Less than a month after announcing that UFC fighters and their teams could no longer bet on the promotion’s fights, the organization will investigate the unusual circumstances surrounding the Darrick Minner vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke fight at UFC Vegas 64.
As noted by TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter, in the span of 90 minutes shortly before the fight, “crazy” line movement shifted the odds from -237 to -362 in favor of Nuerdanbieke.
Some crazy line movement in the Shayilan Nuerdanbieke vs. Darrick Minner fight over the last 90 minutes.
Average odds have moved from -237 to -362 for Shayilan
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) November 5, 2022
While the Chinese featherweight was already the favorite, that amount of movement in such a short span of time is highly irregular. It became more suspect when Minner injured his knee early in the fight, with Nuerdanbieke quickly capitalizing and securing a TKO finish.
On top of the average odds shifting immediately ahead of the bout, bettors seemed convinced Nuerdanbieke would win inside of a round. The activity was deemed suspicious enough that advance notice was sent to sportsbooks.
In the wake of the controversy, the UFC will conduct a review of the situation, via their betting integrity partner.
“Like many professional sports organizations, UFC works with an independent betting integrity service to monitor wagering activity on our events,” the UFC wrote in a statement provided to ESPN. “Our betting integrity partner, Don Best Sports, a leading global supplier of real-time betting data for North American sporting events, will conduct a thorough review of the facts and report its findings. At this time, we have no reason to believe either of the athletes involved in the bout, or anyone associated with their teams, behaved in an unethical or irresponsible manner.”
Minner’s manager, Andrew Lee of Disorderly Conduct Management, told ESPN that he was “unaware of anything like this.” The outlet cited a source familiar with Minner’s camp who stated that he had sustained the injury ahead of the fight. The fighter’s coach, former UFC athlete James Krause, has yet to comment on the matter. Krause is a well-known betting enthusiast who hosts the 1% Club podcast.
