UFC’s Minner faces penalty for undisclosed injury

The Nevada State Athletic Commission is planning disciplinary action against MMA fighter Darrick Minner for failing to disclose an injury ahead of a Nov. 6 UFC bout that was flagged for suspicious betting.

Jeff Mullen, executive director of the NSAC, told ESPN on Thursday that Minner will be on the agenda at the commission’s next meeting Dec. 14 over “disciplinary action for non-disclosure on his pre-fight medical form.” Mullen declined to elaborate further.

The NSAC, during a meeting Wednesday, suspended UFC fighter Ilir Latifi for three months for not disclosing an illness to commission doctors before an Oct. 1 fight. It was the first time a fighter has faced disciplinary action from the commission for not disclosing an injury or illness.

Disciplinary action for Minner also was referenced during the Wednesday meeting but it was tabled and put on the Dec. 14 agenda. A message to Minner’s manager, Andrew Lee of Disorderly Conduct Management, seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Minner suffered a TKO in the first round of his featherweight fight against Shayilan Nuerdanbieke on Nov. 6. In the opening of the fight, Minner threw a left kick, immediately grimaced and reached for the leg. Minner threw one more kick before Nuerdanbieke sent him to the mat with a knee to the head and then finished with elbows at the 1:07 mark.

Rumors that Minner was hurt circulated among bettors in the hours leading up to the fight, and the odds moved heavily toward Nuerdanbieke, who went from a -220 to a -440 favorite. Money also poured in on the fight to last fewer than 2.5 rounds and for Nuerdanbieke to win by knockout in the first round, according to multiple sportsbooks.

The flurry of one-sided betting prompted an investigation by U.S. Integrity, a Las Vegas-based firm that works with sportsbooks to monitor the waging market in the U.S. The enforcement division of the Nevada Gaming Control Board told ESPN that it was aware of the suspicious betting patterns on the Minner-Nuerdanbieke fight but declined to comment further.