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David Purdum
UFC fighter Isaac Dulgarian has been released from the roster two days after sportsbooks flagged unusual betting interest against the featherweight ahead of his first-round loss to Yadier del Valle, a source told ESPN.
On Saturday, Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360), a firm that monitors the betting market for abnormal activity, alerted its clients about unusual wagering interest on del Valle to win the Fight Night undercard bout in the first round, according to a copy of the notice obtained by ESPN.
Del Valle submitted Dulgarian in the first round.
“Like many professional sports organizations, UFC works with an independent betting integrity service to monitor wagering activity on our events,” a UFC spokesperson told ESPN in a statement. “Our betting integrity partner, IC360, monitors wagering on every UFC event and is conducting a thorough review of the facts surrounding the Dulgarian vs. del Valle bout on Saturday, November 1. We take these allegations very seriously, and along with the health and safety of our fighters, nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport.”
Dulgarian was around a -250 favorite and del Valle a +200 underdog beginning Saturday. The price started to drop in the hours leading up to the fight, with Dulgarian closing at around -130 and Del Valle +110, a significant shift in the odds.
Attempts to reach Dulgarian for comment were unsuccessful.
Multiple sportsbooks told ESPN that large bets on del Valle came in ahead of the fight. Bettors continued to bet heavily on del Valle even after the odds had moved to less advantageous prices, a sportsbook source told ESPN.
Some sportsbooks halted wagering on the bout Saturday afternoon. Caesars Sportsbook posted on Saturday night that it would refund bets on Dulgarian.
Yahoo Sports first reported that Dulgarian had been released by the UFC.