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Brett OkamotoJan 25, 2026, 02:26 AM ET
- Brett Okamoto has reported on blended martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has lined all of the largest events in fight sports actions all thru that point, along side in-depth interviews and capabilities with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He modified into moreover a producer on the 30 for 30 film: “Chuck and Tito,” which looked reduction on the careers and competitors of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, under-common golfer in his spare time.
LAS VEGAS — The UFC canceled a bout at UFC 324 on Saturday at T-Cellular Arena after the competition modified into flagged for suspicious making a wager process.
Just hours sooner than the cardboard modified into scheduled to open, the UFC announced it had misplaced a lightweight matchup between Alexander Hernandez (18-8) and Michael Johnson (24-19). The company did no longer all of a sudden present a clarification for the cancellation, nonetheless UFC CEO Dana White confirmed at his postfight news conference it modified into for suspicious making a wager process.
The fight cancellation comes lower than three months after the UFC dealt with a major making a wager scandal surrounding a bout between Isaac Dulgarian and Yadier del Valle. Despite being alerted to suspicious line movement on the match by sports actions making a wager watchdog Integrity Compliance 360, the UFC did no longer assassinate that fight in November. Dulgarian, who modified into a important making a wager well-liked, misplaced beneath suspicious conditions. He modified into launched by the UFC shortly thereafter.
“It happened again,” White said after Saturday’s card. “We got called from the gaming integrity service, and I said, ‘I’m not doing this s— again.’ So, we pulled the fight.”
Following the incident with Dulgarian in November, the UFC announced it modified into working with the FBI on an investigation. On the time of the incident, White denied any thought that mounted fights are a widespread disaster in the UFC.
“People are out there talking, ‘There are 100 fights [flagged as suspicious],’ and that’s usual clickbait bulls—,” White said in November. “We’re watching every single fight that happens in the UFC.”
Saturday’s incident marked the third public federal investigation into suspicious making a wager process around the UFC. James Krause, a ragged UFC fighter and properly-identified coach, modified into suspended from cornering in 2023 after a bout provocative one of his students, Darrick Minner, drew odd making a wager hobby. Minner misplaced in the first round, and it modified into later published he went into the bout with a preexisting injury.