Islam Makhachev demands Dan Hooker be held accountable for IV allegations

Dan Hooker has recently gone on record accusing one of his former opponents, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, of cheating prior to his bout opposing Hooker’s teammate, Alexander Volkanovski, at UFC 284.

Hooker made no excuse when he was submitted in the first round against Makhachev back in October of 2021, but he did make the following post after Volkanovski failed to become a two-division champion:

Dumb cunt thinks he can fly to Australia hire a nurse to give him an I.V and we won’t find out. Cheating dog.

— Dan Hangman Hooker (@danthehangman) February 13, 2023

The champion responded to Hooker’s allegations earlier today with a tweet of his own, demanding Hooker be held accountable for such accusations:

You must be held accountable for such accusations

— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) February 16, 2023

Islam Makhachev‘s manager Ali Abdelaziz also responded, before deleting it.

Luckily for us, Ariel Helwani saved it before he had a chance to:

Yes. He deleted it because someone, I would think, told him he was incriminating himself with this tweet. You can’t take 2-3 L by a professional or not. It’s 100 ml per 12 hours (among other details). Massive difference. https://t.co/cFdBDUY1DK

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 16, 2023

This has turned into quite a sticky situation; while Australia commissions allow the use of IV’s prior to a fight, USADA, whom works for the UFC, does strictly prohibit athletes from using them.

Islam Makhachev and his team have denied using an IV to begin with, though Abdelaziz’s tweet has drawn speculation amongst the MMA fanbase.

Had Makhachev used an IV following their weigh ins prior to UFC 284, it certainly could’ve aided him in a number of ways. One, it could aid him in cutting more weight than others not using an IV, and two, it could have helped him push through the fight without being finished.

Many fans and media had Makhachev beating Volkanovski three rounds to one going into the fifth, and Makhachev was noticably fatiguing at that point. Volkanovski dropped him in that fifth and final round, and rather than trying to get back to his feet, Makhachev accepted bottom position for the rest of the fight – the greatest grappler and wrestler in the sport right now, who’d never been on his back in the UFC until that point, accepted bottom position. That tells you how absolutely drained he was.

So, there’s certainly benefit to using IV’s pre-fight.

Let’s just hope for Makhachev’s sake he really didn’t and this truly is just an accusation.

Do you think Islam Makhachev used an IV before his fight at UFC 284?

If you enjoyed this piece, feel free to share it on social media!