Korean police are reportedly looking into alleged attempts to fix a UFC fight which took place in Seoul in 2015.
Mixed martial arts website BloodyElbow.com cite several Korean outlets, who claim that nefarious betting activity took place ahead of a bout on the UFC Fight Night 79 card.
A Korean fighter, whose identity was hinted at but not outright revealed, is believed to have agreed to throw his fight in exchange for a fee of 100 million Won ($88,000). Bloody Elbow also state that the fighter placed a bet of 50 million Won ($44,000) on his opponent coming out victorious.
The event, the first held by the UFC in South Korea, was headlined by a welterweight meeting of Benson Henderson and Jorge Masvidal and the card featured seven Korean fighters in total.
“Fighter A”, as he is referred to in the reports, is said to have become spooked by the suspicion from the UFC which stemmed from unusual betting activity prior to the bout and arrived at the decision to fight as he normally would, going on to win the contest.
But those who had paid the fighter to take a dive understandably didn’t like that and seemingly threatened him, which resulted in the athlete going to the police.
With the information made public in the reports from the country, namely the age of the fighter and the camp out of which he trains, unconfirmed suggestions have been made that Tae Hyun Bang was the competitor in question.
At the time, the betting odds on Bang’s lightweight fight with Leo Kuntz caused several raised eyebrows. The fluctuation in the odds reportedly prompted the UFC to ask questions.
Ahead of the fight, which took place on November 28, 2015, Kuntz was originally considered an underdog but after significant money was lumped on the American, he quickly shifted to heavy favourite in the space of a few hours.
Bang ended up claiming a 28-29, 29-28, and 29-28 split decision after the back-and-forth contest.
