UFC has released a statement after bookmakers suspected that the fight between American Darrick Minner and Chinese Nuerdanbieke Shayilan at UFC Vegas 64 was a fixed one.
The bookmakers were alerted to the suspicious activity a few hours before the fight, when unknown people bet a lot of money on Shayilan's victory in the first round.
Suspicion of something going wrong increased after Minner injured his leg early in the first round and the Chinese fighter won by TKO. After the fight, accusations were made that Minner intentionally threw the fight.
Like many professional sports organizations, the UFC works with an independent betting integrity service to monitor betting activity at our events. Our betting integrity partner, Don Best Sports, the world's leading provider of real-time betting data on sporting events in North America, will conduct a thorough analysis of the facts and report its findings. At this point, we have no reason to believe that any of the athletes involved in the fight, or anyone associated with their teams, behaved unethically or irresponsibly.
The UFC statement
Minner, 32, last fought in December 2021 at UFC 269, losing to Ryan Hall by unanimous decision. He has 23 wins and 14 losses under his belt.
The 28-year-old Shayilan defeated T.J. Brown by unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 38 in June 2022. He has 20 wins and six losses under his belt.