When UFC Lightweight Dan Hooker came forward with accusations of IV abuse against Islam Makhachev, everyone thought he was being a sore loser. But now Alexander Volkanovski’s coach Joe Lopez has come forward with similar accusations adding fuel to the fire which could have severe consequences.
In a recent interview, Joe strongly insisted, “You can’t expect to come to our country and expect to get away with getting IVs. They got IVs, they can’t deny that..we know that for a fact, we’ve got that evidence…people have backflipped on a lot of things, but there’s a smoking gun here.”
He further added, “The way these guys are handling it, they’re trying to brush it underneath the table. If anything, they should take a stronger stance on who they are. Everybody should be treated the same, you can’t have rules for one and not for the other. If it doesn’t happen now, then for the future, it needs to change. Everybody needs to be held more accountable without these things going on.”
How justified are the claims of Alexander Volkanovski’s coach?
Recent reports by the Combat Sports Commission of Western Australia suggest that no concrete evidence of cheating was found against Makhachev. Then why is the trainer making such bold claims against the Dagestani? If found guilty, the current lightweight champ could not only lose his belt but also be disqualified from competing for years.
Dan initially seemed like a chill dude but he did not react well to the quick loss against the AKA prospect. It’s unclear if he was Islamophobic before the fight but ‘The Hangman’ has been constantly going after the 155lb king from that point onwards. All this hate could have culminated in his recent accusations.
It is really unfortunate that a veteran coach like Joe Lopez also buys into such baseless claims. We hope Islam Makhachev gets to prove all these haters wrong.
