UFC Fight Cancelled Over Betting Irregularities
Mike Goodpaster Published 27/01/2026
- The Michael Johnson vs Alex Hernandez bout was dropped from the UFC 324 card.
- A gambling integrity service notified UFC of unusual betting activity on the fight.
- It was later learned that a member of the Hernandez camp tipped off a bettor that their fighter was injured.
A last-minute decision was made to cancel a fight that was part of Saturday’s URFC 324 card when unusual betting activity was identified on the lightweight bout between Alexl Hernandez and Michael Johnson.
A gambling integrity service notified UFC of the irregular betting action. The choice was made to remove the bout from the undercard of the Justin Gaethje vs Paddy Pimblett main-event battle for the UFC lightweight title.
“That’s what it is. Happened again,” UFC Commissioner Dana White confirmed to reporters after the fight card about the Johnson vs. Hernandez bout being pulled due to concerns over the betting lines.
“We got called from the gaming integrity service, and I said I’m not doing this (crap) again. We pulled the fight.”
White was referencing a featherweight fight last year involving Isaac Dulgarian. Strange betting activity was also noted in the lead-up to that bout, as Dulgarian’s betting line suddenly lengthened from -250 to -154.
Several online sportsbooks stopped taking bets on the fight. Caesars went as far as to refund all bets placed on Dulgarian.
Further suspicions were raised when Dulgarian suffered a stunning upset submission loss to Yadier del Valle.
Dulgarian didn’t help his own cause by suggesting in an interview with MMA Junkie that he deserved a cut of the profits from any winning bet placed on him.
"I said, ‘Don’t bet on me unless you’re paying me some percentage,’” Dulgarian said. “I’m doing all the work, that’s how I feel about it. If you’re betting on me, I want some of it."
Bettor was tipped off about an injury to Hernandez
The latest bout featuring strange betting activity saw alarm bells sounding when there was significant late action on Johnson leading up to the Hernandez-Johnson bout.
It was MMA reporter Rueben Hernandez who first broke the news of the likely cause of this suspicious betting activity.
“Alexander Hernandez was injured going into the fight and someone in his camp leaked this info to a bettor on Instagram, which caused the suspicious betting activity and therefore the UFC decided to subsequently pull the fight from the UFC 324 card,” Carter posted on his X social media account.
No one from the Johnson or Hernandez camps has commented on the cancellation of the fight. White plans to leave the investigation to the proper authorities.
“The FBI’s already deep into all this stuff anyway,” White said. “I’m sure this one will be next.”
A similar scenario unfolded in a 2023 UFC fight between Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke. There was unusual betting interest on the bout. It was revealed post-fight that Minner went into the bout with a preexisting injury. He lost in the first round via knockout after 67 seconds.
Both Minner (29 months) and his teammate, Jeff Molina (36 months), were issued suspensions by the NAC. Molina had bet on the fight using insider information. Minner’s coach, James Krause, was suspended from cornering for the remainder of 2023.
Minner, Molina, and Krause were all banned from the UFC.
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