Two fighters have been issued with suspensions from the Nevada Athletic Commission amid an investigation linked to illegal betting practices.

It was confirmed on Tuesday that UFC flyweight competitor Jeff Molina and a former member of the organisation’s featherweight division, Darrick Minner, had received extended suspensions. Molina, formerly a ranked fighter in the UFC’s 125-pound division, was suspended for 36 months for his part in an alleged betting scheme involving his coach James Krause.

The issue stems from a November 2022 fight involving Molina’s teammate Minner’s first-round loss to Shayilan Nuerdanbieke during which irregular betting patterns were noted, with betting lines aggressively leaning towards a Nuerdanbieke win in the hours before the fight. Krause and Minner were subsequently suspended for a failure to report an injury in advance of the contest.

“After Molina having direct knowledge of a serious injury sustained by a fellow fighter Darrick Minner, Molina failed to inform the commission of Minner’s serious injury, in violation of NAC 467.885, and instead of informing the commission additionally placed significant bets with a gaming entity on the outcome of Minner’s fight,” Matthew Feeley, the deputy attorney general for Nevada, said at Tuesday’s hearing.

Minner was suspended for 29 months for failure to report an injury. Both suspensions were applied retroactively to the date of the fight, meaning they will both be eligible to fight in 2025.

Following initial reports of the incident in 2022, James Krause — and fighters he coaches — were effectively barred from the UFC.

“UFC has since advised Krause and the respective managers working with impacted fighters, that effective immediately, fighters who choose to continue to be coached by Krause or who continue to train in his gym, will not be permitted to participate in UFC events pending the outcome of the aforementioned government investigations,” the promotion announced in a December 2022 statement.