Dan Hooker has accused Islam Makhachev of using an IV to rehydrate after weighing in for his UFC 284 main event with Alexander Volkanovski, which is an infraction that USADA penalizes with a 2 year suspension.
There were mixed reactions to this, as he made the accusation without offering any proof and he didn’t even name names initially.
However, a video just emerged of Hooker being completely out of it during the time that he made the tweet. The video was posted on Dan’s Instagram story and coincides with the period the tweets were shared. It shows Hooker completely slammed along with Oscar WIllis.
Many commenting on the clip are now doubting the authenticity of Hooker’s accusations.
Islam Makhachev was diplomatic in how he refuted the IV use charges:
Islam’s comments seem to be in line with the information on USADA’s website and CalfKicker’s investigation.
Still, Islam’s win against Alexander Volkanovski continues to be shrouded with controversy.
Volk fans are calling Islam’s win undeserving. They’re saying that the challenger had the upper hand and that he won more rounds. MMA figures who support Volkanovski include Joe Rogan, Nate Diaz, Chael Sonnen, and many more.
Meanwhile, Islam’s supporters are angry as he isn’t ranked P4P #1 in the UFC. They’re questioning the legitimacy of the ranking system. Islam accused those behind the rankings of being biased against his Russian nationality.
“About the rankings, I never expected justice and still don’t. Because we saw on the example of our other fighters, [Magomed] Ankalaev, Petr Yan, saw the attitude towards us always. The main thing [is] I flew, 13000 kilometers. There defeated their champion, they raised my hand. And with a raised head, confidently with a belt, flew home.”
When asked if he suspects this is because of their country of origin, Makhachev acknowledged saying: “Maybe. ”
He gave examples of his compatriots Magomed Ankalaev and Petr Yan.
Regardless of all these issues, Islam said that he’s proud of successfully retaining his championship.
Syed Ali Fazeel is an accomplished MMA fan, and writer. He discovered MMA in his youth and has been following the sport since TUF season 1.