Dan Hooker didn’t hear no bell when it comes to Islam Makhachev.
Following the UFC Lightweight Champion’s successful title defense against Alex Volkanovski at UFC 284, Hooker blew the whistle by accusing Makhachev of using an illegal I.V. for rehydration after weigh-ins.
Makhachev quickly denied all cheating allegations made by his former foe and cited he was not accused by the UFC or USADA for I.V. use. The Russian also called for ‘Hangman’ to be punished for trying to ruin his reputation, which Hooker will get to later.
‘UFC Don’t Care And USADA Don’t Care’
One month into the aftermath of dubbing Makhachev a cheater, Hooker claims the UFC and USADA simply don’t care whether or not their champ used an I.V.
“What I’ve learned from this whole situation is: the UFC don’t care and USADA don’t care,” Hooker told The AllStar (h/t: MMA Mania). “So if UFC don’t care and USADA don’t care, as long as your local commission doesn’t care too, I.V.s are legal. That’s what I’ve learned from this whole situation. I thought they were illegal. I thought, it was my opinion and the fans’ opinion that you weren’t allowed to do it. But from USADA’s press release and from any action that we’ve heard from the UFC, they don’t care about it.”
“That’s a message out to fighters: so long as the local commission doesn’t care too, I.V.s are legal. And it’s pretty hard for a local commission to… what are they gonna do, test you for too much saline in your blood? There’s no test for it. That’s why USADA kicked it down the road, because you can’t test for it.”
Hooker On Potential Punishment
With his belief that the UFC and their anti-doping partner ‘don’t care’, Hooker doesn’t either apparently— even if he receives punishment for the words he said against Makhachev.
“Why do you think I’m the guy that come out and said something? I don’t care,” Hooker added. “You don’t think that I know there are gonna be consequences for what I said? You don’t think I’m gonna be punished for what I said? I just don’t care. Am I gonna have some shake-ups or some Dagestanis over the next couple of years in the lobby of UFC events? I’m sure I will. I’m sure I will. Do I care about confrontations with other teams? Not at all. Not a single bit.”
“Do I think that the UFC is gonna punish me in some way? Yeah, I’m sure they will. I’m sure they’ll give me tough match-ups. Whoop-dee-doo. Ask the last 10 blokes I fought, they’re all tough matchups. So bring it on. You wanna give me tough match-ups? Give me tough match-ups. That’s what I’m here for, I’m not here for easy fights I’m here for tough fights.”
‘He Cheated Alex Out Of That Title And He Knows It’
‘Hangman’ refused to hang his hat on this, acknowledging that he’s still pissed off that Makhachev holds the title and not his teammate Alexander Volkanovski.
“I’m not gonna blatantly see one of my teammates cheated out of a world title and not say anything. For that guy to come down here to Australia and steal that moment from Alex? I couldn’t bite my tongue and I couldn’t sit on my hands, because that pissed me off. It pissed me off that he still has that title because he’s a cheat. He cheated Alex out of that title and he knows it. Those tweets were directed at one man, those tweets weren’t directed at his management, weren’t directed at anyone except that one man.”
Hooker continued in his rant.
“And for him to not be asked about it by any journalist, to not be pursued by any MMA media for comment by any MMA media is a real smudge on the face. For him to sit in a media scrum and not be asked about it? I feel like you’re a coward. If you sit there and don’t ask about it, you’re a coward. And for me to show my hand when he hasn’t even been asked to respond to these accusations? I feel like that’s a joke.”
“Will I show this [evidence] information? I’m sure I will, when push comes to shove. But he has to answer for it first. Deny it! I dare you to deny it, then I will discredit you.”
