Fresh off a blue-collar decision win over Jaqueline Amorim on the UFC 287 preliminary card, strawweight Sam Hughes (8-5) cheerfully divulged that her boyfriend placed a $1,000 wager on her to win. And win she did, impressively.
A hefty underdog on the betting lines, Hughes employed feisty defense and tenacious hand-fighting to stifle a frenzied barrage of choke attempts from an aggressive Amorim, eventually surviving the one-sided opening stanza. In the closing frames, however, Hughes capitalized on the visibly fatigued Amorim with sturdy control of position and pace, all the while whittling away with sharp strikes from outside on the feet. Hughes devoured the momentum in the latter rounds and earned 29-28 marks from each judge in the unanimous decision win.
Unfortunately, Sam Hughes’ post-fight gambling comment could very well overshadow her stellar performance. For context, the UFC recently augmented the gambling section of their athlete conduct policy.
Betting policy was established long before UFC 287
Beyond banning UFC fighters from betting on UFC fights, the policy has a further restriction. From Zane’s piece above:
“Moreover, the newly inserted agreement notes thatâbeyond fightersâitâs illegal in most states for coaches, managers, trainers, family members or other close affiliates to bet on these contests as well.”
âAn athlete that becomes aware or has knowledge of any wagering in violation of these restrictions must immediately notify UFC of such incident in accordance with this UFC Athlete Conduct Policy,â the updated Code of Conduct reads.
From an outsider’s perspective, this does not seem like what the UFC had in mind with the gambling policy nor method of being notified. Stay tuned to the new BE for more UFC 287 developments.
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