Recent betting scandals are threatening the integrity of the UFC, with suspicious betting patterns leading to canceled fights and investigations. The decline in betting activity could impact the UFC's popularity and revenue streams.
Mentioned in this story
Recent scandals include suspicious betting patterns in fights like the canceled bout between Michael Johnson and Alex Hernandez, and the FBI investigation into the Jeff Molina-Darrick Minner fight.
Betting action for the UFC has decreased recently, attributed to integrity issues and a decline in interest from recreational bettors.
The UFC primarily targets young males, particularly Gen Zers aged 18-34, who are interested in fitness and thrill-seeking activities.
Bet365's partnership with the UFC highlights the league's deep integration with sports betting, but recent controversies may challenge this relationship.
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Thomas Gable, the director of race and sports book at the Borgata in Atlantic City, says these betting scandals are coming at an inopportune time for the UFC. “We’ve seen a recent decrease in the handle and betting action for the UFC,” said Gable. “It’s likely a combination of factors, of which the integrity issues are one.“ Gable also attributes some of the UFC momentum slowing down to the fact that “many of the household names once carrying it have fallen off recently.” That gap helps allow a name such as Dulgarian to remain in the conversations that Gable and others are having about the UFC. Recently there were good crowds at the Borgata sportsbook, the epicenter of Atlantic City betting activity, for UFC 327, but they featured fewer of those prototypical young and loud fans sweating out the action. “Our regulars and sharp UFC bettors are still very into it, we’re just seeing less recreational bettors,” Gable said. That segment of clientele showing less enthusiasm for UFC wagering has a trickle-down effect within a casino’s ecosystem. Even though they may only wager around $100 per ticket, they are a tremendous source of revenue from their food and beverage purchases, table play, and hotel occupancy.
UFC confirms FBI involvement as betting scandal emerges pic.twitter.com/7JbslxyP4z
— The Independent (@Independent) November 5, 2025
Dan Miller is part of that target audience the UFC and its partners find so attractive. The 27-year-old joined the UFC betting bandwagon five years ago after moving to Las Vegas. “Ever since I moved to the ‘fight capital of the world,’ I’ve been big into betting UFC,” Miller said. “I became intrigued with the sport and then learned more about it and began betting it.” Recent research by Statista finds UFC fans commonly fit Miller’s profile, as they skew heavily male (75-90%) with half being digital-loving Gen Zers in the 18-34 age range. From a psychographic standpoint, they tend to be into fitness and thrill seeking. Hence the easy connection to sports betting. They are also immersed in prediction markets, which in turn threaten to take business away from traditional sportsbooks. “The UFC seems to promote sports betting with every fight — it’s easy to see how embedded they are with sportsbooks,” said Miller. In March 2026, bet365 became the official sports betting partner of the UFC. As much as Miller is attracted to what the UFC offers him as a fan and bettor, he is not blind to the impact recent controversies have caused. He now finds himself asking a lot of questions while watching the action. “There have been a number of fights that have gone completely the wrong way, and it seems the only reason why is maybe the judges have incorporated the odds, which are posted everywhere, into the decision of who actually won the fight,” Miller opined. “I’m not at the point of calling them ‘fixed,’ but I’ve seen enough evidence to come up with the conclusion that some fights are judged differently.” He added: “I do see a problem when a fight is canceled because of suspicions around betting.” One New York-based bettor who prefers to go by his X handle of @DFSWINS is starting to show more caution as a result of recent controversies. “I’m very concerned about the UFC scandals and it has affected my betting,” said DFSWINS, who has wagered on the league since 2016. “When there are huge line moves, I now tend to stay on the sidelines as opposed to looking for value.” That elusive search for value is precisely what originally brought him into the UFC mix. “It’s an action-packed sport and not very liquid like the NFL, and the lines aren’t always optimal like in the NFL. There’s a much bigger betting edge than the other mainstream sports.”
As it pertains to other sports, particularly of the combat variety, what the UFC is dealing with now is certainly not uncharted waters. Many of the UFC’s newer generation of fans may not realize it, but boxing once dominated the sports landscape. It too has had to deal with countless calls from the public of impropriety from those wearing the gloves or filling out the scorecards. “Concerns about boxing matches being legitimate are about as old as the sport itself,” said veteran boxing writer Eric Raskin. “With good reason, as one-on-one combat sports are just about the easiest possible sports to fix, and boxing history is dotted with documented or strongly suspected cases of fighters taking dives.” White, who was a boxing fan long before he became an MMA entrepreneur (and is also now a boxing promoter as head of Zuffa Boxing), now must steer the UFC away from the same waters that led a once mainstream sport to decline to the point that sideshow events like Jake Paul entering the ring garner major attention. But according to Raskin (who is also an editor for *InGame*), integrity issues were only a small part of what led to boxing’s drop-off. “I don’t think cheating scandals were a particularly significant factor in boxing retreating from the mainstream,” Raskin said. “They’ve happened in the NBA, NFL, MLB, and so on, and that didn’t convince anyone to stop watching. “Boxing transitioned from one of the most popular sports in the country to a niche sport for a variety of reasons, the biggest being that major fights moved from network TV to premium cable and pay-per-view, producing short-term cash for promoters and fighters at the expense of audience size. There’s also the excessive proliferation of so-called ‘world titles,’ leaving hardcore and casual fans alike confused over who the real champion is, as well as the reality that the most athletic American big men have gravitated in recent decades toward football instead of boxing, allowing the heavyweight division to largely be ruled by European fighters.”
The migration of action from one source to another that Raskin mentioned about boxing also connects to the current state of the UFC. In January 2026, the league started a seven-year pact with streamer Paramount+ to deliver all its action. It was a rather bold move after White and friends had been part of the ESPN family since 2019. This new media rights deal is another of the factors Gable attributes to a drop in recreational wagering on the UFC. “The move to Paramount probably has had an effect because when you were watching ESPN, you used to get hit over the head with the amount of UFC commercials and promotions.” From Paramount+ and the UFC’s point of view, however, the move has provided immediate dividends. The streaming provider saw an increase of nearly 1 million subscribers following its first event, UFC 324. That telecast reportedly peaked with audience size of close to 5.9 million viewers, more than any UFC event over the previous decade.
"I think after this fight, he might be the biggest star in the UFC."@chrisweidman on Josh Hokit after #UFC327 👀
Watch DEEP WATERS Live HERE: pic.twitter.com/Q4z9fCz2pX
— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) April 13, 2026 As a digital native, Miller hasn’t had any trouble finding out where to watch the events. The issues he encounters are more about the buffering that happens during livestreaming and how the action on the screen trails what his live odds board is displaying (a nuisance all sports bettors currently face). Even with the general unease these UFC betting enthusiasts have discussed regarding the sport’s betting controversies, there seems to be an overall positive assessment of how White is dealing with them. The transparency he demonstrates while discussing betting issues during his press conferences stands in contrast to the way NBA officials have tried to mention the names Jontay Porter or Terry Rozier as infrequently as possible. “The UFC compared to the other major leagues is very difficult to police,” Gable noted. “There’s just far less oversight with who these fighters are dealing with outside of the matches.” DFSWINS commends White’s continued open acknowledgement of both the pros and cons sports betting brings to his league: “White is certainly not dumb. He knows how gambling keeps on fueling UFC viewership.”
Miller expects the UFC to work hard to steer the conversation away from gambling controversies when extensive promotion begins of the UFC Freedom 250 event to be held at the White House on June 14. “The White House card is starting to become a big deal,” said Miller. “If it lives up to expectations, then I can’t wait for what the next 10 years brings. Problem is, they can hype a fight up all they want. It’s up to the fighters to make great fights and great TV.” Gable can see the positives the White House event may bring for both the bettors and those on his side of the window booking the action. Still, he’s taking a wait-and-see approach to what effect recent controversies and the possibility of others in the future may have on the UFC. “If you continue to see more stories about irregularities and ones that prove it actually happened, it will continue to depress the UFC handle,” Gable said. “Ultimately, people who bet on any sport want to know what they are betting on is fair.”