Dan Hooker is sticking to his guns when it comes to his IV accusation towards UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev.
Leading up to the fight, Makhachev, visibly drained from his weight cut, had to strip down completely during the weigh-in. Tears welled up in his eyes, revealing the intense toll of his grueling training camp. Makhachev defeated the Australian superstar via unanimous decision at UFC 284, but Volkanovski believed he was unfairly judged on the scorecards.
However, the situation took an unexpected twist when Hooker made shocking claims on Twitter, sending shockwaves throughout the MMA community. Hooker claimed that Makhachev used an IV to rehydrate for his UFC 284 title defense against the reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Initially, Hooker labeled Makhachev a “cheater.” While “The Hangman” remains firm in his IV accusation, he’s changed his tune on whether or not Makhachev had malicious intent.
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
Alexander Volkanovski jokes about Makhachev using an IV.
This interview was filmed before the Dan Hooker allegations. #TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/dA4ojvDDFx
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) February 13, 2023
Dan Hooker Talks Islam Makhachev IV Accusation
During an appearance on MMAFighting’s “The MMA Hour,” Hooker discussed being adamant that Makhachev used an IV before the Volkanovski fight, and why he isn’t as harsh on the lightweight champion now.
“A hundred percent, in my opinion, Islam Makhachev took the IV,” Hooker said. “That’s like my opinion. I feel like potentially it might have been a genuine misunderstanding of the rules. We saw from my outburst and then USADA’s clarification and then the backlash, there’s still a lot of misunderstanding about the actual rule. I couldn’t even tell you the actual rule. So, USADA’s like absolutely fine if you get a nurse to do it, but then most commissions it comes down to the local commission. It’s obviously not allowed in Australia. If you get the commission’s approval, how many commissions are approving IVs? I feel like there’s still no real clarification around the topic.”
Makhachev doesn’t know who his next opponent will be, although there’s been a strong push within the MMA community for a rematch with Charles Oliveira. Whether or not the UFC is close to making that title fight happen again remains to be seen. As for Volkanovski, he’s set for a UFC Featherweight Championship unification bout against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 on July 8.
Time will tell if Makhachev and Volkanovski ever mix it up again, but IV Gate will certainly live on.
Dan Hooker has no regrets about his accusation of IV use toward Islam Makhachev after UFC 284. #TheMMAHour
▶️ https://t.co/dqkLYTDbuc pic.twitter.com/psmBEqv7ot
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) July 5, 2023
