I know MMA's not super popular here, but this story is wild and I thought it might be appreciated here.
tl;dr A coach may have bet against his own injured fighter, and now all betting on UFC is banned in Ontario.
James Krause is a former UFC fighter and current coach; the most notable fighter he trains is Brandon Moreno, interim flyweight champ. Krause had* a Youtube channel where he provided betting advice for upcoming fights. He also ran* a pay-to-access Discord server, where he and other shared betting tips, info, etc. Krause is a well known gambler and personality in the sport, though he always hovered just below the edge of title contention as a fighter. Until this recent incident, I had known the above but never heard any hint of impropriety.
Some more preamble: October 17th, UFC banned fighters, coaches, and their family members from betting on themselves, their own fighters, etc. A lot of states already banned this, but I'm assuming that was being circumvented somehow and that's why UFC had to act. Speculation on my part, but the timing is certainly suspect given what's about to go down.
Saturday, November 5th - UFC Fight Night 214. A card that aired "free" on ESPN+, with mostly low to mid tier fighters aside from a women's strawweight title eliminator. Two fights before the main event we have Nuerdanbieke Shayilan vs. Darrick Minner, the latter coached by James Krause. Shayilan opened as a sizable favorite at around -200, but a few hours before the fight he moves to -350 or more. The odds on the fighting lasting fewer than 2.5 rounds also changed in favor of a shorter fight in the same time, and there were rumors of an injury on Minner's side going around. Lo and behold, as soon as the fight starts it is obvious that Minner brought a seriously injured leg into the cage. In just over one minute of the first round, Nuerdanbieke has won by TKO. The speculation is that Krause tipped off some people about Minner's injury and they bet accordingly; possibly that he even bet against his own fighter.
The next day,
several booking agencies launched an investigation, which is still pending. Two weeks later,
Krause is pulled from cornering a fighter at that week's UFC event due to being investigated for the above. UFC and the Nevada Athletic Commission decide that Krause shouldn't be cornering any fighters while the investigation is ongoing.
New Jersey's athletic commission also halted all betting on any fights Krause was involved in: not just as a corner man, but as a coach, trainer or promoter.
All of that was relatively small potatoes, until today's bombshell:
Ontario's Gambling Commission has banned all betting on UFC fights because of the risks of insider betting.
I'm sure there will be more drama as this all shakes out, and thought the folks at f13 would be entertained.
*Past tense, because the Youtube channel and Discord server have since been deleted.
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