UFC have issued a statement in relation to suspicious betting activity prior to Isaac Dulgarian’s unexpected first-round submission loss to Yadier del Valle at UFC Fight Night 263 at the Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Dulgarian had been the -250 favorite heading into the main card fight, but hours before the bout was due to begin his odds fell to -154 as money started to flood in on the fighter to lose in the opening round.

And then sure enough, Dulgarian went on to lose by rear-naked choke at 3.41mins of the first round after some uncharacteristic defensive grappling blunders that were criticised by the likes of Daniel Cormier and then later Michael Chiesa on the broadcast.

It’s since emerged that Dulgarian has been released from the UFC, while the Nevada State Athletic Commission has withheld his entire fight purse, and now the promotion has released a statement confirming that an investigation is underway.

“Like many professional sports organizations, UFC works with an independent betting integrity service to monitor wagering activity on our events,” the official UFC statement reads. “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.”

The 29-year-old Dulgarian had gone into the fight with a 7-1 record and had been tipped to have a bright future in the sport ahead of him, so if it really does seem like a baffling decision on his part to risk ruining his career if these allegations are proven to be true.

However, It should be stressed at this stage that it’s still just the beginning of an investigation into what happened and so Dulgarian has not been found guilty of any wrongdoing.