UFC has joined forces with US Integrity following the betting controversy surrounding James Krause and his fighters.
From the exit of two of its biggest stars; Nate Diaz and former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, to the personal incident of company president Dana White on New Year’s Eve, the past few months have been a rough stretch for the UFC. About two months ago, a betting scandal rocked the world of mixed martial arts stemming from the fight between Darrick Minner and Nuerdanbieke Shayilan two months ago.
Former UFC fighter and coach James Krause of Glory MMA was alleged to have been the mastermind behind a members-only Discord server where he used insider information to place bets and offer gambling predictions to the paying members.
UFC teams up with US integrity after the James Krause betting controversy
UFC issued a press release earlier today announcing a comprehensive agreement with US Integrity for betting monitoring services. The agreement will take effect immediately and will cover all UFC events, including Dana White’s Contender Series.
“There is no greater responsibility we have to our athletes, fans, and business partners than to ensure the integrity of our sport,” said Riché T. McKnight, Executive Vice President & General Counsel of UFC. “U.S. Integrity will help us strengthen our existing best practices by applying their expertise in data intelligence to proactively identify irregular bout-level wagering patterns. This information can inform UFC’s response and can be preemptively shared with sports books, who can make informed decisions as to whether or not halt betting on a particular bout.”
“U.S. Integrity is proud to partner with UFC and assist as wagering on their events continues to rapidly grow across the regulated sports betting market,” said Matthew Holt, U.S. Integrity’s CEO & co-founder. “U.S. Integrity’s mission is to provide best-in-class insights and compliance solutions to our clients. We are looking forward to working with the exceptional team at UFC as they work to improve their integrity policies and procedures.”
UFC extended the scope of their gambling restrictions on athletes
McKnight further detailed that the scope of gambling restrictions on its athletes will expand to include any affiliates or third parties who may use sensitive information about a fighter for placing wagers.
“We have made enhancements to our UFC Athlete Conduct Policy to more clearly express the prohibition against any UFC athlete from placing any wagers directly or through a third party on any UFC match, including placing wagers on themselves,” said McKnight. “We have also expanded our discussion of so-called ‘UFC Insiders’ to make clear that these same prohibitions against wagering apply to an athlete’s coaches, managers, handlers, athletic trainers, and other individuals affiliated with the athletes or UFC, and that violations by these Insiders may result in disciplinary action against related contract athletes.
“Finally, we have reiterated our expectation that our contract athletes will come to us to report any matters that might raise integrity concerns. We thank the AGCO for their cooperation, and we look forward to continuing to work with them to ensure the integrity of our sport for the benefit of our athletes and our fans.”
In the aftermath of the James Krause betting scandal, UFC barred all fighters under Krause from competing in the promotion. Krause’s pupil Jeff Molina was handed a suspension for his alleged substantial involvement in the scheme.
