The UFC announced in a memo sent out to athletes and team members on Monday that no fighter, coach, team member or family member may wager on fights in the promotion.
Ariel Helwani first reported the news, with the memo stating that, "athletes are prohibited from placing any wagers (directly or through a third party) on any UFC match, including placing any wagers on themselves."
UFC just issued this memo to fighters and managers regarding a change in their athlete conduct policy:
UFC fighters are now prohibited from gambling on any UFC fight, regardless of if they are involved or not. They can still be sponsored just not allowed to bet at all. pic.twitter.com/6zhuIITxmx
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 17, 2022
The news comes approximately two and a half months after retired MMA fighter turned coach James Krause told Helwani on his podcast that he makes far more money wagering and touting UFC fights than he does coaching.
Krause maintains a Discord with about 2,400 members, where he offers UFC betting guidance for a fee.
It's unclear if the outright ban has anything to do with Krause.
James Krause says he makes more on gambling on MMA than anything else.#TheMMAHourpic.twitter.com/jfW4qJar6E
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 1, 2022
Under the new stipulations, Krause would have to halt his coaching career to maintain his Discord channel, which charges $50 per month and $240 per year for his insider picks.
Other fighters have gone on the record about wagering on themselves or on competitors, including most notably Justin Jaynes.
Conor McGregor famously tried to bet $3 million on himself before a 2015 fight — before mobile sports gambling was legalized in the United States.
With legal sports betting now a behemoth throughout the United States, issues like these will come up in just about every major sports league if rules and regulations aren't made clear.
Earlier this year, Calvin Ridley was suspended for the entire NFL season after placing wagers that included NFL games in them.
Ridley did include the Falcons, the team that he played for at the time. He's still a member of the team, but he's ineligible to participate in the 2022 season.
Charles Oliveira will fight Islam Makhachev this Saturday for the UFC's first championship fight since August 20.
