Dustin Poirier on UFC’s ban on fighters betting: “I’m glad it happened”

Former interim UFC Lightweight Champion Dustin Poirier has weighed in on the fighter betting situation.

Former UFC fighter-turned-coach, James Krause, became embroiled in controversy after his fighter, Darrick Minner, suffered a first-round TKO loss to Shayilan Nuerdanbieke at UFC Vegas 64. Minner was a slight underdog going into the fight but suddenly Nuerdanbieke became a -420 favorite. News of Minner’s leg injury was allegedly leaked by his team.

Amid the suspicion, the UFC issued a ban on fighters being able to train under Krause. At the end of 2022, Krause and Minner had their suspensions extended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Dustin Poirier spoke to Eddie Mercado of Bloody Elbow and he discussed why he’s grateful the situation reared its ugly head now.

“Dude, I’m glad it happened because I usually do bet on fights. I’m glad it happened right before that [Sean] O’Malley – [Petr] Yan fight because I would have lost a bunch of money. I would have bet [Mateusz] Gamrot to beat [Beneil] Dariush, I would have bet Petr to beat O’Malley. I would’ve lost a bunch of money, so they saved me some money.”

Poirier went on to admit that he didn’t know the details of the situation. He also admitted that he had bet on himself in the past. He believes the main problem is if fighters were to bet against themselves.

With that said, “The Diamond,” is seeing things from the UFC’s perspective.

“But still, it’s insider trading. If I’m training with these guys, and they have an injury going into a fight or whatever, I’m seeing it from a different angle than the public and the matchmakers are seeing it. So, I can see it’s just not a good look in general, and I have no problem being removed from the betting side of mixed martial arts.”