UFC releases statement after suspicious betting activity leads to an investigation of Saturday’s Minner vs. Nuerdanbieke bout

The UFC has released a statement after suspicious betting activity resulted in a investigation of Saturday’s Minner vs Nuerdanbieke bout.

UFC Fight Night 214 occurred last Saturday night, November 5th, and saw Darrick Minner (26-14 MMA) and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke (39-10 MMA) in a featherweight bout. The outcome was a first-round TKO victory at the 1:07 mark for Nuerdanbieke.

Prior to the fight, Minner was a +190 underdog but there was a dramatic drop to +330 leading up to the match. At the same time, Nuerdanbieke moved from a  -220 to a -420 favorite.

Suspicion grew that something was amiss after Minner’s knee gave way in the 1st round. Many thought that Minner had a pre-existing injury which was leaked to gamblers prior to the bout, causing the changes to the fighters underdog/favourite status.

Following the fight, accusations were made claiming Minner intentionally threw the fight.

The suspicious activity garnered the UFC to get involved and look into the claims, albeit saying there was currently no evidence to suggest unethical behaviour was used by either the Minner or Nuerdanbieke camp.

The UFC statement read as follows:

“Like many professional sports organizations, UFC works with an independent betting integrity service to monitor wagering activity on our events. Our betting integrity partner, Don Best Sports, a leading global supplier of real-time betting data for North American sporting events, will conduct a thorough review of the facts and report its findings. At this time, we have no reason to believe either of the athletes involved in the bout, or anyone associated with their teams, behaved in an unethical or irresponsible manner.”

The UFC recently announced a crackdown on fighter betting and is obviously taking any suspicious betting activity very seriously.

What are your thoughts on the betting activity this past weekend? Do you believe the accusations of betting fraud are valid?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!