Ariel Helwani Drops UFC Bombshell Over 'Suspicious Fight' as FBI Intervene

Ariel Helwani has shared a shocking update about the ‘suspicious’ betting patterns ahead of the UFC's latest event, revealing that the American Federal Bureau of Investigation are involved.

On Saturday night, the UFC held a fight card inside their Apex sports complex in Enterprise, Nevada, with featherweights Steve Garcia and David Onama headlining.

Although a lot of the discussion since the event has been around heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall's teammate Ante Delija's involvement in another dramatic eye poke, a fight earlier on the card has since led to major backlash.

In the fourth minute of round one, Yadier del Valle secured a surprise submission victory, via rear-naked choke, against Isaac Dulgarian, amid reports that there had been 'suspicious' betting activity in the build-up to the bout.

And now, respected MMA journalist Helwani has revealed that the FBI are looking into the fight in a truly shocking report.

Following the bout, Helwani took to social media to confirm that Dulgarian had suddenly been released by the organisation, according to UFC sources.

Helwani wrote: “The official reason was attributed to last night’s loss; however, the bout has been the center of controversy after a ton of money started to come in on Dulgarian, a sizable favourite, to lose in the first, which is what happened.”

In his latest episode of The Ariel Helwani show, the journalist give further details on the controversy, stating that, as far as he knows, the FBI are aware of the incident and, while the depth of the investigation is not known, the repercussions could be massive.

Helwani revealed a post stating that the FBI had notified the UFC of the irregular betting patterns ahead of the fight, but it went ahead anyway and, crucially, that this isn't being treated as an isolated incident.

"I have talked to multiple people who have either experienced, or know of others who have experienced, situations where they have been approached about their willingness to do something like this," Helwani claimed.

Clarifying further, Helwani claimed that he had spoken to fighters who had been asked if they would be willing to throw a fight for an agreed amount of money.

"This is a massive issue for the UFC. And when you consider the questionable refereeing as of late, you can’t help but wonder if there are integrity issues there as well," Helwani added.

"There is no other possible explanation for some of the wacky stuff we have seen as of late, and it's very easy to do. We've now seen it in broad daylight, multiple times."

Helwani later suggests that 'lower level' fighters, who are making less money, are being preyed upon and enticed to throw their fights in order for a big pay day.

Currently, it is unclear the nature of the FBI's investigation or exactly what could happen following it, nor is it known just how severe this potential issue is, or how many fights have been impacted.

SPORTbible has contacted the UFC for comment.