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UFC star Dan Hooker lodged allegations of IV use against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
This past Saturday, Makhachev took on reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski for his first title defense after dethroning former victor Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 last October. They clashed in the headlining bout of UFC 284 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Following a competitive bout, Makhachev managed to come out on top of the judges’ scorecards in a razor-thin decision that many believe could have swung either way.
Hooker, Volkanovski’s teammate at City Kickboxing, took to Twitter earlier today to accuse Makhachev of using IVs to rehydrate for the ‘champ-champ’ fight.
“Dumb c*** thinks he can fly to Australia hire a nurse to give him an I.V and we won’t find out,” he wrote. “Cheating dog.”
He followed up with a series of tweets adding more context to his message.
“USADA doing f*** all.”
“Prove me wrong. Bet cha can’t,” he continued. “He doesn’t cheat, he doesn’t win.”
He concluded, “Islam is a cheat.”
He implied that Makhachev had used an IV between the weigh-ins and the fight. Using IVs is prohibited under the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) rules. The use of IVs is banned by the UFC, as they can be used to quickly rehydrate and gain an advantage over the opponent.
Makhachev has not yet responded to the allegations.
Makhachev Declared Himself the ‘Best Fighter’
During the post-fight press conference, Makhachev shared his thoughts on a close-fought war with Volkanovski, declaring himself the best fighter in the world.
“It doesn’t matter how I won today, now I’m not just champion, I’m the best fighter in the world,” Makhachev said (via MMA Fighting). “I am very happy. Now people are going to call me not just champ, but ‘best fighter in the world.’ This is my dream, and it doesn’t matter how I won, I’m very happy.”
The Dagestani champion believes he’s done enough to put him ahead of former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, widely regarded as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time.
“Jon Jones is a great fighter,” he said. “He is the best, but last time he won a split decision, he always has a hard fight. I don’t know, I don’t think after this fight he’s going to be the best, because why am I the best right now?
“Because I beat the best fighter in the world. That’s why I think I deserve this more and if somebody wants to be the best, I am ready. Come in.”
Volkanovski Says He Could’ve Done More at UFC 284
‘The Great’ believes he could’ve done more in the contest and admitted he may have missed out on some opportunities.
“There was positions where I was like he’s not strong,” Volkanovski said. “I even said it in my corner, you’ll probably hear it, I’m going he’s not strong. I’m not being a d***, I wasn’t being disrespectful, it was just like, he’s not strong. Maybe he’s waiting for me to do something so I didn’t capitalize on it straight away, which I should have and I really started realizing that later on. I was like f***, I could have done more.
“It’s just funny. Everyone wanted to push this crazy narrative, I’m going to f****** run with it. Let you think he’s invincible but it just would have been so much of a better story if I won, right?”
Given the competitive affair, Volkanovski’s confident he could pull off the upset in a rematch.
“You could see that I could definitely win that fight,” Volkanovski added (via MMA Fighting). “I definitely want that fight back. I want that f****** lightweight belt.”
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