Dana White Fights Back: UFC Boss Confirms FBI Investigation Over 'Fixed Fighting' Allegations After Suspicious Betting Activity on Brawler
Nov. 6 2025, Published 7:30 p.m. ET
UFC head honcho blasted back at allegations of a fixed fight that plunged the organization into a betting scandal, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The controversy erupted over one of the fights on the prelim card over the weekend, where Isaac Dulgarian was accused of giving up to a submission to Yadier Del Valle way too easily and early, despite being the heavy favorite.
Questionable Fight
Dulgarian is seen training at his MMA gym in Colorado.
Dulgarian, 29, nicknamed "The Midwest Choppa," entered the octagon as the consensus -250 favorite in the featherweight bout.
Some sportsbooks stopped taking bets on the fight before it started when the odds moved to -154 in the hour before the throwdown, citing questionable wagering activity.
After giving up so easily in the first round, having never been previously submitted before in a professional fight, fans called foul on Dulgarian's tapout.
Even commentators Daniel Cormier and Michael Chiesa called it "white belt stuff," referring to an entry-level jiu-jitsu practitioner.
Dulgarian previously raised eyebrows when complaining to MMA Junkie that he and other brawlers should get a percentage cut of their fight's betting action.
"I said, 'Don't bet on me unless you're paying me some percentage,' I’m doing all the work — that's how I feel about it," he huffed. "If you're betting on me, I want some of it."
Released by the UFC
Dulgarian had a 7-2 UFC record going into his fight against del Valle and was the heavy favorite.
Immediately after Dulgarian's unbelievable loss, Caesar Sportsbook Support posted on X that customers with losing bets on the matchup would receive a cash credit.
Dulgarian was released by the UFC on Monday, November 3, two days after his super sketchy fight, allegedly due to "integrity concerns," according to DraftKings.
White Had Questions
White said he called Dulgarian prior to the fight after being informed of the unusual betting activity.
White confirmed that an investigation was underway and that the FBI was involved in a Tuesday, November 4, interview with TMZ Sports.
The Donald Trump supporter said that UFC's betting integrity partner, IC360, informed the organization of unusual betting activity involving a surge in bets on underdog del Valle to win hours before the fight.
"[IC360] reached out to us and told us that there was some unusual action going on with that fight. 'Do we know anything?’ We didn’t," White explained.
"So what we did was call the fighter and his lawyer and said, 'What’s going on? There is some weird action going on with your [fight] — weird betting action going on with your fight. Are you injured? Do you owe anybody money? Has anybody approached you to, you know…' And the kid said, 'No, absolutely not. I’m gonna kill this guy.' So we said, 'OK,'" the Ultimate Fighting Championship president noted about Dulgarian.
'Absolutely Insane' Fight Fixing Claims
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White called the fight fixing allegations 'insane' and that there was no proof yet that Dulgarian threw his match.
"The fight plays out — and a first-round finish by rear-naked choke. Literally, the first thing we did was call the FBI," White revealed about Dulgarian's highly suspicious loss.
He met twice with federal authorities in Las Vegas on Tuesday, November 4, revealing he had "an office full of FBI agents in here."
"I hate to see anybody in our sport do anything illegal, you know, but fight fixing is absolutely insane," White proclaimed.
"And I'm not saying this kid's guilty. You know what I mean? There's 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," he added about Dulgarian.
The UFC drama comes on the heels of a scandal that rocked the NBA, in which several players were accused of leaving games to secure a specific betting outcome.
