The hits keep on coming to UFC 324 -- the UFC's debut event on Paramount -- in the hours leading into the fights.
Hours before they were set to duke it out on the preliminary card, the fight between Michael Johnson and Alex Perez was canceled.
The UFC announced the news at about 2 pm ET on January 24 -- three hours before UFC 324's start.
No reason was given by the promotion; however, those in the MMA betting space noted strange activity on the betting lines of this fight.
Users across social media, including X (fka Twitter) and Reddit, noted a peculiar line change on DraftKings. On Jan. 22, Johnson was listed as a +135 underdog. After money "flooded in" on the 39-year-old, however, both fighters were listed in the sportsbook the next day as a -110 pick 'em play.
Michael Johnson vs. Alexander Hernandez Off Of UFC 318; Suspicious Betting Activity Reported
There has been some speculation that Hernandez may be dealing with a hand injury; however, that has not been confirmed by any parties as of press time.
In November, the UFC came under heavy scrutiny after suspicious betting patterns were detected ahead of the Isaac Dulgarian vs. Yadier Del Valle fight at UFC Vegas 110. After Dulgarian was finished in the first round, Dulgarian was released by the UFC and investigations were launched.
New York-based MMA promoter and writer Harry Mac made more claims of suspicious betting activity, while Ariel Helwani reported on his show that a number of fighters had been approached about the idea of throwing fights. A number of fighters (joking or not) released statements on social media claiming they had been approached in the past.
The card will proceed on with 11 bouts. Cameron Smotherman was pulled from his UFC 324 matchup against Ricky Turcious yesterday after collapsing during the ceremonial weigh-ins.
Johnson has won three straight and four of his last five. He was coming into this scheduled bout off a decision win over Daniel Zellhuber at UFC 318.
Hernandez has won four straight, most recently scoring a finish of Carlos Diego Ferreira at Noche UFC 3.