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Jeff Molina is moving on – mentally and physically.
Over the past 2.5 years, Molina (11-2) hasn't been completely silent on the investigation into an illegal wagering scheme on UFC fights. But on Tuesday, he went more in-depth than ever before as he also announced his UFC departure and subsequent signing with BKFC.
Molina, 27, is ineligible to compete until his suspension concludes Nov. 5 – a term that was officially handed out at a recent Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) meeting after a lengthy investigation that also involved the FBI.
Along with then-head coach James Krause, Molina was indefinitely suspended after suspicious betting line movement was detected in a November 2022 bout between their Glory MMA & Fitness teammate Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke. Minner competed in the fight with an injured leg and was suspended 29 months for not disclosing the injury to the NAC.
Molina said the parting of ways with the UFC was mutual, after a call with the promotion's chief business officer Hunter Campbell. During the call, Molina said Campbell indicated the promotion could not have him fight again because of what had happened. Molina said he asked for his release, and it was granted.
"I have no bad blood with the UFC," Molina told Ariel Helwani on "The MMA Hour." They changed my life. I'm actually forever grateful that I got to fight amongst the best. I was ranked at the time. But with the conversation, they pretty much said, 'We can't go forward with you under the circumstances after the hearing, and we wish you the best in your future,' and if I asked for my release, they'd grant it. So I went ahead and did that."
Molina said he was surprised the promotion was unwilling to give him a second chance, given the nature of the wrongdoings other athletes have been allowed to come back from.
"I think the UFC was kind of founded on the principle that, hey, if you screw up, you get your punishment," Molina said. "People have come back from running over a pregnant lady when high on coke. They do terrible stuff. They do their punishment and they come back. So I thought my 2.5 years was enough and I'd be able to come back to the UFC. But I get it. I think they are in talks with a new broadcasting deal. I don't know if they don't want the attention and whatnot."
Molina revealed he has since signed with BKFC after a conversation with company president David Feldman, a development that promotion officials confirmed Tuesday to MMA Junkie. He does not have a debut date or opponent.
Since he was placed on suspension for the investigation, Molina has occasionally revealed details in response to comments on social media. Tuesday, he gave the full story, during which he admitted to being in the gym when Minner sustained a serious knee injury – and then knowingly betting on the fight. However, Molina said he bet on both Minner and Nuerdanbieke, and the wager amounts were not outside of his fight week norm.
"So many fighters go into fights injured because of this," Molina said. "I've never gone into a fight healthy. It's kind of a joke amongst fighters that after a fight they ask you, 'Hey, what hurts?' And you say, 'Heads, shoulders, knees, and toes. Everything hurts.' Even Dr. Davidson with the UFC, he'll joke about it, even knowing it doesn't but we're going to get it checked out. He's like, 'How about this? Does this hurt?' Knowing Minner's mindset, learning that he's going to go through with the fight, like, 'Oh crap.' I knew it was going to be a kill or be killed type thing. If you look at Minner's record, every single one of his wins is in the first round besides the Charles Rosa fight. That was when he started working with us and Krause was like, 'I'm going to make it to where he can go the full 15 minutes and still win.' But I also had Minner in the first round. I thought, 'Hey, his best chance is to try to get this dude out of here. He knows he's compromised and he's going to try to win.' It wasn't crazy money. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary that I wasn't already doing on every prior event. I had money on the rest of the card, probably $2,000 in total on wagers on that card."
Minner was finished in the first round after seemingly injuring his compromised knee further. Shortly thereafter, an investigation was launched and the UFC banned its athletes from training with Krause.
However, the infraction wasn't the first time Molina had been warned. A few weeks earlier the promotion had notified athletes to stop wagering on fights. He didn't listen and admits he underestimated the serious nature of the initial warning shot.
"Two weeks prior to that event, it was completely fine to do that," Molina said. "Then, we got an email two weeks prior to the Minner fight, 'UFC athletes are no longer allowed to wager on fights.' I made the mistake of saying, 'Hey, this is an email. How serious are these guys? How serious is this?' It was a way of me making money on the side.' It turns out they were very serious. Obviously, what followed and even the betting line going crazy and out of proportion made it look like something fishy, sketchy was going on. That resulted in my suspension."
Although Molina and Minner have been handed their sanctions, Krause remains largely off the grid when it comes to fighting. In recent months, he's resurfaced on social media, but his status in terms of the investigation remains unclear.
Krause was in many conversations as one of the sport's top coaches at the time of the incident. Molina thinks the criticism has been unfair, as Krause was no longer an active fighter at the time.
"I really do think that the MMA community as a whole owes him an apology," Molina said. "This dude is a f*cking standup guy. I'm forever thankful for all the lessons he ever taught me. I put myself in this position. It's no one else's fault. I wagered on fights after the UFC said stop. He could still wager. He was not an active fighter. This dude was a mastermind of the sport. I think he would've been the first Hall of Famer that's a coach. Like, legit. Any fighter that's underneath him would tell you the same. He's a wizard. It sucks that his legacy got tarnished."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Jeff Molina details UFC wagering scandal, says James Krause owed apology
Continue reading...
Over the past 2.5 years, Molina (11-2) hasn't been completely silent on the investigation into an illegal wagering scheme on UFC fights. But on Tuesday, he went more in-depth than ever before as he also announced his UFC departure and subsequent signing with BKFC.
Molina, 27, is ineligible to compete until his suspension concludes Nov. 5 – a term that was officially handed out at a recent Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) meeting after a lengthy investigation that also involved the FBI.
Along with then-head coach James Krause, Molina was indefinitely suspended after suspicious betting line movement was detected in a November 2022 bout between their Glory MMA & Fitness teammate Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke. Minner competed in the fight with an injured leg and was suspended 29 months for not disclosing the injury to the NAC.
Out of UFC, into BKFC
Molina said the parting of ways with the UFC was mutual, after a call with the promotion's chief business officer Hunter Campbell. During the call, Molina said Campbell indicated the promotion could not have him fight again because of what had happened. Molina said he asked for his release, and it was granted.
"I have no bad blood with the UFC," Molina told Ariel Helwani on "The MMA Hour." They changed my life. I'm actually forever grateful that I got to fight amongst the best. I was ranked at the time. But with the conversation, they pretty much said, 'We can't go forward with you under the circumstances after the hearing, and we wish you the best in your future,' and if I asked for my release, they'd grant it. So I went ahead and did that."
Molina said he was surprised the promotion was unwilling to give him a second chance, given the nature of the wrongdoings other athletes have been allowed to come back from.
"I think the UFC was kind of founded on the principle that, hey, if you screw up, you get your punishment," Molina said. "People have come back from running over a pregnant lady when high on coke. They do terrible stuff. They do their punishment and they come back. So I thought my 2.5 years was enough and I'd be able to come back to the UFC. But I get it. I think they are in talks with a new broadcasting deal. I don't know if they don't want the attention and whatnot."
Molina revealed he has since signed with BKFC after a conversation with company president David Feldman, a development that promotion officials confirmed Tuesday to MMA Junkie. He does not have a debut date or opponent.
What was Molina's involvement?
Since he was placed on suspension for the investigation, Molina has occasionally revealed details in response to comments on social media. Tuesday, he gave the full story, during which he admitted to being in the gym when Minner sustained a serious knee injury – and then knowingly betting on the fight. However, Molina said he bet on both Minner and Nuerdanbieke, and the wager amounts were not outside of his fight week norm.
"So many fighters go into fights injured because of this," Molina said. "I've never gone into a fight healthy. It's kind of a joke amongst fighters that after a fight they ask you, 'Hey, what hurts?' And you say, 'Heads, shoulders, knees, and toes. Everything hurts.' Even Dr. Davidson with the UFC, he'll joke about it, even knowing it doesn't but we're going to get it checked out. He's like, 'How about this? Does this hurt?' Knowing Minner's mindset, learning that he's going to go through with the fight, like, 'Oh crap.' I knew it was going to be a kill or be killed type thing. If you look at Minner's record, every single one of his wins is in the first round besides the Charles Rosa fight. That was when he started working with us and Krause was like, 'I'm going to make it to where he can go the full 15 minutes and still win.' But I also had Minner in the first round. I thought, 'Hey, his best chance is to try to get this dude out of here. He knows he's compromised and he's going to try to win.' It wasn't crazy money. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary that I wasn't already doing on every prior event. I had money on the rest of the card, probably $2,000 in total on wagers on that card."
Minner was finished in the first round after seemingly injuring his compromised knee further. Shortly thereafter, an investigation was launched and the UFC banned its athletes from training with Krause.
However, the infraction wasn't the first time Molina had been warned. A few weeks earlier the promotion had notified athletes to stop wagering on fights. He didn't listen and admits he underestimated the serious nature of the initial warning shot.
"Two weeks prior to that event, it was completely fine to do that," Molina said. "Then, we got an email two weeks prior to the Minner fight, 'UFC athletes are no longer allowed to wager on fights.' I made the mistake of saying, 'Hey, this is an email. How serious are these guys? How serious is this?' It was a way of me making money on the side.' It turns out they were very serious. Obviously, what followed and even the betting line going crazy and out of proportion made it look like something fishy, sketchy was going on. That resulted in my suspension."
"The MMA community as a whole owes him an apology"
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Although Molina and Minner have been handed their sanctions, Krause remains largely off the grid when it comes to fighting. In recent months, he's resurfaced on social media, but his status in terms of the investigation remains unclear.
Krause was in many conversations as one of the sport's top coaches at the time of the incident. Molina thinks the criticism has been unfair, as Krause was no longer an active fighter at the time.
"I really do think that the MMA community as a whole owes him an apology," Molina said. "This dude is a f*cking standup guy. I'm forever thankful for all the lessons he ever taught me. I put myself in this position. It's no one else's fault. I wagered on fights after the UFC said stop. He could still wager. He was not an active fighter. This dude was a mastermind of the sport. I think he would've been the first Hall of Famer that's a coach. Like, legit. Any fighter that's underneath him would tell you the same. He's a wizard. It sucks that his legacy got tarnished."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Jeff Molina details UFC wagering scandal, says James Krause owed apology
Continue reading...
