Following his weigh-in for his UFC 284 title defense against Alexander Volkanovski, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev faced accusations of using IV treatment to rehydrate.
After defeating featherweight champion Alex via unanimous decision in the main event of the pay-per-view event held in Perth, Australia, fellow lightweight and Volkanovski’s teammate Dan Hooker took to Twitter to level a series of accusations against the Dagestani fighter, accusing him of cheating by using an IV.
#UFC scale snitch drops bombshell revelation in Makhachev IV scandal — ‘Volkanovski was two pounds heavier’ https://t.co/LJnn6CzxSw pic.twitter.com/fptkOncr01
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) May 2, 2023
However, Jeff Novitzky, the Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance for the UFC, has stated that the Australian Commission found no credible evidence of any rule violation, echoing the denials of Makhachev and his team.
The MMA community was abuzz with discussions following the accusations, prompting the UFC to caution its athletes about the legal and illegal use of intravenous fluids leading up to fights.
Now, Makhachev’s manager Ali Abdelaziz has redirected the accusations towards Volkanovski, claiming that the Australian fighter was heavier than the UFC lightweight champion on the night of the fight. During a recent interview with The Schmo, Abdelaziz stated:
“Don’t try to point fingers. In reality, and I got this from the UFC…. [On] Fight night, Alexander Volkanovski weighed two pounds heavier than Islam Makhachev. You want to talk about IVs? He weighed two pounds heavier than Islam. Islam didn’t get any IVs in Australia.”
Dan Hooker’s statement against Islam Makhachev
Prior to the UFC 284 lightweight championship fight between Islam and Alexander, Dan Hooker accused Makhachev of cheating by using an IV treatment to rehydrate after the weigh-ins.
Earlier in an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Volkanovski supported his teammate’s accusations. The current featherweight champion said:
“I ended up weighing myself. I think I was like 76 [or] 77 kilograms so maybe 170 or just under 170 [pounds]… What would 80 [or] 81 kilograms? 178 or 180 [pounds], I think [Islam Makhachev] would have been. I’ve heard he gets up to 180, like 83 kilograms closely. You fill up pretty quick on the IV’s and stuff like that… Maybe that’s a little shot at him.”
Reportedly, Alexander wants a rematch with Makhachev, but before that can happen, ‘The Great’ is set to face interim 145-pound champion Yair Rodriguez in a title unification bout at UFC 290 in July.
