00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most infamous scandals
00:10that have faced the ultimate fighting championship throughout its history.
00:2210. Human Cockfighting
00:25Back in the early days of the UFC, it was a very different beast from what it is today,
00:31as it had a lot less regulation.
00:34I want to take you to the UFC back in 93 when it first came on the scene.
00:41There was groin punching, hair pulling, headbutting, all of that was allowed.
00:46In 1996, three years after debuting, the promotion saw its rising reputation take a severe beating
00:54from the then U.S. Senator John McCain.
00:58After seeing a UFC tape and believing it to be barbaric,
01:02McCain sent letters to 50 governors rallying for the promotions ban.
01:06There was no referee, there was nothing. It was terrible.
01:12Within it, he called the sport human cockfighting, a title that's never left UFC.
01:1736 states agreed with McCain's assessment and prohibited no-holds-barred fighting,
01:23forcing the promotion to move UFC 12 from New York to Alabama.
01:29It got worse when McCain oversaw the cable industry, causing UFC to implement additional safety rules.
01:36So, they've changed their rules. I approve of them now.
01:40I don't enjoy it as much as I do regular boxing, because that's what I grew up with.
01:469. The 2015 Match-Fixing Scandal
01:50Unfortunately, combat sports and match-fixing has a long problematic history.
01:55You know, we caught wind of that thing.
01:58You know, there was talk about it.
02:00However, not many have been as dreadful an attempt as Taeyeon Bang's in 2015.
02:06For UFC fight night Henderson vs. Masvidal, Bang faced Leo Kunz in a lightweight preliminary bout.
02:14However, leading into the event, UFC informed the fighters that they knew of a significant shift
02:20in betting odds and warned them against fixing the outcome.
02:24After the bout, Bang ended up winning with a split decision.
02:28However, he wasn't meant to win.
02:30Instead, working with three brokers, the South Korean was bribed with a little over $92,000
02:37to throw it, which he proceeded to bet half of on Kunz winning.
02:43Oops!
02:43In 2017, Bang was sentenced to 10 months in jail.
02:48He didn't do it.
02:48He took the money, but didn't fix the fight.
02:52And he got 10 months in jail.
02:558. UFC 151's Cancellation
02:58In 2012, an unprecedented incident happened in UFC's history.
03:03Leading into UFC 151, the top fight featured reigning light heavyweight champion Jon Jones
03:09defending his title against Dan Henderson.
03:11However, a little over a week before the event, UFC president Dana White announced that due
03:26to Henderson having a partially ruptured MCL, the pay-per-view was cancelled.
03:32White explained that the UFC offered Jones to fight Cale Sonnen in Henderson's place.
03:37No fighter has ever turned down a fight, and this is the first ever UFC that's ever had
03:42to be cancelled.
03:43However, the champ rejected the proposition due to only having eight days to prepare.
03:49Instead, 21 days after UFC 151 was meant to air, UFC 152 took place, where Jones successfully
03:57defended his title against Vito Belfort.
04:00The undisputed UFC light heavyweight champion of the world, Johnny Bones Jones!
04:15He remains the champion!
04:177. UFC 199's Journalists Ban
04:20In 2016, Ariel Helwani and two of his MMA fighting colleagues were getting ready to see the main
04:27event at UFC 199.
04:42However, instead of watching Michael Bisping win the middleweight championship from Luke
04:47Rockhold, the three journalists were escorted from the building by officials.
04:51UFC was livid that Helwani had broken the news of Brock Lesnar's return to UFC 200 before
04:58the promotion occurred at UFC 199.
05:01I was banned from the UFC for 48 hours.
05:05Banned for 48 hours.
05:06I was escorted out of the building for 48 hours.
05:08Dana White announced that Helwani would be banned for as long as he was there.
05:12Well, after many journalists and even UFC fighters condemned the company's action,
05:18Helwani was reinstated two days later.
05:20This also caused the creation of the Mixed Martial Arts Journalists Association, of which
05:26Helwani was a board member.
05:28Are you upset that your relationship with the UFC and Dana White has unfolded the way
05:33it has?
05:33I wish it was better.
05:34100%.
05:35100%.
05:36Because I don't think that, uh, I don't, I don't think that the, um, I don't think what
05:43I did was, was, was, uh, was worth any of this.
05:46Number six, scale-gate.
05:48Out of all the ways possible for a UFC fighter to lose their title, in 2022, Charles Oliveira
05:55became the first to drop his, in this bizarre way.
06:07At UFC 274, he was set to defend his lightweight championship against Justin Gaethje.
06:14However, during the official weigh-in, Oliveira came in at 155.5 pounds, half a pound over the
06:23lightweight limit.
06:25Despite this minuscule amount, he was stripped of the title.
06:28Charles Oliveira has missed weight and will vacate the UFC lightweight championship once tomorrow's
06:37fight begins.
06:38Regardless, Oliveira went on to beat Gaethje at the event as the championship was vacated.
06:45However, the UFC was heavily criticized for the decision, which many believed was harsh,
06:51and for not using more reliable digital scales when the balance ones need to be calibrated
06:57and can give false readings due to human error.
07:10Number five, Randy Couture quits.
07:12After making his return to competition in the UFC after retiring in 2006, Couture quickly established
07:20why he's one of the greatest in the octagon when the Hall of Famer took back the heavyweight
07:24championship.
07:29He should have been the face of the company.
07:32Instead, he became its biggest problem.
07:34In 2007, the UFC and Couture had a massive falling out, causing the latter to publicly state he
07:41was quitting the promotion as a fighter and analyst.
07:44UFC heavyweight champion Randy the Natural Couture has suddenly resigned from the organization.
07:50After making it clear he wasn't retiring, Couture also divulged that he was disenchanted
07:56with the UFC and its pay.
07:58The UFC refused to release the natural from his contracted two fights, kicking off a lawsuit
08:04against him.
08:05However, Couture agreed to a new three-fight deal in 2008.
08:10What's your relationship with the UFC right now?
08:13I don't have one.
08:15I've been exiled or I've been persona non grata with the UFC mostly because Dana just doesn't
08:21really care for me.
08:22Number four, the many problems of Jon Jones.
08:25When looking at the greatest to step into the octagon, Jones would be up there.
08:32Yet, as great as he is as a fighter, he also attracts many controversies.
08:39For starters, he's been suspended and stripped of titles by the UFC multiple times for testing
08:45positive for banned substances.
09:01Yet away from competition, he's also been in a lot of legal trouble.
09:05In 2015, shortly before he was set to defend his light heavyweight championship against
09:10Anthony Johnson, at UFC 187, Jones was arrested for a hit-and-run.
09:16As well as having his title vacated and getting banned by the UFC, he received 18 months of
09:23probation.
09:24Alongside several driving while intoxicated incidents, he's also been arrested for assault
09:30and domestic violence multiple times.
09:33In 2007, fan-favorite Renato Babalu Sabral faced David Heath at UFC 74 in a preliminary
09:49match.
09:50David Heath against Babalu in what truly is the most pivotal bout in Babalu's eight-year
09:56career.
09:57The Brazilian soon took control of the bout, eventually securing an anaconda choke.
10:03While Heath tapped out, Sabral wouldn't let go, even ignoring the ref's attempts to pull
10:08him off as his opponent lost consciousness.
10:11Post-fight, with the crowd now avidly against him, Sabral admitted he knew Heath tapped,
10:17but, quote, he had to learn respect.
10:28Unsurprisingly, Babalu was dropped by the UFC soon after.
10:32Roosama Pelhaes did something similar in 2013 at UFC Fight Night's Maya vs. Shields.
10:39He held onto the heel hook long after Mike Pearce had submitted, resulting in Pelhaes' release
10:44from the promotion afterward.
10:46There's really no way to put this in words.
10:48All I can say is that I have to thank God, I have to thank everybody that helps me, everybody
10:52knows what I go through to get here, and I have to really thank God.
10:552.
10:56Conor McGregor & Team's Bus Attack
10:58While 2018's UFC 223 was a mess on the card due to Khabib Nurmagomedov's opponent
11:05changing multiple times before Alya Quinta stepped up, it was the actions behind the
11:09scenes that caused more damage to the company.
11:12After feuding with Nurmagomedov due to the Russian slapping McGregor's friend Artem Lobov,
11:25the Irishman and his entourage attacked a bus he was on backstage, all of which was captured
11:30on camera.
11:31They threw a chair through the window of our bus and we're stuck at the Barclay Arena.
11:36McGregor even threw a dolly through the window, sending glass inside the injured others on
11:42board, including Ray Borg and Michael Chiesa, resulting in them pulling out of UFC 223.
11:49McGregor was charged with the attack and was sentenced to complete five days of community
11:53service and attend anger management classes.
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12:231.
12:24The James Krause Betting Scandal
12:27In 2022, Derek Minner, who was coached by Krause, was set to face Shailan Nurambeka
12:33at UFC Fight Night Rodriguez vs. Lemos.
12:37However, hours before the event, fast bets for Nurambeka to win in the first round came
12:42in.
12:43As the bout got underway, it was clear that Minner was fighting with an injured leg, resulting
12:48in Nurambeka winning via TKO.
12:58It was then discovered that Minner had an undisclosed injury, leading to the belief that Krause had
13:04bet against his fighter with this knowledge.
13:07As betting was suspended against any fight Krause was involved with and UFC in general,
13:12the promotion banned any fighters working for him.
13:29The company also changed the rules to prohibit fighters and those closely connected from betting
13:34on UFC matches.
13:35What other UFC scandal did we miss from our list?
13:39Let us know in those comments below.
13:44I didn't even know how to stop and bash anybody.
13:45I simply stated my feelings and why I was resigning.
13:47I didn't even know how to stop.
13:48I didn't know how to stop and bash anybody.
13:49I simply stated my feelings and why I was resigning.
13:51While I was looking for it so many people who were got here to try and escape.
13:57Without, no doubt, impossible, sexual assault.
13:58So I thought you would like to avoid throwing warillah when it comes to تعonses第一
14:04or virage meetings.
14:06I never would like to assume that they have taken care of.
14:08I thought you can justify some communication.
14:09It wasn't one for surprising business.
14:12I was just succeeding but remember when you rel
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