UFC News: MMA coach James Krause suspended, fighters banned from UFC events

The UFC announced Friday that fighters who remain training with MMA coach James Krause would be temporarily banned from UFC events. This is until several investigations into suspicious betting activity are resolved.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) notified Krause on November 18 that his corner license was suspended and would stay that way while the commission looked into what happened during a fight between Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke on November 5, which led to multiple gambling investigations, according to the UFC.

Krause served as Minner’s coach. According to the promotion on Friday, Minner has been released by the UFC.

“UFC has since advised Krause and the respective managers working with impacted fighters, that effective immediately, fighters who choose to continue to be coached by Krause or who continue to train in his gym, will not be permitted to participate in UFC events pending the outcome of the aforementioned government investigations,” the UFC statement reads.

“Further, UFC has released Darrick Minner from the organization.”

UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell sent a note with similar messages to UFC fighters and their teams on Friday. According to the promotion, it has been compliant “with multiple ongoing government investigations” related to the bout between Minner and Neurdanbieke.

Ariel Helwani

2022-12-02 22:11

Full statement from Campbell, which was just released to all UFC fighters and their camps: https://t.co/Xk05Yoc66x

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The UFC sent a memo in October informing fighters, coaches, and others associated with their teams that betting on UFC fights was no longer permitted, as stated in the UFC code of conduct. It did not have any betting rules prior to the release of that memo.

Gambling case

It was reported by several sportsbooks that they saw unusual betting interest on Neurdanbieke to win by knockout in the first round and for the fight to end in no more than 2.5 rounds. In the hours before the featherweight fight in Las Vegas, the odds changed a lot. Neurdanbieke went from being a -220 favorite to a -420 favorite.

In the first 30 seconds of the fight, Minner kicked Nuerdanbieke in the body with his left foot. Nuerdanbieke immediately grimaced and reached for his left leg. As Nuerdanbieke got closer, Minner tried another left body kick, but Nuerdanbieke took him down with a knee to the head and finished him off with elbows while he was on the ground. At 1:07 of the first round, the TKO stopped the fight.

According to UFC president Dana White, there is “absolutely zero proof” that anyone involved in the fight bet on it. U.S. Integrity, a company based in Las Vegas that works with sportsbooks and gaming regulators to keep an eye on the betting market, looked into the unusual betting activity. The probes are still underway.

David Payne Purdum

2022-12-02 22:16

Statement from UFC on James Krause’s license being suspended by Nevada State Athletic Commission: https://t.co/VSEO7wEEJ9

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In addition, the Nevada State Athletic Association is planning to take disciplinary action against Minner for “non-disclosure on his pre-fight medical form” during a December 14 meeting, according to Executive Director of the NSAC Jeff Mullen.

Further, Executive Director Jeff Mullen said that the Nevada State Athletic Association intends to take disciplinary action against Minner for “non-disclosure on his pre-fight medical form” in a December 14 meeting.

Neither Krause nor a representative for Minner responded to a request for comment Friday. It has not yet been directly addressed publicly by either of them, although Minner has posted multiple times about his leg injury on Instagram.