Jeff Molina is able to restart his preventing profession however this time he’ll do it with no gloves on.
The ex-UFC flyweight contender has signed a deal to affix the roster at BKFC the place he’ll compete in bare-knuckle motion for the primary time. He inked the contract after he was launched from the UFC following a betting scandal involving his coach James Krause.
BKFC officers confirmed the signing to MMA Preventing on Tuesday after Molina first introduced the information through The Ariel Helwani Present.
Molina gained’t be eligible to compete till after Nov. 5 when he finishes serving a three-year suspension handed down by the Nevada Athletic Fee.
The scenario surrounding his suspension initially concerned Molina’s teammate Darrick Minner after he fought and misplaced to Shayilan Nuerdanbieke by first-round TKO at UFC Vegas 64 again in November 2022. Suspicions have been raised after betting traces for the struggle shifted dramatically simply earlier than the occasion kicked off with Minner changing into a large underdog earlier than finally shedding the struggle in simply 67 seconds.
Krause and Minner have been then suspended for failing to report an damage previous to the struggle, however the precise investigation concerned a possible betting scandal that truly led to a number of sportsbooks refusing to take bets on UFC fights.
That’s what led to Molina’s suspension because of his involvement with wagering on the struggle involving his teammate.
“After Molina having direct data of a critical damage sustained by a fellow fighter Darrick Minner, Molina failed to tell the fee of Minner’s critical damage, in violation of NAC 467.885, and as an alternative of informing the fee moreover positioned vital bets with a gaming entity on the end result of Minner’s struggle,” Matthew Feeley, deputy legal professional common for the state of Nevada, mentioned throughout a month-to-month assembly in March.
Ultimately, Molina was suspended three years together with paying a small advantageous after which he’ll be eligible to compete once more in November.
Throughout his transient stint with the UFC, Molina went 3-0 within the flyweight division previous to his suspension.
Molina joins a rising BKFC roster with the group consistently increasing in recent times with the promotion’s first ever occasion in Italy this previous weekend the place it was additionally introduced the bare-knuckle outfit goes to debut in Texas with a card deliberate for June.
