Two UFC fighters won’t be seeing the inside of the octagon for quite a while after receiving suspensions from the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) for their connections to illegal gambling. Jeff Molina and Darrick Minner received 36- and 29-month suspensions, along with $235 fines for their roles in the scheme.
According to a report on ESPN.com, the NAC’s case against the men centered around a featherweight bout between Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbiek that took place in 2022. Before that bout, Minner failed to disclose a serious knee injury when asked by fight officials if he had any injuries to report. Molina, apparently aware of the injury, placed a large wager on the fight that was flagged by integrity monitoring services.
As investigators dug into the Minner/Nuerdanbiek bout, which Minner lost, they also uncovered connections between Molina and James Krause, an agent for an offshore sportsbook. Krause is a prolific sports bettor who also runs a tout service focused on the UFC. Krause is also a former UFC fighter who is currently under suspension by the NAC.
The UFC was one of the last professional sports leagues to introduce a sports betting policy for its fighters and only began working with integrity monitoring services back in 2022. Before that policy was implemented several UFC fighters openly wagered on their fights and engaged in other sports betting-related activities that would have been strictly forbidden in other leagues.
Neither Molina nor Minner were active UFC fighters at the time of the suspensions.