The UFC lightweight champion’s team refutes Dan Hooker‘s assertion that Islam Makhachev utilised an IV to rehydrate after weighing in for his fight with Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284.
Following Saturday’s champion-vs.-champion contest at Perth, Australia’s RAC Arena, where Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) defeated Volkanovski (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) by unanimous decision, City Kickboxing fighter and Volkanovski teammate Hooker called Makhachev a “cheating dog.”
In accordance with the guidelines established by the USADA, the UFC’s longtime drug testing partner, Hooker accused Makhachev of utilising intravenous (IV) therapy to refill after weigh-ins.
Only those who got an IV “in the course of hospital admissions, surgical procedures, or clinical investigations” are exempt from USADA’s ban on IV infusions and/or injections.
“We all know this is completely BS,” Islam Makhachev’s manager Rizwan Magomedov said. “The guy is a loser. He’s salty and just looking for attention, and that’s it.” (H/T – MMAjunkie.com)
Hooker (22-12 MMA, 12-8 UFC), who was in Perth to support his teammate’s bid for a concurrent two-division title reign, and Makhachev have a history of their own.
At UFC 267 in October 2021, Makhachev defeated Hooker by first-round submission.
SHARE
