@@drunkenmmamaster419 The Draft King and Fan Duel ad apocalypse during the NFL season about a decade ago actually harmed my love for the game. The _constant fucking commercials_ made me tune out the product and never really come back.
Tommy is at the zenith of his abilities when he does videos like this, going into the behind the scenes work of combat sports. While the Antitrust lawsuit video is still my favorite MMA on Point video, this is a certified classic. Fucking fantastic job Tommy, you sir are a man of culture. 🔥
On one hand (and as somebody that grew up in martial arts gyms since 5 y/o) gambling / betting has always been a part of the culture. At the end of the day, it’s prize fighting (with 50/50 odds in theory) so naturally people will bet on pro, amateur and even gym matches. What scares me the most is the just in your face nature of the UFC’s gambling promotion. It’s just goddamn everywhere. We can’t go 5 minutes with Jon Anik reminding me about betting lines and sign up promos. I’m accustomed to betting 20’s or 50’s with my buddies on a fight, not 10k like the dudes they post on Twitter. I hate the “slippery slope” argument in general but here it seems like it really applies
@@tickledeggz Or even a fight they aren't involved in but have inside knowledge on. Imagine if you'd gotten world through the grapevine about Dillashaw's shoulder prior to his match against Sterling. Someone could have potentially cleaned up. *No one* involved in the "backstage" aspects of the UFC should be allowed to bet on UFC fights.
@@BiggieTrismegistus Why not? The entire world is built on insider trading. Situations like Dillashaw shoulder, should be allowed. But throwing fights should be illegal. Thats actively cheating.
Tommy these videos are absolutely incredible ! I love getting a bit of mma history mixed in with current relevant events and you always present it in a really engaging fashion. I’d be happy to get less videos a week/month but with this incredibly high quality
You should do a list like “top 10 most suspicious odds” where the fight seemed pretty competitive and normal but for some reason the odds made it seem much more one sided
@@sp3949 Still salty? If you didn't know Oliveira (the underdog) has a tendency to get too comfortable off his back and then lose to people with good top game (instead of guys with no real grappling who follow him down/let themselves fear him off his back), you saw it coming
@@jerrelnelson3758 no. But because he literally didn't land a punch ("like always does" to in every previous fight in his career) in the second round and not even throwing punches. And the switch knee that led to him being dropped was suuuuper telegraphed. Idk if it was fixed. I'm 99% sure it wasn't. But one thing you get from the video is you never can tell if a fight is fixed and especially how exactly fixed.
And guys relax. I'm pretty sure if we were talking about Jones, dj, Gsp or DC or anyone else no one would be suuuuuuuuper defensive like the Dagestani boys. One thing definitely sure about is if we were talking about McGregor you guys would be all aboard with that even if you deny it now. No one is above suspicion. Especially with the shadiest manager Ali Abdelaziz. If anyone think Gaethje haven't been preparing for Tony waay before khabib announced he's out of UFC 249, he's just being naive or delusional. + for anyone denying that, just go watch Khabib's weigh in against gaethje or khamzats's against li (nigga pushed the towel down so hard he almost made LW) And I'm actually Muslim and rooting for them in every fight
It’s easy. You know you’re somewhat hurt, in any way really, go in knowing you’ll lose. Tell people close to you that you know you’ll go down at a certain point in the fight. Guarantee TJ Dillashaw had people around him bet against him
The Dillashaw situation is why the NFL has injury reports. Back in the day gamblers would buddy up to trainers and coaches to get inside info about who was carrying a knock and use that for the purpose of placing bets. For example knowing a team's star left tackle is battling hamstring and ankle problems when no one else does can be a huge advantage for a gambler to know.
@@BiggieTrismegistus in professional hockey the tradition has always been to lie about injuries. Just say upper body injury or lower injury even though it might be stab wound or personal problems
@@NewGoldie this isnt true. most of whats done is ego. there are tons of business decisions that seem baffling to us fans that are done simply because humans are running the ship (look at twitter losing all that money)
this is one of the best videos you guys have done in my opinion, great job! had tons of interesting info about the mobs ties with boxing through out the years and other cool facts i didnt know.
I think the widespread legality and online aspects are completely ignored here. In the era Tommy is referring to weren't the only places you could gamble Nevada and Atlantic City (unless you had a bookie)? Now you can legally make online bets in 20+ states, an even money fight getting $20k and $20k using a network to place 20 $1k bets in each state wouldn't garner any suspicion but would net the one betting more than the winning amount. I don't personally think it's worth the risk (especially due to how it affects your career if you get cut) but I also don't think it's worth the risk to step into a cage. The further apart the odds are the more incentive there is to throw a fight though.
irish gambler here, mainly on horses and football. mma is attractive to the gambler because of the betting markets e.g. round, method of victory.. the fact that it is quick adds to the attraction for the gambler. you know your faith quick.
So back in the day the reason why old boxing shows got infinity views is because A there was a monoculture that there really isn't as much of now B due to the diversification of options nothing will get that many views because everybody is watching something different
The language over discussing a future fight seems to have betting odds as a major part of the summary. Feels like a setup to the saturation of betting information during the fight.
Love the work you do Tommy! Your journalism is so thorough, it bleeds over the line into history. I'm able to learn about the evolution of the sport I love, and connect that to current events I never would have imagined had a direct line to that aforementioned history. Feeling inspired by your work - keep kicking ass, friend!
It's still not a good look because he has inside info on one of the fighters. If he knows a guy he's coaching isn't 100% while hardly no one else does he can bet against his own fighter and make a lot of money. Look at the Dillashaw situation as an example. Anyone who knew his shoulder wouldn't let him effectively fight had an unfair advantage when it came to betting.
@@xDRATERx In every MLB clubhouse there are signs posted telling anyone involved in baseball not to gamble on it or even associate with known gamblers. The same goes for other sports in the US. I dunno where you're from from but in the US this widespread legalized gambling in sports is relatively new. In other parts of the world it's been more accepted and they seem to have much more frequent scandals involving thrown games/matches/fights/whatever. Obviously they aren't unknown in the US but we've never seen what happened at Charlton Athletic's stadium in England. A far eastern betting syndicate tampered with the stadium lights to get a match abandoned.
Love the videos. My one critique is the lack of focus on judging. Many fights go to decision . MMA scoring can be subjective and hard to call. How do you prevent the people at the scorer tables from playing favorites?
You can’t, and that’s why (I believe) the judges do place bets on the fights. They have a lot of small prelim fights with big bets popping up last minute (5,000+).
Judges also do what's bets to guarantee their (and other judges') future employment, which is to enforce 'Dana White Privilege' allowing undeserving fighters like Sage Northcutt, Van Zant, Paddy and Suga Sean O'Malley wins through controversial decisions. Athletic commissions only profit and exist when their respective sports do.
great video but if you dig a little deeper into how the UFC was acquired you'll realize the mob had its hand in it from the start. Just look up the fertitas and their family. They were part of the Nevada state athletic commission that banned MMA in the state when the original owner tried to sanction a fight there. Being left with no options the OG owner sold it to the same people that had banned him from the state (the fertitas/dana).
I'm so sick of every broadcast being plastered with betting ads. betting is a dangerous addiction that ruins thousands of lives in the US alone each year, not a harmless pasttime.
the wave of people that are coming of age that were born into a world where instant gratification has somehow gotten even more instant, will have a very hard time if they cant keep themselves in check
I mean for me mma is the perfect betting sport, tons of ways for it to end and big cards mean you and your buddy's can do some nice wagers on basically anything. But they should probably tone down the direct promotion of odds and stuff
Any Tommy video with the Dana "that's fucking illegal" clip gets a thumbs up from me. I swear, Dana's reputation has only grown through the years, cuz he never droppped the in-your-face character
Yes is the answer. All sports, and especially individual ones like combat sports had a gambling problem the second it was legalized, which it never in a billion years should have been
the annoying thing here is the bookies love screwing people over and have no issue with people losing or the negative ethics on their end but the second someone has the upper hand over them they cry wolf and freeze bets, report etc
They took sponsorships away you get payed next to nothing compared to other professional sports at the highest level you cant bet on your self aswell now even if the ufc isnt paying the money you win they still dont want you to have any
If we want to reduce gambling in combat sports we need to take them out of all advertising and remove money pushed on both the viewers and the athletes to promote gambling books. Additionally in MMA let’s pay them better!
It's also very easy to rig a fight because if a fighter wanted to get TKO'd in the first round it's very easy and the other side wouldn't even know it happened.
Sports in general has a gambling problem. You know its an issue in the UFC when they let you know what the spread is going into the fight, during the fight and at the post fight conference. As far as participants (coach's, corner men, fighters, ect.) Pay these fighters what they deserve or they gotta do what they gotta do. I know if I had an intimate knowledge of the sport and saw something different from the general consensus damn right I'm placing a bet in their shoes.
Don't even have to watch the video to emphatically say yes. Crypto and Sports betting have become so entrenched as sponsors, and both are predatory and not great for society.
I think if you continue to follow the money what you see is the growth Draft kings and their ilk, which offer sports betting and "daily fantasy sports" (mma is only one of a bunch of sports where they have invested an unprecedented amount of money in advertising and promotion). They can't manipulate the athletes or the events so instead they go for the viewers (hooking them in with promo-codes and can't lose special bet deals). Again you see this in other sports as well, so the danger in terms of the integrity of MMA is only there if, (for example) people begin to perceive DraftKings as an integral part of the UFC (and draftkings is certainly spending allot of money to foster that perception). In any case please do more of these long form specific issue based content, they're really good.
Quick points about the congressional investigation on steroids in baseball: the head of the committee was literally the congressional representative from Hollywood. His reasoning for the investigation was because "kids look up to baseball players". I wonder why he didn't look into steroids in Hollywood.
A gambling scandal really undermined sumo's popularity in Japan. It could have the same affect on MMA. As soon as the underpaid fighters realize they can make more money by betting on fights and "determining" the outcome, it could be a disaster.
Bro you’re actually the best person on MMA on point I knew who was going to be reading for this episode because you’re kind of the only one that’s actually critical of the UFC 😂. Like if Dana allowed real reporters at press events you’d be the best one. So far what I learned from this video is the mob no longer fixes fights because it’s too risky so they choose to own fighters instead. the UFC as a corp is way better at owning fighters so they have no need to fix fights the house always wins 🤷🏿♂️
There was this show on ABC, *The Wide World of Sports* that was on for decades. It had broadcasted more Championship Fights than all Organizations combined …. for FREE as IN GRATIS, NO CHARGE. Mike Tyson had his first 19 fights on *Wide World of Sports* The great Duran vs DeJesus Series. Salvador “Kiko” Sanchez becoming the youngest Featherweight Champion of all time when he knocked out legendary Champion Wilfredo Gomez. Ali vs Ken Norton …. On & on. Boxing & Gambling have always been bedfellows, it should be no surprise that as free TV went away that he who has the deepest pockets & shortest arms calls the shots
My 80-year-old dad still swears up and down that sonny Liston threw the fight to Muhammad Ali. I always thought he was being a bit paranoid, but now that I know a little bit more about the history, connecting the boxing world and the mob, he might not have been crazy after all.
Yes, and I’m sure the UFC are fine with it. Gambling injects fans with a feign passion that’s hard to cultivate for single athlete sports. It’s easier to passionately support a team than a single person. Instead of having fans only interested in their favourites or the big fights, they can get people excited for more fights on the card due to betting. It’s a problem in team sports where it devalues the game going on for money made.
MMA on point are really trying to keep their media credentials with the UFC with this one, happy to bring up when organised crime player a huge part in boxing and other mma promotions but failed to bring up the well known fact that is the Fertitta’s ties to the mafia, the Fertittas were the money behind Dana White’s vision for the UFC and played a huge part in the development of the UFC and the sport and they deserve credit, but there’s no denying the Fertitta’s ties to the mafia
The real problem is when we the fans know who won a fight but the bookies decide who won the fight instead...those fights happen more often then we realize and in high level fights. You couldnt pay me enough to believe that fights like sandhagen v dillashaw or omalley v yan werent predetermined.
It's far more advanced now. The promotion itself, premier broadcaster, and even the journalists are all sponsored (paid) by the sports book. This gives the casino immense control over the narrative and promotion of certain fighters and fights in hopes of a desired lucrative match or line changes. We are on the cusp of scandals that are much larger and more difficult to detect than any of those mentioned in this video.
Yes! It's a fools game and very hard to profit even if know a lot about MMA because of the odds and the unpredictability. Also, it destroys lives, I've been there when it wasn't nearly as much advertised as now, it's not worth it.
How this video never mentioned Pete Rose I don't know. I could see gambling being a major problem in part due to low fighter pay. Fighters are looking to make their money from somewhere and if UFC isn't paying them and they're forced to sponsor products where they get a small amount of money, they're going to look into other avenues. Sports betting is one where they can make a lot of money. Especially if they're injured and need the money. Yeah UFC will pay for their hospital bills if they get hurt, but they won't cover their rent, etc..
MMA may not have a gambling problem but gambling is definitely deeply integrated into it. I literally never even talked about or understood betting odds before watching MMA, but now I find myself explaining favorites and underdogs to people.
I can't stand the gambling stuff in mma. It's so damn annoying to people who don't bet. It's been around forever even in Thailand for muay Thai but regardless it's too much
Surprised there are no mention about fights like tj dillashaw, nothing makes you sport look shady then to have a fighter go into a fight that can't use an arm. Anyone with any kind of inside information could easily pass that on.
Beast of a content b, but let me add that gambling is not just an MMA problem, it is a worldwide problem. Nowadays it is continuously stuffed down our throats in sports, esports and basically everywhere. You have twitch streamers promoting gambling and earning millions from it. Somehow within the last few years, gambling is perceived as normal and encouraged to such a degree that it is so annoying now. Everywhere I look, there are people bragging about their wins, which can make people fomo. Of course when they lose, they won't say a thing. There are even ads for "MMA investment clubs" on instagram ffs. In general, gambling is out of control now. You can bet on almost everything - US presidency, games, sports, stock and crypto market, whatever else. I guess people are just trying their luck to win a lot of money without putting too much effort
This episode of MMA on Point is brought to you by Draft Kings
🤣
Lmao so awesome 🤩
I was actually waiting for it after the vid, then read this 😂
I'm wagering on this being the top comment
Lmao
I stopped watching mma for a few years, since I came back to it I've been shocked at how prominent the gambling aspect of broadcasts are.
That's how I was when I fell off for a few years , like Jesus they like to shove draft kings adds down our throats
I was shocked by crypto, NFT & woke shilling going on by disney.
@@coldestbeer "woke shilling"... ok, comrade.
@@drunkenmmamaster419 The Draft King and Fan Duel ad apocalypse during the NFL season about a decade ago actually harmed my love for the game. The _constant fucking commercials_ made me tune out the product and never really come back.
@@DESOUSAB bro woke shilling is real. nobody wants to see it.
Tommy is at the zenith of his abilities when he does videos like this, going into the behind the scenes work of combat sports. While the Antitrust lawsuit video is still my favorite MMA on Point video, this is a certified classic. Fucking fantastic job Tommy, you sir are a man of culture. 🔥
the amount of work this man puts into his videos is staggering. Keep it up
Couldn’t agree more
Yes, because my parley at UFC 281 didn't hit 🤬
FACTS
why'd weili have to win by submission instead of KO? 😞
On one hand (and as somebody that grew up in martial arts gyms since 5 y/o) gambling / betting has always been a part of the culture. At the end of the day, it’s prize fighting (with 50/50 odds in theory) so naturally people will bet on pro, amateur and even gym matches.
What scares me the most is the just in your face nature of the UFC’s gambling promotion. It’s just goddamn everywhere. We can’t go 5 minutes with Jon Anik reminding me about betting lines and sign up promos. I’m accustomed to betting 20’s or 50’s with my buddies on a fight, not 10k like the dudes they post on Twitter. I hate the “slippery slope” argument in general but here it seems like it really applies
UFC: No more gambling for fighters!!
Also UFC: Btw, take off your shorts and gloves, we're gonna sell them and keep all the profits.
Banning the fighters from doing something so they can do it themselves is the most Dana White thing ever.
LMAO right??? Crazy. The ufc profits so much off these fighters it’s sad
Except people watches the fights anyways, i.e. enabling it.
The UFC doesn't do that. The fighters sell their own.
Its so stupid how Betting/Gambling is showed down our throats in sports but God forbid any athlete is influenced by it
There is a clear conflict of interest if a fighter or their team are allowed to place bets on the out come of a fight they're involved in.
@@tickledeggz Or even a fight they aren't involved in but have inside knowledge on. Imagine if you'd gotten world through the grapevine about Dillashaw's shoulder prior to his match against Sterling. Someone could have potentially cleaned up. *No one* involved in the "backstage" aspects of the UFC should be allowed to bet on UFC fights.
@@BiggieTrismegistus Why not? The entire world is built on insider trading. Situations like Dillashaw shoulder, should be allowed.
But throwing fights should be illegal. Thats actively cheating.
@@alexandrostheodorou8387 why not? 😂 are you serious? lmao
So fxck honor and integrity huh? very telling of the kind of person you are
Should be allowed only if it's by win
Tommy these videos are absolutely incredible ! I love getting a bit of mma history mixed in with current relevant events and you always present it in a really engaging fashion.
I’d be happy to get less videos a week/month but with this incredibly high quality
You should do a list like “top 10 most suspicious odds” where the fight seemed pretty competitive and normal but for some reason the odds made it seem much more one sided
Islam VS Oliveira… Seemed very odd for me the way how Oliveira lost it…
@@sp3949 why because he got dropped like he always does but someone with high level grappling actually attacked him on the ground ?
@@sp3949 Still salty? If you didn't know Oliveira (the underdog) has a tendency to get too comfortable off his back and then lose to people with good top game (instead of guys with no real grappling who follow him down/let themselves fear him off his back), you saw it coming
@@jerrelnelson3758 no. But because he literally didn't land a punch ("like always does" to in every previous fight in his career) in the second round and not even throwing punches.
And the switch knee that led to him being dropped was suuuuper telegraphed.
Idk if it was fixed. I'm 99% sure it wasn't. But one thing you get from the video is you never can tell if a fight is fixed and especially how exactly fixed.
And guys relax. I'm pretty sure if we were talking about Jones, dj, Gsp or DC or anyone else no one would be suuuuuuuuper defensive like the Dagestani boys.
One thing definitely sure about is if we were talking about McGregor you guys would be all aboard with that even if you deny it now.
No one is above suspicion.
Especially with the shadiest manager Ali Abdelaziz.
If anyone think Gaethje haven't been preparing for Tony waay before khabib announced he's out of UFC 249, he's just being naive or delusional.
+ for anyone denying that, just go watch Khabib's weigh in against gaethje or khamzats's against li (nigga pushed the towel down so hard he almost made LW)
And I'm actually Muslim and rooting for them in every fight
It’s easy. You know you’re somewhat hurt, in any way really, go in knowing you’ll lose. Tell people close to you that you know you’ll go down at a certain point in the fight. Guarantee TJ Dillashaw had people around him bet against him
The Dillashaw situation is why the NFL has injury reports. Back in the day gamblers would buddy up to trainers and coaches to get inside info about who was carrying a knock and use that for the purpose of placing bets. For example knowing a team's star left tackle is battling hamstring and ankle problems when no one else does can be a huge advantage for a gambler to know.
@@BiggieTrismegistus in professional hockey the tradition has always been to lie about injuries. Just say upper body injury or lower injury even though it might be stab wound or personal problems
There is a disturbing comparison to boxing corruption starting to form.
The UFC will have to make decisions now as to whether they interrupt that.
UFC is in on it, they dont give a flying F
@@OfficalMrBlue The UFC makes enough money scalping the fighter pay, they don't need to gamble to get extra lol
@@FaithRox lol yes they do. Major corporations will always do whatever they can to make the MOST amount of money. No such thing as "making enough".
@@NewGoldie this isnt true. most of whats done is ego. there are tons of business decisions that seem baffling to us fans that are done simply because humans are running the ship (look at twitter losing all that money)
@@johnmarkson1990 Twitter has more views then ever in a 2 week span since it was developed. Losing money huh? 😂😂 ok guy get with it
"The biggest disaster your sport can have is losing its' legitimacy"
*shows picture of O'Malley getting his hand raised over Yan*
damn... hahahahaah
Yeah that’s bs. I mean ur take. That’s not even close to the biggest close call. At least o mallet vs yan was close. Even arguable.
O mallet won round 1 and 3 therefore he won you know nothing of mma
Petr Yan is a okay fighter but come on now suga show punked him out the ufc
Look at the NBA. Ref scandal pretty much exposed the entire game to be fake and run by the refs at the behest of the owners
Yeah just so happened the fight they fixed is in a shady country that will do anything for the right amount of money
Peak Tommy content. Always love this. And yes, obviously, there is a very strong gambling influence going around.
Not just MMA, sports in general. And not only in the US.
I still think Amanda Nunes bet against herself in the first fight with Pena. The odds were MASSIVE!
She did that smile she did after pena beat her
Amazing video as always Tommy. I love these type of video essays! Please keep up the great work!
I literally can't stop watching this video. This is ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. Combat history, and it makes me feel more comfortable with my betting lol
this is one of the best videos you guys have done in my opinion, great job! had tons of interesting info about the mobs ties with boxing through out the years and other cool facts i didnt know.
Big fan of when y’all do this in-depth videos!
I think the widespread legality and online aspects are completely ignored here. In the era Tommy is referring to weren't the only places you could gamble Nevada and Atlantic City (unless you had a bookie)? Now you can legally make online bets in 20+ states, an even money fight getting $20k and $20k using a network to place 20 $1k bets in each state wouldn't garner any suspicion but would net the one betting more than the winning amount. I don't personally think it's worth the risk (especially due to how it affects your career if you get cut) but I also don't think it's worth the risk to step into a cage. The further apart the odds are the more incentive there is to throw a fight though.
y’all have been making some amazing content recently, definitely like these videos mixed with the classic top 10’s🙌
irish gambler here, mainly on horses and football. mma is attractive to the gambler because of the betting markets e.g. round, method of victory.. the fact that it is quick adds to the attraction for the gambler. you know your faith quick.
"As noted mma fan Carl Sagan once said..."
It was at this moment that I think my brain went into full stroke.
So back in the day the reason why old boxing shows got infinity views is because A there was a monoculture that there really isn't as much of now
B due to the diversification of options nothing will get that many views because everybody is watching something different
Gambling will lead to the downfall of the UFC but it won't be gambling alone, it will bring out the other skeletons the UFC has in their closet.
PLEASE do not let MMA become like boxing!
has been for years
Top MMA fighters don't even benefit the same as top boxers lol
@@OfficalMrBlue It's nowhere near as bad as boxing. At least the UFC hasn't yet had a dead person be ranked.
It's more like WWE at this point. Entertainment not sport
Joe Rogan admitted to placing large bets on UFC fights for years earlier in his time with them. UFC always has had a betting problem since day one!
I love seeing the betting lines while watching a fight. Last second bets ect. Make it more exciting.
This has definitely needed highlighting for quite some time now, great video!
The language over discussing a future fight seems to have betting odds as a major part of the summary.
Feels like a setup to the saturation of betting information during the fight.
Love the work you do Tommy! Your journalism is so thorough, it bleeds over the line into history. I'm able to learn about the evolution of the sport I love, and connect that to current events I never would have imagined had a direct line to that aforementioned history. Feeling inspired by your work - keep kicking ass, friend!
I regularly hit 75-90% of my picks, and I’ve only have been watching MMA since 2015, not hard to believe that Krause makes a bunch of money.
It's still not a good look because he has inside info on one of the fighters. If he knows a guy he's coaching isn't 100% while hardly no one else does he can bet against his own fighter and make a lot of money. Look at the Dillashaw situation as an example. Anyone who knew his shoulder wouldn't let him effectively fight had an unfair advantage when it came to betting.
Plus, him being around other fighters and coaches, you hear things…and that gives you a significant advantage too.
I find that hard to believe.Are you not a millionaire if you can get 9/10 picks correct?
@@xDRATERx In every MLB clubhouse there are signs posted telling anyone involved in baseball not to gamble on it or even associate with known gamblers. The same goes for other sports in the US.
I dunno where you're from from but in the US this widespread legalized gambling in sports is relatively new. In other parts of the world it's been more accepted and they seem to have much more frequent scandals involving thrown games/matches/fights/whatever. Obviously they aren't unknown in the US but we've never seen what happened at Charlton Athletic's stadium in England. A far eastern betting syndicate tampered with the stadium lights to get a match abandoned.
@@jacobfeliciano9005 Sounds like he bets within his means.
Love the videos. My one critique is the lack of focus on judging. Many fights go to decision . MMA scoring can be subjective and hard to call. How do you prevent the people at the scorer tables from playing favorites?
You can’t, and that’s why (I believe) the judges do place bets on the fights. They have a lot of small prelim fights with big bets popping up last minute (5,000+).
Judges also do what's bets to guarantee their (and other judges') future employment, which is to enforce 'Dana White Privilege' allowing undeserving fighters like Sage Northcutt, Van Zant, Paddy and Suga Sean O'Malley wins through controversial decisions. Athletic commissions only profit and exist when their respective sports do.
great video but if you dig a little deeper into how the UFC was acquired you'll realize the mob had its hand in it from the start. Just look up the fertitas and their family. They were part of the Nevada state athletic commission that banned MMA in the state when the original owner tried to sanction a fight there. Being left with no options the OG owner sold it to the same people that had banned him from the state (the fertitas/dana).
After watching the last ppv, its either a gambling problem or a judges problem.
I'm so sick of every broadcast being plastered with betting ads. betting is a dangerous addiction that ruins thousands of lives in the US alone each year, not a harmless pasttime.
These masterful think pieces of journalism are so well written, thank you Tommy
The gambling shit is disgusting. It shouldn’t be promoted. It’s just like promoting smoking or drugs.
Thanks guys.
Definitely loved the amount of Snatch references
Interesting topic not something I've really thought about despite all the advertisement tbh
Thats a really good point actually.
Love these videos as always , appreciate yall
Just wanna point out the lil stutter at 9:38 lol love the vids tho MMA on Point will always be the goat and keep up the good work
I think the problem is going to come with a new generation of sports fans that came in with MMA discovering gambling addiction.
the wave of people that are coming of age that were born into a world where instant gratification has somehow gotten even more instant, will have a very hard time if they cant keep themselves in check
I'm a fairly new MMA fan & i dont even spend money on the fights. Just beer & pizza.
@@coldestbeer keep it that way. Some won't, unfortunately
@@coldestbeer Don't even spend on beer just go for pizza 😀
I mean for me mma is the perfect betting sport, tons of ways for it to end and big cards mean you and your buddy's can do some nice wagers on basically anything. But they should probably tone down the direct promotion of odds and stuff
Yeah I've been watching for like 2 years and I make decent profit betting
Any Tommy video with the Dana "that's fucking illegal" clip gets a thumbs up from me. I swear, Dana's reputation has only grown through the years, cuz he never droppped the in-your-face character
Yes is the answer. All sports, and especially individual ones like combat sports had a gambling problem the second it was legalized, which it never in a billion years should have been
Absolutely, not to mention the “recommended bets” where they basically give you a bet that’s super unlikely to happen
Those aren't usually crazy lol those even hit often enough
@@sumcallmejesus do they hit more often than not?
@@uhok6712 no lol. I'd say about 15% of the time. Which is decent considering they are parlays
@@sumcallmejesus not bad, but also I wouldn’t listen to the house on where I should bet
What about Dana White controlling USADA to help fighters like Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar and Conor McGregor?
the annoying thing here is the bookies love screwing people over and have no issue with people losing or the negative ethics on their end but the second someone has the upper hand over them they cry wolf and freeze bets, report etc
Also places ban Smoking/alcohol ads but gambling which is at least equally destructive.
@@GinkgoPete grasping for straws here with that one
@@konflict1231 Youre right smoking is nowhere near as bad as the other 2
They took sponsorships away you get payed next to nothing compared to other professional sports at the highest level you cant bet on your self aswell now even if the ufc isnt paying the money you win they still dont want you to have any
And I bet you don’t pay for the PPV lmao
If we want to reduce gambling in combat sports we need to take them out of all advertising and remove money pushed on both the viewers and the athletes to promote gambling books.
Additionally in MMA let’s pay them better!
If I’m a fighter or coach I’m definitely having a friend of a friend bet in our favor😂
It's also very easy to rig a fight because if a fighter wanted to get TKO'd in the first round it's very easy and the other side wouldn't even know it happened.
Sports in general has a gambling problem. You know its an issue in the UFC when they let you know what the spread is going into the fight, during the fight and at the post fight conference. As far as participants (coach's, corner men, fighters, ect.) Pay these fighters what they deserve or they gotta do what they gotta do. I know if I had an intimate knowledge of the sport and saw something different from the general consensus damn right I'm placing a bet in their shoes.
Coleman outright admitted to doing this in his career for official fights. "Gotta do what you gotta do to take care of my family"
Video idea. Weight classes with the most missed weight. (Total pounds missed)
If a sports allows sponsorships from betting companies…yes. UFC is in that sense just as Boxing.
Don't even have to watch the video to emphatically say yes. Crypto and Sports betting have become so entrenched as sponsors, and both are predatory and not great for society.
my fav video yet from you guys
As soon as James said that he put a massive magnifying glass on himself
Keep making these betting-based videos. Whether fans want to accept it or not, the sports-betting world has a huge effect on all sports.
The Ali Act Needs To Be Legislated into MMA.
Facts
I think if you continue to follow the money what you see is the growth Draft kings and their ilk, which offer sports betting and "daily fantasy sports" (mma is only one of a bunch of sports where they have invested an unprecedented amount of money in advertising and promotion). They can't manipulate the athletes or the events
so instead they go for the viewers (hooking them in with promo-codes and can't lose special bet deals). Again you see this in other sports as well, so the danger in terms of the integrity of MMA is only there if, (for example) people begin to perceive DraftKings as an integral part of the UFC (and draftkings is certainly spending allot of money to foster that perception).
In any case please do more of these long form specific issue based content, they're really good.
I think they could still have a few fixed fights going on. No one can ever be sure there's not.
Fight Bets and Draft Kings watching this episode with great interest.
Quick points about the congressional investigation on steroids in baseball: the head of the committee was literally the congressional representative from Hollywood.
His reasoning for the investigation was because "kids look up to baseball players".
I wonder why he didn't look into steroids in Hollywood.
A gambling scandal really undermined sumo's popularity in Japan. It could have the same affect on MMA. As soon as the underpaid fighters realize they can make more money by betting on fights and "determining" the outcome, it could be a disaster.
Noo.. they make enough money but it’s the fighters that don’t make 💩
Bro you’re actually the best person on MMA on point I knew who was going to be reading for this episode because you’re kind of the only one that’s actually critical of the UFC 😂. Like if Dana allowed real reporters at press events you’d be the best one. So far what I learned from this video is the mob no longer fixes fights because it’s too risky so they choose to own fighters instead. the UFC as a corp is way better at owning fighters so they have no need to fix fights the house always wins 🤷🏿♂️
There was this show on ABC, *The Wide World of Sports* that was on for decades. It had broadcasted more Championship Fights than all Organizations combined …. for FREE as IN GRATIS, NO CHARGE. Mike Tyson had his first 19 fights on *Wide World of Sports* The great Duran vs DeJesus Series. Salvador “Kiko” Sanchez becoming the youngest Featherweight Champion of all time when he knocked out legendary Champion Wilfredo Gomez. Ali vs Ken Norton …. On & on. Boxing & Gambling have always been bedfellows, it should be no surprise that as free TV went away that he who has the deepest pockets & shortest arms calls the shots
My 80-year-old dad still swears up and down that sonny Liston threw the fight to Muhammad Ali. I always thought he was being a bit paranoid, but now that I know a little bit more about the history, connecting the boxing world and the mob, he might not have been crazy after all.
Yes, and I’m sure the UFC are fine with it. Gambling injects fans with a feign passion that’s hard to cultivate for single athlete sports. It’s easier to passionately support a team than a single person.
Instead of having fans only interested in their favourites or the big fights, they can get people excited for more fights on the card due to betting. It’s a problem in team sports where it devalues the game going on for money made.
Look at Sumo... gambling and corruption go together with combat sports like chocolate & ice cream.
Love all the Snatch clips
I constantly hear Jon Anik tell me the +/- or some prop bet if I bet those odds on a fighter to win.
Well THIS god damn episode should be viral now.
Gambling on fights or in sports in general who would’ve thought….
That’s not news
Krause banged Sanko, he wins no matter what
MMA on point are really trying to keep their media credentials with the UFC with this one, happy to bring up when organised crime player a huge part in boxing and other mma promotions but failed to bring up the well known fact that is the Fertitta’s ties to the mafia, the Fertittas were the money behind Dana White’s vision for the UFC and played a huge part in the development of the UFC and the sport and they deserve credit, but there’s no denying the Fertitta’s ties to the mafia
3:03 that look from Francis ! LOL
The real problem is when we the fans know who won a fight but the bookies decide who won the fight instead...those fights happen more often then we realize and in high level fights. You couldnt pay me enough to believe that fights like sandhagen v dillashaw or omalley v yan werent predetermined.
It's far more advanced now. The promotion itself, premier broadcaster, and even the journalists are all sponsored (paid) by the sports book. This gives the casino immense control over the narrative and promotion of certain fighters and fights in hopes of a desired lucrative match or line changes. We are on the cusp of scandals that are much larger and more difficult to detect than any of those mentioned in this video.
MMA does not have a gambling problem I do
It's happening, only this time it's digital. With people all over the world placing their bets💯
Any Aussies watching this get John Barilaro Vietnam flashbacks from Friendlyjordies videos when the mob music started playing? 😂
No
I laughed very loud when Tommy deadpan said
'as noted MMA fanatic Carl Sagan once said....'
Yes! It's a fools game and very hard to profit even if know a lot about MMA because of the odds and the unpredictability. Also, it destroys lives, I've been there when it wasn't nearly as much advertised as now, it's not worth it.
"So let's talk about the mafia"
Well... I think we all can see a constance here, eh?
How this video never mentioned Pete Rose I don't know. I could see gambling being a major problem in part due to low fighter pay. Fighters are looking to make their money from somewhere and if UFC isn't paying them and they're forced to sponsor products where they get a small amount of money, they're going to look into other avenues. Sports betting is one where they can make a lot of money. Especially if they're injured and need the money. Yeah UFC will pay for their hospital bills if they get hurt, but they won't cover their rent, etc..
Got a Fan Duel ad right before this video.
MMA may not have a gambling problem but gambling is definitely deeply integrated into it. I literally never even talked about or understood betting odds before watching MMA, but now I find myself explaining favorites and underdogs to people.
I can't stand the gambling stuff in mma. It's so damn annoying to people who don't bet. It's been around forever even in Thailand for muay Thai but regardless it's too much
What happened with the UFC official changing the judges scorecards?!
But MMA is unpredictable most of the time any given day anyone can beat anyone
4:50 the second Liston fight with Ali is a definitive dive. Undoubtedly. Liston had a cast iron chin.
Great work team and Mr Toehold
Surprised there are no mention about fights like tj dillashaw, nothing makes you sport look shady then to have a fighter go into a fight that can't use an arm. Anyone with any kind of inside information could easily pass that on.
Beast of a content b, but let me add that gambling is not just an MMA problem, it is a worldwide problem. Nowadays it is continuously stuffed down our throats in sports, esports and basically everywhere. You have twitch streamers promoting gambling and earning millions from it. Somehow within the last few years, gambling is perceived as normal and encouraged to such a degree that it is so annoying now. Everywhere I look, there are people bragging about their wins, which can make people fomo. Of course when they lose, they won't say a thing. There are even ads for "MMA investment clubs" on instagram ffs. In general, gambling is out of control now. You can bet on almost everything - US presidency, games, sports, stock and crypto market, whatever else. I guess people are just trying their luck to win a lot of money without putting too much effort
Other sports over came this by paying fighters more than the average person could bet.
Very good content sir