Molina-Minner UFC Betting Scandal Explained: A Fight Outside the Octagon

UFC fighters Jeff Molina and Darrick Minner have received backdated multiyear bans for their role in the James Krause betting scandal.

Bans issued by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) indicate that the reverberations around the scandal are still not over.

With a federal investigation still ongoing, centered around Minner’s controversial Las Vegas fight against the Chinese MMA star Shayilan Nuerdanbieke in November 2022, Esports Insider looks into the events that have rocked the UFC while also exposing the vulnerabilities in the sports gambling regulations.

While the Chinese fighter was arguably already the favorite to win the UFC bout, hours before the fight, sportsbooks began to notice an unusual flurry of bets on Nuerdanbieke to win with a first-round knockout

As the bets continued to pile in – even as the odds started to slide – a distinctive pattern began to raise red flags among sports betting moderators.

Unbeknownst to everyone almost outside of Darrick Minner’s camp, the American had picked up a debilitating knee injury, which soon became apparent almost as soon as the fight had started.

It only took thirty seconds for Minner to start grimacing in pain after throwing out a weak kick. Nuerdanbieke duly capitalized by grappling, before raining punches down as he tried to defend himself.

Just seconds later, Nuerdanbieke was declared the winner with an astonishing first-round TKO after the referee was forced to halt the fight – matching perfectly with the stream of suspicious pre-fight betting movements.

To the casual viewer, the fight looked simply like a dominant Nuerdanbieke display, but the technology used to detect abnormal betting patterns disagreed. First flagged up by U.S. Integrity, a firm used to monitor sports wagering activity, the matter was then hastily reported to Nevada state regulators.

Just two weeks later, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) promptly suspended Minner’s coach, James Krause, pending an investigation into potential fight-fixing.

The news shocked many in the UFC as Krause was already well-known within the betting world as a result of his betting advice service, which he called The 1% Club. While his reputation as an expert gambler had always fueled speculation of his ability to share insider knowledge with high-stakes bettors, Minner’s pre-fight injury – and subsequent first-round KO – was perhaps too blatant.

Following Krause’s suspension, New Jersey immediately decided to ban bets on any fights involving Krause’s fighters. Other regulatory bodies followed suit, and by December 1, Ontario completely suspended UFC betting, while Alberta temporarily removed the sport from its sportsbook offerings.

In a bid to steady the ship, the UFC also responded by officially banning all fighters, coaches, and team members from placing wagers on future UFC events. It also warned fighters associated with Krause they would not be booked for fights until they severed ties with him.

By December 9, 2022, the FBI had launched an inquiry into the affair to determine the degree of fight-fixing and gambling corruption following the incident, which only intensified when fellow UFC fighter Jeff Molina was also suspended for his alleged involvement.

Despite Molina denying any connection to the fight-fixing allegations, the fighter eventually received a retroactive three-year ban in March 2025. It is one of the harshest penalties in UFC history and comes for admitting to placing bets on the Minner–Nuerdanbieke fight with insider knowledge.

While the federal investigation is still ongoing, the scandal has prompted the UFC to tighten its policy on fight betting. The UFC utilized Molina’s 36-month and Minner’s 29-month ban to serve as a warning about the penalties for insider betting.

For now, the UFC hopes the consequences of the November 2022 fight events do not impinge on the appeal of the sports connection with sportsbook bettors. Still, it hopes to function as a lesson to both UFC fighters and the eSports Fighting Game Community (FGC) about the potential risk of it happening again.