Factory X head coach Marc Montoya addressed the issue during Tuesday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show, and denied any involvement in suspected betting irregularities, which included a massive money shift to Yadier del Valle, Dulgarian’s opponent on Saturday.

del Valle went on to win the bout in the opening round, via a rear-naked choke. Dulgarian was heavily criticized, including on the UFC Vegas 110 post-fight show, for his lack of submission defense and poor performance overall. IC360, the UFC’s betting integrity partner, had informed the promotion of suspicious betting activity ahead of the event. While they did speak to the fighters involved, the fight was allowed to move forward.

“My gym is being attacked, my integrity is being attacked, and I just want to first and foremost say, we have nothing to do with any of these allegations that are being brought upon us,” Montoya said, speaking with Helwani on Tuesday. “People have asked me what my opinions are. To speculate right now is not my job. My job is to right now continue to lead and not react. And with that said, we as a team, myself as a person, I’ve never been involved in any type of betting format. I’ve actually never even placed a sports bet in my entire life. I couldn’t tell you how to do it. And so my job has always been to train these guys to fight and win, train these guys to win in life, and those are my two jobs. I take that very serious, this is my life’s work. You can be your ass that I would never, for any sort of money, I would never sell my integrity or my word, because in life, that’s all you have.”

Montoya went on to call it a “very unfortunate situation,” one that is “still unfolding.”

“I’m not here to speculate, I’m hear to speak facts.”

Montoya did speak with Dulgarian about the allegations, when the UFC approached the fighter prior to the bout. Word of the betting irregularities had already begun to fly.

“First and foremost, as a coach and as a person, I care about my fighter, so there’s a conversation that needs to be had. We had the conversation about allegations, he reassured me he wasn’t involved, and I have no reason not to believe him,” Montoya said on that front.

The Factory X head coach added that he was hoping the allegations were not true. That said, he went on to confirm that Isaac Dulgarian was no longer part of the team. That, after being with Dulgarian through several UFC fights.

“We had a conversation on Sunday, it was real brief. The conversation was that he was cut from the UFC, and unfortunately, there’s an investigation that is being had, and ultimately, that he’s not part of this Factory X team because of everything going on,” Montoya stated on the gym parting ways with the fighter. “And that was ultimately the conversation.”

“Whether he’s guilty or he’s innocent, in my prediction, Isaac Dulgarian is not gonna fight again. And so, does it matter where he claims, where he’s training? Ultimately, where we sit today is in just a crazy mess, with all these allegations, and so, the least of his concerns right now would be where he’s at and where he’s training.”

Montoya, when asked about the possibility Dulgarian might be innocent, replied “Ultimately I can’t speculate. That’s the FBI’s job. I’m waiting, just like you are and the rest of these people are, to figure out whether or not this is true. Or where he goes. And so at the end of the day, I can’t speculate. It’s not my job. That’s the FBI’s job.”

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This past weekend at UFC Vegas 110, the featherweight match-up between Yadier del Valle and Isaac Dulgarian saw a massive shift in the betting line in the hours prior to the bout. Dulgarian, 2-1 entering the fight, was later submitted via rear-naked choke in a heavily criticized performance. Given the number of wagers that had come in late picking del Valle by early finish, red flags were raised.

White confirmed as much to TMZ on Tuesday.

“Probably about one o’clock that day, we’re with a company called IC 360, and they are the best bet monitoring company in the business. They reached out to us, and they told us that there was some unusual action going on with that fight – did we know anything? We didn’t,” White said while speaking with TMZ. “So what we did was, we called the fighter and his lawyer, and said, ‘What’s going on? There’s some weird action going on in your bet, weird betting action going on with your fight. Are you injured? You owe anybody money? Has anybody approached you?’ And the kid said, ‘No, absolutely not. I’m going to kill this guy.’ And you know, so we said, ‘okay.'”

“The fight plays out and [it’s a] first round finish by rear-naked choke. Literally, the first thing we did was call the FBI. So we called the FBI, I’ve met with the FBI twice today, so that’s the whole thing.”

White disputed an online report that hundreds of fights were under investigation, calling that news “all clickbait BS.”

That said, a number of fighters have come out following the event, saying that historically, they had been approached to throw fights, without suggesting by who.

Among them, Vanessa Demopoulos and Vince Morales, the latter of whom confirmed to Cageside Press that he was approached ahead of the first UFC Vegas show at the Apex during COVID. Morales turned down the offer, saying “That was way back in the covid times. Fight week during the first week of apex. Happened in passing so I didn’t even take it serious.”

“If you try to do this, we will be your worst enemy. We will immediately go after you guns a’ blazing with the FBI and whoever else we need to get. And we will do everything we can to make sure you go to prison,” White said of anyone attempting to fix fights, before questioning why fighters claiming to have been approached to throw their bouts hadn’t come forward sooner, either to the promotion, or to the authorities.

“Really? Why didn’t you tell us that, or more importantly, why didn’t you tell law enforcement that you were approached? Now? Now you’re saying that you were approached?”

White compared it to being approached by someone putting together a bank heist. “You’re not going to tell law enforcement? It’s really weird that fighters are coming out now. They’re going to be approached now, by the FBI.”

Dulgarian has since been released by the UFC, with his full fight purse being held back by the Nevada Athletic Commission. White isn’t passing judgment just yet, but admits it doesn’t look good for his now-former fighter.

“I hate to see anybody in our sport do anything illegal, but fight fixing is absolutely insane. To get to this level and go out and be a part of fight [fixing]- and I’m not saying this kid is guilty. There is 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.”

The post Dana White Confirms FBI Investigation Into Suspicious Bout, Reacts to Fighters Saying They Were Approached to Fix Fights appeared first on Cageside Press.

Dulgarian, who lost after tapping to a rear-naked choke, has been highly criticized for his inability to defend the submission. Ahead of the fight, the moneyline shifted to de Valle, including sizeable amounts being placed on del Valle winning in the first round.

That raised red flags.

Now, UFC bantamweight Vince Morales has revealed that he was previously approached with an offer to throw a fight, without specifying by who or when.

“All this throwing the fight stuff is crazy! I’ve been approached about doing it and it’s not something I could live with…even though I ended up losing the damn fight anyways,” Morales wrote on social media on Monday.

In a follow-up post, Morales responded when asked about how much was at stake. “Penny’s considering how big of a deal it is. 70k,” he replied.

Cageside Press reached out to Morales regarding the incident, who clarified that the fight in question occurred during COVID. “That was way back in the covid times. Fight week during the first week of apex. Happened in passing so I didn’t even take it serious,” he stated.

Morales is 0-3 in his second stint with the company, most recently losing to Raul Rosas Jr. earlier this year. In his first run with the UFC, he posted a 3-5 record from 2018 to 2022. The timeline would likely make it his May 2020 fight with Chris Gutierrez at the Apex, which was UFC Vegas 1.

Morales obviously made the ethical decision, but that hasn’t always been the case. South Korea’s Tae Hyun Bang was handed a 10-month prison sentence in 2017 for his involvement in a fight fixing scandal at UFC Fight Night 79. Bang accepted just north of $90,000 USD to throw his fight with Leo Kuntz at the event in 2015.

Bang apparently got cold feet about the deal, and wound up going on to win a split decision. At the time, the UFC had caught wind of suspicious betting activity, and had preemptively warned the fighters about a potential investigation, according to Kuntz.

Then there was the more recent James Krause situation, which saw the former GLORY MMA and Fitness coach selling betting tips – allegedly including inside info on his own fighters. Krause, also working for an offshore sportsbook under the radar, was exposed when one of his fighters, Darrick Minner, went down early with an undisclosed injury in his November 2022 fight with Shayilan Nuerdanbieke. The bout was flagged as suspicious due once again to monitoring firms picking up irregularities, and led to an investigation by U.S. Integrity as well as the FBI.

Krause, Minner, and UFC flyweight Jeff Molina, who had helped run a betting Discord set up by James Krause, were all banished from the UFC.

8:15PM ET – Story updated with additional info from Morales

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The extended-length main card boasted one extra fight to bring the total to six. Coincidentally, a total of six ranked fighters graced the card. Out of 13 fights, eight of them ended with a finish. Only one fight on the main card went the distance. In the co-main event, #6 ranked heavyweight Waldo Cortes-Acosta shucked a foul to get the finish over #9 ranked Ante Delija. And in the main event, #12 ranked featherweight Steve Garcia smoked #13 David Onama in the first round to close the night early. A sleeper card that ended up being pretty entertaining for fans as this edition of losers has its fair share of fighters with their backs to the wall in some form or another.

David Onama

Steve Garcia rocked and finished David Onama in the first round of the main event of UFC Vegas 110 on Saturday. The finish earned Garcia a bonus and snapped a four-fight win streak for David Onama. David is now 6-3 under the UFC banner since entering the promotion in 2024. His sole ranked win came earlier this year win he bested Giga Chikadze.

At this point, Onama needs to get back on the board. A fight against a name that’s dangerous, but a winnable fight. David should look to fight the winner of Joanderson Brito vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan. Especially if the fight ends with a finish. Those two fight on December 13 so it’s a little far off in terms of timing, but depending on how things move forward, it could still emerge as the best option. Brito is 5-3 in the UFC since being signed off the Contender Series in 2021. He’s dropped his last two fights both decisions to William Gomis and Pat Sabatini. Melsik is 3-2 with the UFC since being signed in 2020 off of the Contender Series. Baghdasaryan is coming off an ugly stoppage loss to Jean Silva back in February.

Neither fighter is ranked, so giving Onama the winner would be perfect. These fighters would essentially be fighting to hold the gatekeeper status of the featherweight rankings within the UFC.

Onama’s next fight: Joanderson Brito vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan Winner

Ante Delija

Waldo Cortes-Acosta fought through an early eye poke to finish Ante Delija just moments later, in the first round of their chaotic co-main event fight Saturday. The performance earned Waldo Cortes-Acosta a performance bonus and was Ante’s first loss under the UFC banner.

Ante is now just 1-1 with the promotion, demonstrating just how shallow the UFC is in their big man department. Ante should take on the loser of #12 Shamil Gaziev vs #7 Serghei Spivac. That fight goes down on November 22 so the timing wouldn’t be so bad. Spivac is 1-2 in his last three while Gaziev is 2-1 in his last three. Spivac also fought and lost to Waldo Cortes-Acosta back in June, though it was a unanimous decision affair. This fight makes a lot of sense for the division, as Delija as only faced #10 ranked Marcin Tybura within the division. He needs more tests/exposure and Gaziev or Spivac would offer that.

Delija’s next fight: Shamil Gaziev vs. Serghei Spivac Loser

Themba Gorimbo

Jeremiah Wells bested Themba Gorimbo in a hard-fought unanimous decision on Saturday. Themba now falls to 4-3 under the UFC banner and has lost two fights in a row.

Themba has lost a lot of momentum since starting off at 4-1 with the promotion. Gorimbo shouldn’t look too far for his next matchup as Phil Rowe, who competed on the undercard, offers a compelling matchup. Phil is 4-4 with the UFC and also suffered a defeat on Saturday as he dropped a unanimous decision to Seok Hyeon Ko, who is undefeated with the promotion. Rowe is also 1-2 in his last three fights and shares a common opponent/outcome with Themba (both finished Niko Price). Solid booking here that could be on the main card of a fight night event as both fighters have some notoriety.

Gorimbo’s next fight: Phil Rowe

Isaac Dulgarian

Isaac Dulgarian was submitted in the first round of his bout with Yadier del Valle on Saturday as his opponent remained undefeated. Dulgarian is now 2-2 with the promotion since being signed in early 2023.

Isaac’s next fight should be against the loser of the Jammal Emmers vs Hyder Amil fight. That fight takes place on November 8th, so the timing is perfect. Amil is 3-1 in the UFC since being signed off the Contender Series in 2021. Hyder just had his perfect 11-0 pro MMA record shattered in his last fight back in June, when Jose Delgado smoked him in under 30 seconds. Jammal Emmers is 4-4 with the promotion since his signing in early 2020. Emmers finished Gaberiel Miranda in the first round back in March in his last outing. These two were matched up after Austin Bashi fell out of the fight against Amil. Should be an extremely competitive fight and the loser drawing Dulgarian would be ideal as the loser will have a similar promotional record.

Dulgarian’s next fight: Jammal Emmers vs Hyder Amil Loser

Dulgarian has reportedly been released by the promotion, following a highly criticized performance and suspect line movement with sportsbooks shortly before the fight.

Daniel Frunza

Charles Radtke submitted Daniel Frunza with a rear naked choke in the final round of their bout on Saturday. Frunza is now 9-4 as a pro in MMA and has the scary promotional record of 0-2. (Other loss was to Rhys McKee.)

Daniel needs a winnable fight or could risk the axe from the promotion. Pairing Frunza up with a fighter like Gilbert Urbina seems like a good matchup at the moment. Urbina, a The Ultimate Fight Season 29 competitor, has gone 1-3 with the promotion since coming off the show in mid 2021. In Urbina’s most recent fight, back in August he was finished in 63 seconds by Uros Medic. Before that, Daniel was finished in the first round by none other than Charles Radtke, last February. Good fight to make with the loser potentially being cut from the promotion.

Frunza’s next fight: Gilbert Urbina

Cody Durden

Allan Nascimento secured a sneaky anaconda choke to submit his opponent Cody Durden in the second round of their fight on Saturday. Allan won a performance bonus for his submission while Durden has now lost 5 of his last 6 fights. Durden is in a rough spot currently as the five-year, 6-7-1, UFC vet needs a win, and badly.

Perfect fight for Durden would be to revisit a past cancelled bout. Durden was supposed to fight Carlos Hernandez in June of 2024 but withdrew. Durden is 1-4 since then while Hernandez is 1-2. Why not revisit the matchup? Hernandez was last in action back in May when Hyun Sung Park submitted Carlos in the first round of their bout.

Durden’s next fight: Carlos Hernandez

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 110 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

It also appears to have cost him his job.

As first reported by Uncrowned, Dulgarian was released by the UFC on Sunday. The move comes after UFC analyst Michael Chiesa immediately criticized Dulgarian’s showing on the UFC Vegas 110 post-fight show, saying “I’ve got to be honest here. That was an F- performance. It was absolute trash.”

Line movement with sportsbooks shifted considerably to Dulgarian’s opponent Yadier del Valle in the hours immediately prior to the fight. In particular, Dulgarian losing by first-round finish appeared to see considerable action come in.

Isaac Dulgarian lost the bout after submitting to a rear-naked choke that he visibly struggled to defend, making what Chiesa called “day one” mistakes.

Dulgarian had come into the fight with a 2-1 record inside the octagon, and had been considered a prospect at featherweight.

The UFC has now issued a statement to SportsNet’s Aaron Bronsteter regarding the situation.

“Like many professional sports organizations, UFC works with an independent betting integrity service to monitor wagering activity on our events. Our betting integrity partner, IC360, monitors wagering on every UFC event and is conducting a thorough review of the facts surrounding the Dulgarian vs. del Valle bout on Saturday, November 1. We take these allegations very seriously, and along with the health and safety of our fighters, nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport.”

The UFC was reportedly informed of the suspicious line movement in advance of the fight, but the decision was made to allow it to proceed.

The post Isaac Dulgarian Released by UFC, Promotion Issues First Statement appeared first on Cageside Press.

At least two notable sportsbooks are offering refunds on bets placed on the action that transpired in Yadier del Valle vs. Isaac Dulgarian. Both Caesars Sportsbook and William Hill US are offering cash credits to gamblers, in a situation eerily reminiscent of the Darrick Minner vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke debacle in 2022.

DraftKings has issued a statement advising they are aware of the situation.

As with the Minner case, which saw the fighter enter his UFC Vegas 64 bout injured with word of it slipping out, allegations pertaining to this past Saturday’s del Valle vs. Dulgarian started with many online noticing the shift in line movement. While the Minner case surrounded injury news leaking out, many are pointing to Isaac Dulgarian’s lack of effective defense in the fight.

Here we go again.

In the Minner case, former GLORY MMA and Fitness coach James Krause was eventually banished from MMA, with the FBI among those investigating. The scandal uncovered evidence that Krause was selling betting tips via his own Discord channel, and also ensnared UFC flyweight Jeff Molina, who was released by the promotion and hit with a suspension by the Nevada Athletic Commission for assisting Krause in his gambling venture.

Krause had been a vocal proponent of gambling on fights, saying he made more off it than fighting. Shifting moneylines when his own fighter had an injury crossed an obvious line, however, and resulted in several jurisdictions briefly banning bets on UFC events.

The UFC later issued a strict policy on fighters and their team’s betting on UFC bouts, including banning them from betting on themselves.

UFC fighter an analyst Michael Chiesa lambasted Dulgarian’s performance in the bout during the UFC Vegas 110 post-fight show.

“If you’re on the main card of a UFC, it’s one thing if you kind of get punched into submission, but a lot of Day 1 mistakes,” Chiesa said on the UFC post-fight show (h/t MMA Junkie). “You can even hear on the broadcast like, ‘What is this guy doing?’ You peel the top hand. You don’t punch behind you. That is the most useless strike you can possibly throw. I’m sitting here on the pre-show hyping you up as a guy that can go into the top five and win fights, and it doesn’t even look like you can fight someone that’s in the bottom of the top 500. I’ve got to be honest here. That was an F- performance. It was absolute trash.”

“I’m not sitting here saying Del Valle is some scrub. The guy is undefeated for a reason, he’s a great fighter. But for a guy in Dulgarian, you don’t even run your feet. Every fight before you shoot and run through these guys. You shot to Del Valle. You let him control you. You know how to cut the corner, you know to run your feet, you know to re-attack. You know your short offence if you’re caught in a front headlock. You fought like an amateur. He literally laid an egg, he fought like an amateur. You fought like a guy who doesn’t even belong here. And I hate to just totally crap on the guy, but I’ve got to be honest in my assessment. If that’s how you’re going to fight, there’s other people who are more deserving.”

Currently, there has been no official statement by the UFC or Dulgarian, nor have any allegations of fight fixing, or who might have have been involved, been proven.

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Kicking off this UFC Vegas 110 edition of TTP is our interview with UFC featherweight, Isaac Dulgarian. Dulgarian is fresh off of being the biggest favorite in the history of the UFC. After being installed as a -2500 favorite, he talks about the pressure that came along with it. After delivering as we thought he would, he moves on to UFC Vegas 110 for an encore performance. He’s not nearly as big of a favorite against Yadier del Valle, but he’s looking to put the same kind of stamp on the fight.

Fights, Dogs and Parlays: UFC Vegas 110 (12:22)

The UFC heads back to their home inside of the Apex for UFC Vegas 110. The card is headlined by Steve Garcia looking to make it seven-straight. He’ll face David Onama, who has a massive win streak of his own that he’d like to continue. The co-main event features a pair of heavyweights. Both Ante Delija and Waldo Cortes-Acosta will look to take big steps forward in the division. We’ll break down those fights as well as some of our other favorite fights on the main card. Plus, as always, we’re hitting you with an underdog and a plus-money parlay that we think will make your wallet fat this weekend. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Shamar Williams Interview (18:20)

Closing out this UFC Vegas 110 edition of TTP is our interview with APFC bamtamweight, Shamar Williams. Williams talks about his origins in the sport of MMA. From watching Anderson Silva on Spike TV with his dad to now – he’s always had a love for the sport. After getting involved in wrestling and then finding Minnesota Combat Academy, he’s in the perfect situation to make a run to the big show. The next step towards that ultimate goal is at Anthony Pettis FC 20 this Sunday.

The post TTP Ep. 504: Isaac Dulgarian, Shamar Williams, and UFC Vegas 110 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Dulgarian (6-1) kicked off his UFC career with an impressive finish of Francis Marshall last August, but then dropped a split-decision to Christian Rodriguez this past March. He took on Marotte hoping to right the ship once more.

Marotte (8-2) stumbled in his first UFC bout as he lost a short-notice bout via highlight reel knockout against Terrance McKinney. With a full camp under his belt for this one he got the always tough Dulgarian in the octagon.

Dulgarian didn’t take long to get his pressure and offense going in the first round of the fight landing an early takedown leading him right into mount. Dulgarian was able to take the back in the round but was not able to find the finish. However Dulgarian landed tons of damage in the round with elbows and punches. The offense was non existent for Marotte in round one which possibly led to a 10-8 round in the first.

The second round got off to the same start as Dulgarian used a blast double to slam Marotte to the ground putting him back in control. Marotte ground defense was not enough to challenge the wrestling of Dulgarian. Dulgarian went for the arm triangle in the first round and went back to the well with it in round two ending the fight with a dominant submission victory over Brendan Marotte.

Marotte in his two fights with the UFC has not been great losing both of his fights by finish. Dulgarian said after the fight “I want to dedicate this fight to my daughter, I had her after my fight with Christian Rodriguez and she changed my life”. Dulgarian has a lot of upside and looks like he could be a huge problem in his division with his wrestling skills. Issac Dulgarian moves to 7-1 in his career with a lot more to come.

Result: Isaac Dulgarian def. Brendon Marotte via R2 SUB (Arm Triangle), 4:19

The post Isaac Dulgarian Blitzes Marotte, Gets R2 Submission appeared first on Cageside Press.

Kicking off this edition of TTP is our interview with UFC featherweight, Isaac Dulgarian. Dulgarian talks about the ridiculous decision that lead to his first ever UFC loss. While the judges didn’t see things his way against Christian Rodriguez, he took a lot away from the fight and is ready to put on a show at UFC Vegas 97. He’ll get a chance to do so against Brendon Marotte as one of the biggest favorites in recent memory. He talks about that fact as well prior to the fight.

Fights, Dogs, and Parlays: UFC Vegas 97 (9:48)

UFC Vegas 96 came and went and now we’re heading back to the Apex for UFC Vegas 97. The fight card is headlined by Sean Brady, who looks to stake his claim at the top of the division, and Gilbert Burns, who looks to defend that spot. It’s a grapplers delight that we can’t get enough of. We break down that one and some of the other action on the top of the card for you. Plus, we dig into the betting odds for the fight and give you some of our highest value plays out there. Check out these parlays and underdogs to make sure you win big this weekend. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Quillan Salkilld Interview (22:03)

Closing out this UFC Vegas 97 edition of TTP is our interview with Contender Series lightweight, Quillan Salkilld. He talks about getting to see his teammate, Cody Haddon, earn his contract on Contender Series and how he knew he’d handle business. Plus, he shares his thoughts on getting the call himself to fight on week 4 of the show. He then breaks down his fight with Gauge Young and how he knows it’ll be an exciting one.

The post TTP Ep. 445 with Isaac Dulgarian, Quillan Salkilld and UFC Vegas 97 appeared first on Cageside Press.