“It doesn’t look good.”
The UFC recently revised its Code of Conduct policy, which now prohibits fighters from engaging in any form of gambling. That includes making a wager on themselves, something that former UFC lightweight Justin Jaynes admitted to doing.
Gambling, of course, is a huge part of the UFC with sports betting company DraftKings as one of its primary sponsors. But in the case of fighters doing it themselves, here’s UFC president Dana White’s explanation.
“Gambling is opening up everywhere in every state, and the people who regulate gambling don’t think it’s a good idea for fighters to be betting on themselves. And I agree. it just shouldn’t happen. It should never happen,” White said during his post-UFC 280 media scrum.
“It doesn’t look good. More optics than anything.”
According to the memo issued by the company about a week ago, a violation of the said policy “may result in criminal sanction.”