Dana White was forced to cancel a planned bout between Alexander Hernandez and Michael Johnson on his UFC 324 card due to suspicious betting patterns, he has confirmed.
The lightweight scrap was set to be on the undercard of the headlining Paddy Pimblett vs Justin Gaethje battle on January 24. However, the fight was cancelled just hours before the Las Vegas showpiece was about to begin.
And White has now confirmed that suspicious betting activity was the reason for the cancellation, commenting he was ‘not doing this s*** again’ when integrity agents spotted the curious patterns of wagering.
Pulling Punches
This isn’t the first time that the UFC has been embroiled in gambling-based controversy; but it is the first time that a fight has been cancelled in advance due to the suspicious activity.
White, having been burned in the past when allowing controversial bouts to go ahead despite concerns, decided to act to maintain his organisation’s integrity after bets of unusual size and volume were placed on the Hernandez vs Johnson contest.
“We got called [sic] from the gaming integrity service, and I said I’m not doing this s*** again. We pulled the fight,” the UFC president confirmed.
The exact nature of the suspicious activity isn’t known, although the FBI will be involved in the subsequent investigation.
Alexander Hernandez has moved quickly in an attempt to clear his name.
“I would never dishonour myself or this sport by not giving my absolute all in competition. I have been thru [sic] a great deal in my career to be in the auspicious position I am in. I do not take that lightly,” the 33-year-old wrote on Instagram.
Hernandez was entering UFC 324 on a four-fight winning streak, having decided to make the switch to the lightweight division. Johnson, meanwhile, is a 43-fight veteran that has locked horns with the likes of Gaethje, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier – he has won each of his last three outings.
Previous Issues
As you would expect, UFC regulations prohibit fighters, their coaches or any close associate from betting on bouts – even those they aren’t personally involved in.
That is to minimise the risk of ‘conflicts of interest’, while safeguarding those involved from accusations of cheating or using inside information.
Even so, the UFC has not been immune from gambling scandals in recent years…
Tae Hyung Bang vs Leo Kuntz
In November 2015, a strange turn of events saw Tae Hyung Bang wager $44,000 – around £32,000 today – on his opponent, Leo Kuntz, to defeat him at a UFC Fight Night event.
That was part of a larger scandal, with South Korean gangs allegedly paying Bang £68,000 to fix the fight – themselves wagering £1.5 million on Kuntz to win.
Bizarrely, Bang then had a change of heart and won the fight by a points decision, but the suspicious betting patterns had already been logged and he was later sentenced to ten months in prison.
Shayilan Nuerdanbieke vs Darrick Minner
Back in November 2022, a flurry of big bets were placed on Shayilan Nuerdanbieke to defeat Darrick Minner in what was previously a 50/50 betting heat – rumours, although unsubstantiated, claim that inside information of a knee injury suffered by Minner before the bout was used to profit at the bookmakers.
And the plot thickened. James Krause, a former UFC fighter himself and Minner’s trainer, was accused of being involved in the scandal – although official charges were never brought.
However, Krause had his licence revoked by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and was effectively banned from all UFC events, while White stated that any fighter being trained by Krause would also be barred from competing in the organisation.
A subsequent investigation, published exclusively by ESPN, also revealed that Krause had worked as an ‘agent’ middle-man between punters and the bookmaker ABCbetting.ag.
Isaac Dulgarian vs Yadier del Valle
And then, in November 2025, UFC chief White met with FBI officials after ‘weird betting’ for a featherweight contest between Isaac Dulgarian and Yadier del Valle was reported. Dulgarian was the heavy favourite with the bookmakers, but went on to lose in the first round – with a series of sizable wagers placed on Del Valle before the start.
“We called the fighter [Dulgarian] and his lawyer and said, ‘what’s going on?’ There’s some weird betting action going on in your fight,” White commented.
“Are you injured? Do you owe anybody money? Has anybody approached you? The kid said, ‘No, absolutely not. I’m going to kill this guy’. So, we said okay.”
Dulgarian was released from his UFC contract just 48 hours after the Del Valle fight.