The MMA world continues to be rocked by the betting scandal surrounding Isaac Dulgarian and his suspicious first-round submission loss to Yadier del Valle at UFC Vegas 110.
Massive line shifts hit sportsbooks hours before the 145-pound prospect delivered an uncharacteristically awful performance this past Saturday, causing eyebrows to raise and costing Dulgarian his spot on the UFC roster. Dulgarian’s fight purse has also been withheld as the FBI gets involved, and Dulgarian’s now-former coach, Marc Montoya, told Uncrowned on Tuesday that the featherweight has been kicked from their team at Factory X.
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Dulgarian has yet to make any public comments since fight night, however several other UFC fighters have commented on social media this week about getting approached to take dives in the past.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling was among those watching along this past weekend, and he said Tuesday on “The Ariel Helwani Show” that all of the rumblings and ripple effects from this instance aren’t particularly shocking for him to hear. He just can’t imagine taking such an offer.
“It’s super weird. I wouldn’t be surprised if there has been multiple fights that this has happened with a lot of other people,” Sterling told Uncrowned. “I know some people have been coming out and posting that they’ve been approached by people before. I’ve never been approached by anybody.
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“I have had friends say to me. ‘Hey, if you ever feel like you’re past your prime and you think you’re not sure what’s going to happen, just give me a heads up.’ What does that even mean? I’m coming here to win, dog. I’m not looking to be nobody’s highlight reel. F*** that.”
Sterling, 36, has been open in recent years about his lack of trust or faith in MMA officials. In 2025 specifically, questionable officiating in UFC fights has resulted in numerous controversial outcomes.
Considering recent events, Sterling believes viewers should be more skeptical.
“It’s a s****y situation, but I think a lot of these guys, I wouldn’t be surprised,” Sterling said. “A lot of these fights with the judging and refs, how can you not look at any of those things? All this stuff is super questionable. Stuff that seems so simple gets made way more complicated, then we go, ‘Ah, just can’t leave it in the hands of the judges.’ That’s all we chalk it up to. We don’t question it. We don’t do anything else. We just leave it at that: ‘Ah, you should never let it get to the judges. You should have never gave the ref a chance to put you in that position.’
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“I think the whole thing needs to be looked at. And people are going to be mad, but it kind of puts a little damper on the sport, right?”
A 29-year-old prospect who was still on his first UFC contract, Dulgarian was in the opening legs of his Octagon run, as opposed to a veteran and former champion like Sterling. But fighting is an expensive career, and a newcomer like Dulgarian is generally going to make less than $30,000 to win a UFC fight. Because of that, Sterling can rationalize the enticement that may come from shady characters in the gambling industry.
“I can understand a guy in Dulgarian’s situation,” Sterling said. “You come into the UFC, you get 10/10 ($10,000 to fight, $10,000 to win) — you win your first fight, you look spectacular. … So now you get $20,000. You’ve got to pay your coaches, you’ve got to pay your training partners, you’ve got to pay for the whole camp just to get to the fight. Medicals and all that. Food, nutrition. … Now you put yourself in this situation, you’re looking at 12/12 for his second fight, third fight probably 14/14. He loses one fight, so he only gets half his paycheck. Now he’s in a situation where he’s probably thinking — someone comes up to him, ‘Holy s***, this is more than all the money I’ve made combined up until this point.’
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“I can understand the logic behind that, right? But also, the integrity side of it as an athlete, as a fighter and as a man — maybe there’s something to be said. As a man, you’re looking to provide for your family, so you’re going to do what you’re going to do. I guess it’s just different mentalities about how you want to be remembered. I don’t know. It’s such a crazy thing.”
Aljamain Sterling is one of the most accomplished bantamweight champions in UFC history.
(Jeff Bottari via Getty Images)
The del Valle loss was only the second of Dulgarian’s career and his first by finish. Previously, he’d only lost a split decision to Christian Rodriguez in his second UFC appearance, which came in March 2024.
As one of the better-regarded prospects on the rise, Dulgarian’s questionable effort on Saturday made the red flags all the more glaring. Even for Sterling, who hasn’t worked with Dulgarian in the gym, he felt it was obvious what transpired as soon as the fight was over.
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“I watched Isaac Dulgarian make his debut, it was against Francis Marshall,” Sterling said. “Francis Marshall is a very good grappler. Dulgarian comes in and torches this guy. Torches him. I go, ‘This guy’s a contender.’ A couple fights later, he fights del Valle. I know del Valle is good, I’ve seen him in person. He’s this big, strong, physical specimen. But then it’s this guy’s second UFC fight — what’re we talking about?
“I’ve heard stories. I just know that that guy (Dulgarian) cannot tell me for a second that that was his best effort whatsoever. Even if he was injured that’s not his best effort.”
As far as his own career, Sterling still hopes to climb the featherweight ladder. He recently underwent a stem cell treatment and is targeting a return to action around February or March, with the goal of facing an opponent ranked higher than him. He last fought in August, defeating Brian Ortega via unanimous decision at UFC Shanghai.
