UFC CEO Dana White confirmed to reporters Saturday night that the lightweight fight between Michael Johnson and Alex Hernandez was canceled due to a report of betting irregularities.
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“We got a call from the game integrity service and I said, ‘I’m not doing this shit again,’ so we pulled the fight,” White said.
It is not clear what the irregularities were or who is suspected of misconduct. Still, it’s a familiar story for the UFC.
As White alluded to, his promotion saw a major betting scandal last year when wrestler Isaac Dulgarian was removed from the roster following a suspicious loss to Yadier del Valle in November. In that fight, Dulgarian fell from a -250 favorite to -154 just before fight time amid a cloud of strange betting activity. Dulgarian remains under investigation by both the FBI and the Nevada Athletic Commission.
UFC veterans Darrick Minner and Jeff Molina also received three-year suspensions from the NAC for their connection to a 2022 fight that had suspicious betting activity involving Minner.
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These types of stories have become common throughout the sports world since the introduction of legal sports betting. Both the NBA and MLB have seen players connected to suspicious gambling activity, with potentially deadly consequences for their careers.
Former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter was banned for life by the NBA and pleaded guilty to felony wire fraud after withdrawing from games to rig prop bets. Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have not pitched since they were placed on leave after a group of bettors placed suspicious bets on whether they would throw a ball or a strike to start certain innings, and are now awaiting trial on several charges.
There are other examples that have abandoned the leagues to navigate how to do business when anyone can get a piece of the action with a few taps of a smartphone.