A pair of glove belonging to Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Poland is seen left on the floor after Jedrzejczyk lost to Zhang Weili of China in the womens strawweight bout during the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 275 event in Singapore on June 12, 2022. (Photo by NICHOLAS YEO / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS YEO/AFP via Getty Images)
MMA fans make outlandish claims in light of news that Ontario commission has banned betting on UFC fights
In response to the recent betting controversy, the province of Ontario has taken a hard stance against the UFC. On Thursday, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) announced that, due to concerns about non-compliance with AGCO’s betting integrity requirements, all registered Ontario casino, lottery, and gaming operators that offer sport and event betting products [are] to immediately stop offering and accepting wagers on Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events.
Ontario, being the largest sports market in Canada, is a devastating blow to the UFC and online betting sites in the country that process wagers for the global fighting promotion.
The AGCO has stated that the ban on UFC wagers is an effort to prevent “odds manipulation, match-fixing, and other sports betting integrity issues” by enforcing the “Registrar’s Standards.” The AGCO “has learned of publicised alleged incidents, including possible betting by UFC insiders, and reports of suspicious betting patterns in other jurisdictions,” according to the statement. It’s unclear what happened.
The statement read:
“The Standards exist to protect the betting public and to provide the necessary safeguards against odds manipulation, match-fixing and other integrity issues,” AGCO Registar and CEO Tom Mungham said in the statement. “This is not a decision we take lightly, knowing the popularity of UFC events in Ontario’s sports books. However, the risks of insider betting on event and wagering integrity should be highly concerning to all. It certainly is to us. We will continue to work with gaming operators, the OLG, iGaming Ontario and UFC to ensure that wagering on UFC events meets the AGCO’s Standards.”
The news comes at a time when the UFC has been facing scrutiny in recent times. A huge amount of attention has been paid to the UFC bets as of late, particularly to the Darrick Minner vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke fight on November 5 at UFC Vegas 64.
After what looked like a leg injury in the octagon, Minner was knocked out in 67 seconds and lost the featherweight bout. Suspicious activity, possibly related to Minner’s having an undisclosed injury going into his fight, and the unusual result have prompted an official investigation into the fight. Betting lines shifted dramatically in Nuerdanbieke’s favour in the days leading up to the fight.
Despite the fact that Minner could be punished by state officials depending on the results of the investigation, UFC officials have denied any wrongdoing on their part and have instead blamed the fighters and their teams.
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement indirectly slapped Minner’s trainer, James Krause, on the wrist by ordering all sportsbooks in the state to ban betting on fights involving fighters trained by Krause. In addition to shutting down his gambling advice channels on the online social platform Discord, Krause has been banned from cornering fighter Miles Johns at UFC Vegas 65 on November 19.
MMA fans stormed under the post and started giving out their own version of what could have led to the decision.
One user claimed that Dana White leaks rigged information through his once-a-week segment ‘F**k it Fridays’:
“Dana White giving the winners out every week with food videos is finally starting to catch on. Good Job Ontario!”
Some other fan wrote:
“F**k it Friday’s, always found a winner with that one. Mostly undercards, non ranked fighters. Gotta know how to get those parlays.”
Some other fan pointed fingers at T.J. Dillashaw’s shoulder injury to be the reason behind this bold decision:
“100% this is because of the Dillashaw shoulder injury. Anyone who had even the slightest bit of inside info on that fight would have been able to make serious bank.”
Yet some other fan claimed that UFC’s “poor judging” should be blamed for the decision:
“I hate to tell you all but it’s more than James Krause. The UFC has been under scrutiny. The piss poor judging has drawn a lot of attention from a lot of eyes. The judges are a higher risk than any coach or trainer could ever dream of being.”
Some other fan wrote:
“This sucks. I just recently began making bets on some of the fights lately. Actually I was sure that TJ Dillashaw being injured and making referee Marc Goddard (NSAC) aware of it before the fight would’ve been the catalyst for this response by UFC’s Bet partners.”
Elsewhere, some claim that the decision will not be as consequential as people assume it to be:
“I don’t think there are a lot of UFC bettors from Ontario, so it’s not a big loss for UFC or the province for that matter. It’s probably a good thing if people try to supplement income from UFC betting. 95% of MMA bettors lose long-term. Great job by the commission in my opinion.”
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