still ongoing. And now we’ll be a part of this investigation too.” Asked about his connection to FBI director Kash Patel, White said, “I talked to him this morning, but then we, we just had an office full of FBI agents in here.” He issued a blunt warning to anyone thinking of fixing fights. “If you try to do this… We will be your worst enemy… we will immediately go after you guns a blazing with the FBI [and] make sure you go to prison.” 

Since the Dulgarian incident, other fighters, including bantamweight veteran Vince Morales and strawweight Vanessa Demopoulos, have come forward saying they were offered money to throw fights. White pushed back on why those instances weren’t reported earlier. “Why didn’t you tell us that? Or more importantly, why didn’t you tell law enforcement that you were approached now? … They’re going to be approached now by the FBI,” White concluded. In the meantime, though, Dulgarian’s trainer appears to have cut ties with him, too.

Isaac Dulgarian’s coach denies his involvement in the betting scandal

Factory X MMA head coach Marc Montoya has denied any involvement in the betting scandal surrounding his former fighter, Isaac Dulgarian. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Montoya defended his integrity, saying, “My gym is being attacked, my integrity is being attacked, and I just want to first and foremost say that we have nothing to do with any of the allegations being brought upon us.”

He added, “I’ve actually never even placed a sports bet in my entire life; I couldn’t tell you how to do it. This is my life’s work, and you can bet your ass that I would never, for any amount of money, sell my integrity or my word.” Montoya confirmed that Dulgarian has been removed from Factory X while investigations continue. “He’s not part of this Factory X team because of everything going on,” Montoya said. 

“Whether he’s guilty or he’s innocent, in my prediction, Isaac Dulgarian is not gonna fight again.”

From the looks of things, Dana White and the UFC are taking Isaac Dulgarian and the whole betting controversy very seriously. Only time will tell whether Dulgarian was involved in the matter, but what are your thoughts on the matter?