UFC Scraps Johnson–Hernandez Fight Amid Suspicious Betting

^{Pictured: Michael Johnson and Alexander Hernandez}

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) cancelled a bout at UFC 324, held on 24 January in Las Vegas, after detecting suspicious activity in the betting market, ESPN reported.

Shortly before the event began, the UFC announced the cancellation of a lightweight fight between Alexander Hernandez and Michael Johnson. The reason for the decision was not initially disclosed, but UFC president Dana White later said at the post-event press conference that the bout had been called off due to betting-related concerns.

The cancellation came less than three months after an incident involving a fight between Isaac Dulgarian and Yadier Del Valle. In November, betting integrity monitoring service Integrity Compliance 360 alerted the UFC to suspicious line movements on that bout, although the fight was not cancelled at the time. Dulgarian, who had been a heavy favourite, lost the contest and was subsequently released by the promotion.

“This happened again. We got a call from the betting integrity people, and I said I wasn’t going to go through this again. So we pulled the fight,” White said, commenting on the cancellation at UFC 324.

Following the Dulgarian case, the UFC said it was cooperating with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. White has previously denied that the organisation faces a systemic issue with fight-fixing, dismissing reports of widespread suspicious bouts as “clickbait.”

Saturday’s cancellation marked the third incident in recent years involving suspicious betting activity around UFC fights. Gambling Park notes that UFC cracks down on insider betting with ProhiBet system.