James Krause, the MMA coach at the center of a UFC betting controversy, is barred from attending or cornering any fighters at the Fighting Alliance Championship event on Friday in Independence, Missouri, sources told ESPN.
Krause-trained fighters Gauge Young, Gina Mazany and Alexa Culp are on the card for FAC 17.
The Fighting Alliance Championship is a Midwestern event that has regularly used Krause’s name to promote the organization.
Joe Wooster, a licensed matchmaker in Missouri and co-founder of FAC, told ESPN on Monday that Krause will have nothing to do with FAC 17.
“James is not any part of our ownership group,” Wooster said when reached by phone. “He’s not the licensed promoter, not the licensed matchmaker. Just like every promotion in the Midwest, we use a bunch of his fighters. But he’s in no way, shape or form involved in the event. I know that the UFC kind of branded it James Krause’s FAC, and that’s just kind of what they do to extend their audience. They always try to associate a fighter with a promotion. That’s where James kind of got his involvement.”
ESPN has reached out to Krause for comment.
In 2012, Krause helped start the FAC, which was then known as Kansas City Fighting Alliance, and his name has been used to promote the organization for a decade. Now, however, FAC is attempting to distance itself from Krause, who in November had his license suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Association while an investigation into suspicious betting patterns on one of his fighter’s bouts remains ongoing.
Krause has a Martial Arts Second license in Missouri, which allows him to wrap a fighter’s hands, warm them up and tend to the fighter before, during and after the fight. Lori Croy, director of communications for the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance, told ESPN in an email that Krause is not scheduled to work any fighter’s corners this weekend.
“Since the office does not have the authority to suspend a license prior to a hearing, the office will continue to monitor the investigation,” Croy added.
On Friday, the UFC announced that it had been cooperating with multiple ongoing government investigations into a UFC fight on Nov. 5 between Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke in Las Vegas. Krause was in the corner for Minner, who lost in the first round.
In the hours leading up to the fight, multiple sportsbooks reported taking a flurry of action on Nuerdanbieke to win by first-round knockout and for the fight to last fewer than 2.5 rounds, causing the odds to move dramatically.
Krause was prohibited from being in the corner for Miles Johns for a Nov. 19 fight against Vince Morales, and the UFC subsequently said in a statement on Dec. 2 that it has advised Krause and “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.”
Minner was released from UFC on Dec. 2.
FAC 17 will be broadcast on tape delay on UFC Fight Pass. It’s the last event of a distribution deal between the UFC and FAC, according to a source familiar with the situation.