Isaac Dulgarian was released from the UFC and suspended after allegations of potential fight fixing
Isaac Dulgarian remains suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission after suspicious betting activity surrounded his recent fight in November where the former UFC fighter was heavily favored to win but ultimately suffered a first-round submission loss.
The entire ordeal spiraled out of control in the hours leading up to UFC Vegas 110 in November when the odds on Dulgarian’s fight against Yadier del Valle started to shift dramatically. UFC CEO Dana White claims the promotion questioned Dulgarian about any potential injuries or other factors that could have led to the odds changing so swiftly just before the event started.
White added that Dulgarian denied any wrongdoing and the fight moved ahead as scheduled with the featherweight suffering a first-round submission loss. On Tuesday, the Nevada Athletic Commission extended a temporary suspension first handed down on Nov. 5 while also revealing the accusations against Dulgarian.
“The respondent is believed to have engaged in conduct which is deemed by the commission to reflect a discredit to unarmed combat,” Nevada deputy attorney general Matthew Feeley said during the hearing. “An investigation into this matter is ongoing.”
After revealing the accusations, Feeley then read a portion of a letter submitted to the commission by Dulgarian’s attorney James Hobb that addressed the situation and his ongoing suspension.
“As you know, it has been alleged in correspondence from the state of Nevada Athletic Commission that there are grounds deemed by the commission supporting the temporary suspension of our client Isaac Dulgarian,” Hobbs wrote in the letter.
“While Mr. Dulgarian denies any claims of conduct reflecting discredit in the field of unarmed combat, he consents to another extension of the temporary suspension.”
After the betting lines in the fight changed, the UFC was notified of the situation but Dulgarian was still allowed to compete. After he suffered a lopsided submission loss in a fight where he was heavily favored to win, White revealed that the UFC immediately reached out to the FBI to begin an investigation into the matter.
“We called the fighter and his lawyer and said, ‘What’s going on?’” White said back in November. “There’s some weird betting action going on in your fight. Are you injured? Do you owe anybody money? Has anybody approached you?’ And the kid said, ‘No, absolutely not. I’m going to kill this guy.’
“So we said OK. The fight plays out, first-round finish by rear-naked choke. Literally the first thing we did was call the FBI.”
Of course the situation involving Dulgarian comes after a separate betting scandal rocked the UFC back in 2022 involving Darrick Minner after the odds in his fight also shifted leading up to his bout. Minner lost the fight and he was later released from the UFC before eventually being handed a 29-month suspension for failing to disclose an injury prior to his contest.
His coach James Krause was also involved in the allegations, and he was suspended by the commission before being effectively banned from the UFC. The promotion issued a statement and declared that any fighter still associating with Krause would not be allowed to compete in the UFC.
An investigation into that situation is still ongoing.
As for Dulgarian, he’ll remain suspended by the commission until the investigation is completed and a potential adjudication agreement is reached.
Category: General Sports
