UFC star Dan Hooker claims lightweight champion Islam Makhachev received some illegal assistance that aided him in a major way for his UFC 284 main event victory over Alexander Volkanovski.
On Saturday night, featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski moved up in weight to battle 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev in an attempt to be the fourth UFC fighter to hold belts in two divisions simultaneously.
Related: Islam Makhachev next fight – 3 opponent options, including Dustin Poirier
Unfortunately for the Australian, after five extremely competitive rounds, the Russian was able to successfully defend his title by way of unanimous decision and move up to the top spot in our latest UFC pound-for-pound rankings.
While some luminaries from the world of MMA have publicly disagreed with the judge’s decision, few have questioned the legitimacy of the main event of UFC 284. However, a teammate of Volanovski’s claims Makhachev needed outside illegal assistance before the fight to help him reach fight night.
Dan Hooker claims Islam Makhachev used IVs before UFC 284 win
On Monday morning, ranked lightweight Dan Hooker took to his Twitter account and accused Islam Makhachev of using an illegal tactic before of his UFC 284 bout against City Kickboxing teammate Alexander Volkanovski.
“Dumb c*** thinks he can fly to Australia hire a nurse to give him an IV and we won’t find out. Cheating dog.”
– Dan Hooker on Islam Makhachev
In a follow-up tweet, he also bashed the US Anti-Doping Agency for not discovering the alleged cheating. Hooker did not give any evidence of his left-field claim against the reigning UFC lightweight champion.
Under the guidelines for MMA bouts in Australia, fighters are allowed a shorter amount of time to rehydrate after cutting weight to make division weight limits. Islam Makhachev reportedly had a difficult time making the 155-pound championship limit for his bout last week, but still hit the mark on Friday.
- Islam Makhachev record: 24-1 (4 KO, 11 submissions)
In 2015, the UFC — by way of USADA — banned fighters from using IVs to rehydrate after weight cuts due to a belief that the technique can contribute to unhealthy weight cuts and can be an avenue for performance-enhancing substances.