UFC president Dana White is no stranger to controversies and scandals. Common incidents like doping, betting, and match-fixing occur in the sport rather consistently. Which is probably why this recent incident also did not manage to bother him much.
Going back, the issues started during the fight between Darrick Minner and Shaylian Nuerdanbieke in UFC Vegas 64. Shaylian won that fight. The bout saw a huge spike in betting activity shortly before it started.
Speculations grew that the news of Minner getting injured might have been leaked from his own camp. The state commission got involved and took Derek into custody. Now the whole team is under investigation.
Betting allegations against James Krause did not come as a surprise. The former UFC fighter turned coach, openly admits to betting on fights. He also runs a betting podcast and offers betting picks in exchange for money on his discord.
Nevada was the first state to ban Krause. Later New Jersey blocked betting on any fighters related to him. Finally, Alberta and Ontario(Canada) have banned betting on UFC fights completely.
UFC soon came in with their set of actions as they banned fighters and insiders from betting on fights. They also banned any fighter trained by James Krause from competing inside the octagon unless they find a new coach.
Dana White was answering questions in the UFC 282: Post-Fight Press Conference where he was asked about the Krause situation. He simply replied, “I am not worried about it at all”
“People ask me well, what’s the UFC gonna do? We let these guys know not to bet on fights. Do you know what the outcome of this is? If I penalize them, you get cut. They are gonna go to f***g federal prison, federal f***g prison.”
He ended with a warning, “If you are that f***g stupid and anyone else wants to do it. Knock yourselves out. There is not enough money in it to ruin your life, and not go to jail, go to federal prison.”
