The UFC and playing have at all times had an uncomfortable closeness. The game is constructed round studying opponents, managing threat beneath strain, and making selections when the end result is unsure. It’s no shock that a number of of the largest names linked to the UFC carry that very same intuition off the canvas and into the on line casino. If the high-stakes desk motion described under feels like your type of rush, you’ll be able to strive reside vendor blackjack on-line at Moonbet, which runs at a near-perfect 99.5% base RTP with no account signup required. However first, listed below are 5 UFC figures whose playing tales are simply as dramatic as something that occurs contained in the octagon.
At a Look: UFC’s Largest Gamblers
1. Dana White — The Man Who Acquired Banned for Successful Too A lot
Dana White doesn’t simply watch fights for a dwelling. He performs them on the blackjack and baccarat tables with stakes most individuals can’t fathom. White has described playing as his “part-time job” and the numbers again that up. He repeatedly stakes $75,000 per blackjack hand and has shifted more and more to baccarat, the place Caesars Palace and Bellagio permit him to wager as much as $400,000 per hand.
His most publicised run got here between January and March 2024, when White claimed to have gained $26 million from Caesars Palace on the baccarat desk. In a podcast look with Shannon Sharpe, he stated merely: “I fucked up their whole quarter.” In July 2025, he walked away with $1.2 million from a $300,000-per-hand baccarat session on the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, recorded reside on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast.
His technique is deliberate. White performs three palms, and if he’s forward, he walks. On line casino executives have described this because the type of motion casinos hate, as a result of the home’s statistical edge by no means will get time to work. The Palms On line casino famously minimize his credit score line in half after a collection of wins, triggering White to drag all reside UFC occasions from the property. Later, when administration modified and the Palms tried to win him again, White returned, gained $5 million, and left with the money in black rubbish luggage after employees couldn’t discover a correct bag. The on line casino responded by presenting him with a customized championship belt declaring him the Palms Undisputed Blackjack Champion.
The losses are actual too. White has admitted to dropping $8 million in a single night time throughout his 2024 Caesars run. By September 2025, experiences from On line casino.org and the Hollywood Reporter positioned his excellent debt to Pink Rock On line casino at between $25 million and $30 million for credit score prolonged on the baccarat and blackjack tables. His internet value is estimated at over $600 million by Forbes, which can clarify why Pink Rock has not pushed tougher for compensation.
2. Conor McGregor — Sports activities Betting on a Scale No Fighter Has Matched
Conor McGregor’s relationship with playing is a current one by his personal admission. In 2013, he posted publicly that he hated playing. By 2024, he had flipped solely, turning sports activities betting right into a documented pursuit with a spreadsheet of wins and losses that he shared brazenly on social media.
McGregor partnered with crypto sportsbook Duelbits in 2024, and thru that platform positioned a collection of high-profile bets on sporting outcomes. His largest stretch got here in the summertime of 2024 when a $100,000 three-leg treble on Spain to win the Euros, Carlos Alcaraz to win Wimbledon, and Argentina to win the Copa America returned roughly $4 million. He additionally backed Nate Diaz to defeat Jorge Masvidal of their boxing match for a $1.6 million win, and guess $1.1 million on Spain to win the Euros individually.
The losses have been public too. He put $500,000 on Renan Ferreira to knock out Francis Ngannou of their PFL bout, and misplaced. Days later at UFC 308, he backed each Max Holloway and Robert Whittaker to win by knockout, dropping one other $500,000 when each really misplaced by stoppage. In a since-deleted publish on X in October 2024, McGregor tallied his 12 months: $7.7 million in wins, $1.63 million in losses, placing himself $6 million forward. He was clear that he was taking part in on income and urged his followers to gamble responsibly.
Notice that some commentators have questioned whether or not McGregor’s bets have been positioned along with his personal cash or with promotional funds from Duelbits. The guess slips are verified, however the precise monetary association behind the partnership has not been disclosed publicly.
3. Nate Diaz — The Stockton Gambler Who Bets on Underdogs
Nate Diaz has by no means been identified for enjoying it secure, whether or not that’s in a battle or on the sportsbook. His public playing document is smaller than McGregor’s by quantity, however the bets he does share are pointed and deliberate. In November 2025, Diaz posted a $20,000 guess slip on social media backing Jake Paul to defeat Anthony Joshua of their heavyweight boxing match on Netflix, positioned by BiggerZ.com. The potential payout was $142,000. It was a contrarian name on the time — Joshua was broadly thought of the overwhelming favorite — however Joshua delivered a knockout win, and Diaz collected.
The context issues: Diaz and Paul have historical past. Paul defeated Diaz by unanimous resolution of their August 2023 boxing match. Backing Paul towards Joshua was not a sentimental guess; it was Diaz publicly saying he believed Paul would win no matter what the chances stated, which is precisely his fashion. Paul himself dismissed the endorsement on the pre-fight press convention by saying he doesn’t care about backing from somebody he referred to as “dumb as f—“.
Diaz additionally seems in different fighters’ playing tales. In 2024, Conor McGregor positioned a $500,000 guess on Diaz to defeat Jorge Masvidal of their boxing rematch, which paid McGregor $1.6 million when Diaz gained. That was McGregor’s cash, not Diaz’s, however it’s a measure of how Diaz’s fights entice critical motion. Diaz has additionally reportedly paid again followers who misplaced cash betting on him in earlier losses, a gesture that matches the way in which he has at all times operated.
Sean O’Malley’s route into playing is totally different from everybody else on this listing. The place White chases baccarat limits and McGregor tracks sports activities outcomes, O’Malley is drawn to poker as a psychological self-discipline. In episode 314 of his TimboSugarShow podcast in early 2025, O’Malley revealed he had deleted his social media accounts, give up video video games, and located himself channeling his aggressive drive into Texas Maintain’em. He described the sport as one thing that workouts the identical endurance and focus he wants within the octagon.
Essentially the most concrete proof of his poker capacity got here in April 2025, when O’Malley confronted skilled poker participant and YouTuber Frankie C in a heads-up match, a $25/$50 freezeout with a $5,000 buy-in. The sport lasted 5 hours. O’Malley gained, taking Frankie C’s whole stack and pocketing a $5,000 revenue. The deal was that if O’Malley gained, Frankie C needed to enter the ring for 3 rounds of sparring. Each the poker recreation and the sparring session ended predictably.
O’Malley has additionally appeared at WSOP celeb poker occasions and has been a face for PrizePicks, the every day fantasy platform, by a 2024 promoting marketing campaign. He misplaced his UFC bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 in September 2024, and publicly dedicated to chopping playing and different distractions in his preparation for the rematch. That battle, UFC 316 in June 2025, was some of the anticipated rematches of the 12 months.
5. Colby Covington — The Welterweight Contender With a Verified Poker Report
Colby Covington is the one fighter on this listing whose playing credentials are backed by formally recorded match outcomes. His hometown on-line on line casino is the Seminole Arduous Rock in Hollywood, Florida, and in August 2022 he turned the Seminole Arduous Rock Poker Open into essentially the most publicised week of his low season.
Within the opening occasion of that collection, a $400 buy-in Deep Stack No-Restrict Maintain’em match that drew 7,703 entrants and have become the biggest poker match in Florida historical past, Covington made the ultimate desk and completed seventh, incomes $48,298. Two days later he entered Occasion 22, a $1,100 Pot-Restrict Omaha-8 match with 84 entrants. He dominated the ultimate desk from the chip lead, knocked out 5 of his eight closing desk opponents himself, and defeated heads-up specialist David Shmuel to win the title outright. His prize was $25,875 and a Seminole Arduous Rock trophy. Between the 2 occasions, Covington cashed $74,173 throughout a single week, bringing his documented lifetime poker earnings to roughly $120,000 throughout 22 recorded cashes.
His strategy to the match was tactically sound. He recognized three-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hui as essentially the most harmful participant on the closing desk and intentionally prevented pots towards him till the sphere thinned. After successful, Covington drew the comparability each fighter instinctively makes: “Fortunately for me, I’ve fought on the highest ranges on pay-per-view. I’m used to the nerves and I understand how to channel them. I don’t ever get emotional when taking part in playing cards or combating.”
He continued taking part in tournaments into 2025. In February, he entered the Seminole Arduous Rock Tampa Winter Poker Open Championship, a $1,700 buy-in occasion with a $637,500 prize pool, and made it to seventeenth place earlier than being eradicated.
What Do These 5 Have in Widespread?
Not one of the 5 strategy playing the identical manner, however one thread runs by all of them. They’re opponents first. White walks away when he’s forward and refuses to present the home time to grind him down. McGregor bets on upsets as a result of the anticipated worth of a 20-to-1 shot paying off outweighs the price of dropping the stake. Diaz backs underdogs as a result of that’s how he has at all times operated. O’Malley treats poker as a sport to be studied. Covington navigates a closing desk the identical manner he navigates a battle camp, by figuring out the strongest opponent and constructing a method round them.
The stakes these fighters play for should not out there to most individuals, however the video games themselves are. Dwell vendor blackjack, the sport Dana White has constructed his on line casino popularity on, runs at a 99.5% base RTP at Moonbet, and the platform requires no e mail, no password, and no KYC for withdrawals beneath $5,000. Join a Phantom or MetaMask pockets and you’re taking part in in thirty seconds. The desk doesn’t know or care how deep your pockets are.
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