Gambling Fix Risk: UFC Fighters Who Bet on Themselves

[ReadWrite]

UFC could have a gambling problem on the horizon

New live-betting product could put the UFC under some scrutiny

The UFC could have a gambling problem brewing. At the current time, the UFC does not seem to have any rules when it comes to UFC fighters, or anyone related to those fighters, wagering on UFC fights. Or, at the very least, the promotion does not enforce those rules if it does have them. Evidence of this is easy to find.

In 2011, Diego Sanchez told ESPN that he had bet $100 on Tito Ortiz to defeat Ryan Bader.

After his second-round TKO win over Naoyuki Kotani at UFC Fight Night 46, Norman Parke told UFC commentator Dan Hardy that he thought his bet on himself had earned him $5,000 from Paddy Power.

In 2018, James Vick told MMA Junkie he was waiting until the last minute to bet on himself against Justin Gaethje.

More recently, Anthony Rocco Martin took a photo of seven losing betting slips worth $9,600 from UFC 245. Martin wrote that he was going to stick to betting on himself in the future.


With the UFC preparing a live-betting product that, according to Bloomberg News, “will feature more than 50 betting opportunities per bout, including 20 new types of wagers updated in real time.” Some of these new betting options are concerning because they could open up the UFC and its fighters to questions of fight-fixing or stat-fixing.

To eliminate or reduce those questions, the UFC will likely need to come up with clear and concise rules on wagering on UFC fights for UFC employees, the fighters and their teams. Those rules might need to include others outside of the fighters and their immediate camps.

. . .

The UFC was asked about its gambling rules, but did not reply. This story will be updated if the UFC does respond.

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2019/12...ling-problem-live-betting-mma-nhl-mlb-nhl-nba

 

[Willy Knuckles]

For sure should in no way be allowed smh. Couldn't imagine the payday they could get throwing a fight their favored in heavily. Especially given how underpaid mma fighters are in general I could definitely see this being an issue in keeping the sport legit

 

[gevoudane]

They should be able to bet on themselves to win.

 

[Bingo]

MMA fighters and boxers are allowed to bet on themselves to win and that’s it, they can’t bet on other results such as draws etc. I personally don’t gamble at all but I don’t see the issue with a fighter betting on themselves to win, it should be their choice

 

[Benoitthegr8]

I bet on myself while pulsing

 

[EndlessCritic]

Was that article written by Helen Lovejoy?

There is nothing wrong with fighters betting on fights which do not involve them, nor is there anything wrong with fighters betting on themselves.

Prop bets and betting on opponents are the only possible problematic wagers.

 

[Jean-Claude_Bloodsport]

why did he go so heavy on Colby ?

 

[felmmando]

I have no objection to them betting on themselves. If they have that confidence and ability, why shouldn't they cash in on it?

On the other hand, a fighter who bets on his opponent should probably be cut immediately.

 

[dipstickjimmy]

Betting on Colby is the biggest problem Rocco seems to have. He is just plain stupid. Colby was no where near enough of an underdog to have value at the odds he was getting.

 

[5crew]

agreed with the posts so far. They should be allowed to bet on themselves. If they bet on their opponents, obviously they have incentive to lose or give up easily.

If they bet big on themselves, it's like company share buybacks. It "proves" they believe in themselves and consumer and another retail investors will follow suit.

 

[campbecc]

For sure should in no way be allowed smh. Couldn't imagine the payday they could get throwing a fight their favored in heavily. Especially given how underpaid mma fighters are in general I could definitely see this being an issue in keeping the sport legit

they can only legally bet on themselves to win. If a fighter throws a fight someone else is doing the betting.

 

[theaustrianoak]

funny story from a few years back

i was living on the west coast at the time, and it was 2 of my buddies birthdays in the same month. one of them had just gotten out of a ~8 year relationship and was pretty depressed. we were all big mma fans, and UFC 109 was going on that weekend with Randy vs Coleman as the main event. While not the greatest card, we decided to grab tickets online and do a boys weekend in Vegas. go to the fights, do some gambling, drink heavily, go to the strippers, etc..

anyways, come the night of the fights.... we are chatting to the guy beside us, and he's Mark Coleman's neighbor. he bet 10k on him to beat Randy. For those unfamiliar, Randy ended up subbing Coleman in r2 with a RNC

we look over at our new buddy, and he's sitting there with his head in his hands not saying a word for several minutes. We finish our beers, give him a pat on the back and saunter off into the night. he was still sitting there head in hands when we left

Coleman's neighbor, if you are reading this, i hope the rest of your weekend went better

 

[Rhood]

$9,600 on Colby?
Jesus F Saint George!

The fuck was Rocco thinking?
Everyone knew that fight would've been close and could've gone either way.

 

[moogie101]

Didn't Ricco Rodriguez do this, he had some casino advert on his back and then bet all the money it earned him on himself to beat Randy Couture?

Don't mind fighters betting on themselves but I suppose even that is open to being abused.

 

[Manhunter]

Floyd has made 8 figures betting on himself

 

[Blacksonville]

Prop bets and betting on opponents are the only possible problematic wagers.

Betting on something where one person singularly controls the outcome is a G-U-A-R-A-N-T-E-E to have fixing/diving occur. See: Boxing for a very, very long time in the 1950's-70's.

 

[Black Paladin]

They should be able to bet on themselves to win.

Not JUST "to win", but ONLY "to win" should be allowed. No bet on decisions, because that could cause someone to prolong a fight they could finish.

EDIT: Someone pointed it out earlier in the thread. I grunched.

 

[Schaub]

Vick bet on himself vs Gaethje?

 

[ignorant MMA fan]

I think the concern is more on the stat fixing side.

"UFC currently trails other sports in live betting. IMG Arena said that only 8% of bets placed on UFC are done after the bout starts; in tennis, it’s 70%. The Event Centre aims to help that imbalance.
The new options will include odds on things like the number of take-down attempts, whether a fighter will get knocked down, total strikes landed, and the amount of time a fighter spends on the mat."

Obviously it would be more complicated than a fighter or their corner placing bets on their phones between rounds. But it would be very easy to manipulate something like take down attempts. Faking a knock down is harder for me to imagine.

 

[TerrorTimmy]

For sure should in no way be allowed smh. Couldn't imagine the payday they could get throwing a fight their favored in heavily. Especially given how underpaid mma fighters are in general I could definitely see this being an issue in keeping the sport legit

Betting against yourself should be disallowed. Betting for yourself doesn't seem a problem to me. It's extra incentive to win, which is their goal anyway. I don't see a problem with it