Opinion: Jeff Molina Got Off Easy

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Jeff Molina looked like he was one of the brighter prospects on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster—regardless of weight class—back in 2022. Following a contentious decision victory over Zhalgas Zhumagulov that summer, Molina found himself sitting at 3-0 in a flyweight division looking for fresh blood to push up the ladder. By the end of the year, Molina’s future was up in the air. He would soon be released by the UFC, and he has remained under suspension ever since, unable to continue his MMA career.

Molina’s saga began in November 2022. Shortly before Molina’s teammate, Darrick Minner, was to face Nuerdanbieke Shayilan, the betting lines veered sharply in the China Top Team rep’s favor. The fight went down with Minner clearly compromised by injury and resulted in an easy win for Shayilan. Given the sharp swing in the odds and Minner’s physical state, it was obvious something was fishy. Minner and his coach, James Krause, were both suspended indefinitely. So was Molina.

Had other fighters associated with Krause been suspended, as well, it might have looked more like a precaution, but only Molina was disciplined. The UFC advised those who had been training under Krause—like Julian Marquez and David Onama, to name a few—to find a new home if they wished to remain in the UFC. Those fighters followed those instructions, and aside from the UFC releasing Minner and Molina, all was silent on the status of them and Krause for over two years. We finally got word on Minner and Molina last week.

Given that Minner’s suspension was officially for failure to report his injury, it ended up pretty much being time served, which was almost two and a half years. Molina’s suspension was announced to be three years from the date of Minner’s contest with Shayilan. It was revealed that he had placed money on the contest. After his suspension was announced, Molina released a statement a few days later attempting to defend his actions and critique the sentence handed to him.

To sum up his defense, Molina claimed he had bets up and down the card, not just on the fight involving his teammate. He also stated his “significant” bet was less than $500 and that fighters compete with injuries they don’t disclose all the time. Molina also pointed out the double standard between someone like him and Conor McGregor betting on fights, and he disagreed with the idea that had been floated about his deserving a lifetime ban.

However, within Molina’s statement were two key factors. There was an acknowledgment he bet against his teammate. Even if he did bet both sides as he claims, he bet against his teammate. He also acknowledged he placed bets after the UFC had explicitly told him not to do so. Those are two huge admissions, and Molina seemed to skate over them in such a casual manner that I don’t believe he realizes how lucky he is at this point.

Take the cases of Shoeless Joe Jackson and Pete Rose in Major League Baseball—two hall of fame-caliber players who were banned for life and remain so in death. There’s debate as to Jackson’s role in the “Black Sox” scandal in which the Chicago White Sox threw the 1919 World Series. He allegedly turned down the bribe money, had the highest batting average of anyone in the series and wasn’t charged with any fielding errors. Even so, Jackson was banned for life. In Rose’s case, he acknowledged he bet on games—only after years of denial—but claimed he never bet against the Cincinnati Reds, the team he managed at the time of his scandal. John M. Dowd, the investigator in the Rose case, concluded there was no evidence he ever bet against the Reds, only that there were games involving the Reds where Rose placed bets. Like Jackson, Rose was banned for life. He remains baseball’s all-time leader in hits.

Meanwhile, Alex Groza was banned for life over a point-shaving scheme during his college days after two consecutive seasons as a member of the All-NBA First Team. What Groza did in college killed his professional career. Plus, he was forced to sell the shares he held in his professional team at a fraction for which he bought them. The franchise, the Indianapolis Olympians, folded shortly thereafter.

MMA has a checkered history of fights being thrown or pre-arranged, but most of the acknowledged incidents happened in the early years of the sport. The only contest that has been recognized within the UFC in the last decade saw Tae Hyun Bang serve jail time in Korea for agreeing to throw the first two rounds of a fight in November 2015. He won the fight. Given that Bang won a fight he “threw,” the UFC couldn’t quite release him outright. Nevertheless, he did lose his next bout, and the UFC was all too happy to cut him afterward. He hasn’t fought since.

Outside of Bang, these were big stars who were banned for life in sports with a larger cultural impact than MMA. Molina is getting three years. He’s entitled to disagree with the idea he was lucky to walk away with the sentence he received, but he’s a fool to take that approach given the historical context in which betting scandals have been handled. Molina is getting three years when he acknowledged he was explicitly told not to bet on fights just weeks before he bet against a teammate. Others of higher profile have received harsher penalties when lesser offenses have been proven. Perhaps Molina got off lighter because he didn’t participate in the fight, whether via coaching or fighting, but he did have insider knowledge and used it to his advantage.

Perhaps Molina is ignorant to the idea that the integrity of a sport is integral to its success. Perhaps he believes it was justified because it was just a little bit of money, not realizing what happens when the camel gets its nose under the tent. If the integrity of the sport is compromised, fans won’t trust that things are on the up and up; and sooner or later, they will take their business elsewhere. That’s why other sports have been so harsh with those who have meddled in the betting world. If you want scripted outcomes, you’ve got the WWE. Molina would be best served to keep his head down and go about his life. In a historical context, he got off exceedingly light.

As for McGregor, that’s a dead horse. As much as many of us wish the UFC held McGregor to the same standard as other fighters, it’s never going to happen. Besides, I’ve never heard of McGregor betting against a teammate.