A few days ago, Arman Tsarukyan placed a shocking $1 million wager on Justin Gaethje to defeat Ilia Topuria in the UFC White House main event on June 14th, during a KICK stream with Adrien Broner and Deen The Great. The UFC lightweight contender even held up his phone to the camera, seemingly showing proof of the massive bet. Based on the odds displayed on the screen, the wager would return an estimated $5.7 million if Gaethje won the fight. But as lucrative as the reward sounds, it appeared equally foolish.

This is not just because Justin Gaethje is a huge underdog going into the fight, but also because, in placing the bet, Tsarukyan evidently broke UFC’s 2022 code of conduct for their athletes, which strictly prohibits UFC fighters from betting on UFC fights. This had many convinced the Armenian had broken the rule and, as a result, could face disciplinary action. Following the controversy the wager created, UFC CEO Dana White has now addressed the situation.

“No! From what I heard, Arman didn’t,” White clarified on Full Send Podcast. “It was one of his buddies that did that. One of his buddies bet a million dollars on Gaethje, right?”

This suggests that the UFC has, in fact, reviewed the incident and, based on the lightweight contender’s supposed clarification, concluded that it wasn’t Arman Tsarukyan placing the bet but rather his friend.

As such, Tsarukyan appears to be out of danger from any potential punitive action from the UFC and Dana White for now. Also, the lightweight contender doesn’t have a prior history of placing bets on fights, and that record makes the road ahead smoother for him too. Yet, if he had actually placed the bet, the consequences would have been severe.

In 2022, the Nevada State Athletic Commission issued an interim suspension to UFC star Jeff Molina for allegedly placing bets on a featherweight bout between Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke. The former UFC flyweight, who trained under James Krause, who was also training Minner, wagered against Minner, knowing very well that Minner was entering the bout having severely hurt his knee. After a long investigation following the fight, the NSAC ruled that Molina had direct knowledge of the injury, and he had used that inside information to place bets on the outcome of the fight. As a result, Molina received a 36-month suspension. In 2023, the UFC also parted ways with Molina.

Well, Arman Tsarukyan certainly avoided that grim fate, as the UFC CEO clarified that he didn’t gamble the astronomical sum on the UFC White House fight. However, the 56-year-old raised another interesting point while discussing sports betting.

Dana White wanted to place $10 million on the Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua fight

According to the UFC CEO, many betting platforms do not even allow users to place bets as large as $1 million on combat sports events. To illustrate his point, White recalled a situation where he wanted to place $10 million on Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul that took place in December last year.

“It was crazy,” White added in the same interview. “A lot of these betting apps don’t let you bet a million dollars. I remember when Jake Paul fought Anthony Joshua. I wanted to bet $10 million on Anthony Joshua. I mean, I would have bet every f—ing thing that I owned in life on that fight.”

When it comes to betting limits, several major sportsbooks are known for accommodating high-stakes wagers. Platforms such as Bet365 and William Hill have reportedly accepted bets worth up to $2 million. However, many other sportsbooks operate with significantly lower limits, typically ranging between $200,000 and $500,000. So while placing a $1 million wager may be difficult on most platforms, it is certainly not impossible.

As for JackPlay, the platform where Tsarukyan supposedly made the wager, there is currently no publicly listed information regarding maximum betting limits. Still, the company does seem to outline some withdrawal-related restrictions, mostly related to cryptocurrency.

Arman Tsarukyan might have dodged a bullet there. But as we know, violating that rule could result in severe punishments, including lengthy suspensions and a cut from the roster.