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Investigation launched after fight at UFC Apex is flagged for 'suspicious wagering activity'

"Literally, the first thing we did was call the FBI," UFC president Dana White says of the allegations.
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LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Allegations of suspicious betting activity around a recent Las Vegas fight are stirring up controversy for the UFC.

Just hours before Vegas 110 at the UFA Apex on Saturday, Integrity Compliance warned of unusual action on the matchup between Yadier del Valle and Issac Dulgarian.

Channel 13 obtained the alert warning of "suspicious wagering activity" on Yadier del Valle to win in round one. The alert quickly made its way up the chain, and UFC president Dana White told TMZ Sports he wasted no time in reaching out.

"We called the fighter and his lawyer and said, 'What's going on?' There's some weird action going on in your fight." White told TMZ. "Are you injured? Do you owe anybody money? Has anybody approached you to, you know' — and the kid said 'No, absolutely not, I'm going to kill this guy.'"

But by the end of the night, those warnings seemed justified as the heavily favored Dulgarian tapped out in the first round.

"Literally, the first thing we did was call the FBI," White told TMZ, adding that he's now met with the agency at least twice.

Major sportsbooks — including Caesars and William Hill — began taking action of their own on Saturday night, announcing refunds for bets placed on Dulgarian. The Nevada State Athletic Commission also stepped in, withholding Dulgarian's purse as sports betting compliance monitor IC360 launched its investigation.

"There's no proof that he's done this yet, but I can tell you this — it doesn't look good," White told TMZ. "It definitely doesn't look good."

Since then, several fighters have posted that they've been approached about fixing fights, though some later walked those claims back. White called the posts "really weird" and said the FBI is expected to follow up on the claims.

"If you try to do this — I've been very vocal and open about this — we will be your worst enemy," White said. "We will immediately go after you, guns blazing, with the FBI and whoever else we need to get, and we will. We will do everything we can to make sure you go to prison."

The UFC says it's working with the FBI, but the Nevada Gaming Control Board tells Channel 13 it has no comment at this time and can't confirm whether it's launched its own review. Meanwhile, UFC has released Dulgarian as regulators consider possible charges.

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