It turns out former UFC fighter Jeff Molina isn’t officially on the BKFC roster just yet after the Association of Boxing Commissions chimed in on the signing.
On Tuesday, Molina announced on “The Ariel Helwani Show” that he signed with BKFC after speaking with promotion president David Feldman. MMA Junkie later confirmed the signing, which later was publicly announced by BKFC in a since-deleted social media post.
On Wednesday morning, BKFC issued a statement posted to social media explaining why.
“Yesterday’s announcement regarding Jeff Molina’s signing was premature,” BKFC said. “We respect the ABC’s current suspension and will honor their rules and suspensions.”
The issue with Molina’s signing stems from the fact that he’s currently serving a two-and-a-half year suspension recently issued by the Nevada Athletic Commission after a lengthy investigation, which was partially conducted by the FBI, into his involvement in an an illegal betting scheme on UFC fights. Molina, 27, is ineligible to compete until his suspension concludes Nov. 5.
Along with then-head coach James Krause, who was identified as a ring leader, Molina was indefinitely suspended after suspicious betting line movement was detected in a November 2022 bout between their Glory MMA & Fitness teammate, Darrick Minner, and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke. Minner competed in the fight with an injured leg and was suspended 29 months for not disclosing the injury to the NAC.
Molina was eventually released by the UFC, while Krause has been blacklisted by the UFC from attending or cornering fighters at its events.
During the Helwani interview, Molina spoke at length about what transpired as a result of getting caught for wagering on Minner vs. Nuerdanbieke and said he thought he’d be able to return to the UFC.
“I think the UFC was kind of founded on the principle that, hey, if you screw up, you get your punishment,” Molina said. “People have come back from running over a pregnant lady when high on coke. They do terrible stuff. They do their punishment, and they come back. So I thought my two-and-a-half years was enough, and I’d be able to come back to the UFC. But I get it. I think they are in talks with a new broadcasting deal. I don’t know if they don’t want the attention and whatnot.”
Molina said he believes “the MMA community as a whole owes (Krause) an apology.”
“This dude is a f*cking standup guy,” Molina said. “I’m forever thankful for all the lessons he ever taught me. I put myself in this position. It’s no one else’s fault. I wagered on fights after the UFC said stop. He could still wager. He was not an active fighter. This dude was a mastermind of the sport. I think he would’ve been the first Hall of Famer that’s a coach. Like, legit. Any fighter that’s underneath him would tell you the same. He’s a wizard. It sucks that his legacy got tarnished.”
