[Courtesy of UFC]
Police reportedly have launched an investigation into a UFC match in Seoul in 2015 on confession from a South Korean fighter who has been harassed by angry gambling brokers for a botched fix.
Police did not disclose any names involved in the match on November 28, 2015, when the Ultimate Fighting Championship, an American mixed martial arts promotion company, held its first event in South Korea.
There are multiple news reports that the investigation followed a voluntary report from the fighter and police imposed a travel ban on a number of brokers for questioning.
The "UFC Fight Night" at a gym in Seoul sparked allegations about a failed fix in a lightweight fight between Bang Tae-hyun of South Korea and Leo Kuntz of the United States. Bang defeated Kuntz by split decision.
Originally, Bang allegedly took a down payment of 100 million won (88,490 US dollars) from brokers in return for throwing the bout, but he changed his mind at the last moment after being warned by UFC officials who pointed out a wild pre-fight swing in betting lines, according to a South Korean TV report.
It's not known immediately whether the investigation was reported to UFC headquarters in Las Vegas. Angry comments were posted on South Korean online communities. "I fear that MMA fans may never see another UFC event in South Korea because of this," said a user "ozzman82" from "MMA Cafe", the largest MMA community in South Korea. "UFC could raise the bars on South Korean fighters joining the organization."
Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com and Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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