The world of UFC was staggered by the accusations of IV usage to rehydrate Islam Makhachev’s weight shortly before his clash against Alexander Volkanovski. Dan Hooker, the New Zealand MMA professional, was one of the first to accuse Makhachev of using IV right before his UFC 284 main event with Volkanovski, but these rumours were trashed aside. 

This news broke loose after Makhachev’s (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) terrific decision win over Volkanovski (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) in Saturday’s champion-vs-champion showdown at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Hooker, who is a City kickboxing fighter and a teammate of Volkanovski, dropped this heavy accusation on Makhachev and called him a “cheating dog”.

Hooker put Makhachev on spotlight by stating that he had been using using intravenous (IV) therapy to replenish after weigh-ins, which is an illegal practice under the rules  by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the UFC’s longtime drug testing partner. USADA bans IV infusions and/or injections. However, there is an exception only for those who received an IV “in the course of hospital admissions, surgical procedures or clinical investigations.”

Makhachev’s co-manager, Rizvan Magomedov, issued a response to MMA Junkie and denied any wrongdoing by the fighter. He was palpably frustrated with these allegations and called them BS (abbreviation for bulls**t). “We all know this is completely BS,” Magomedov said. “The guy is a loser. He’s salty and just looking for attention, and that’s it.”

Makhachev, however, is also dealing with USADA’s drug test regarding the usage of a banned substance named Meldonium. He was scheduled to face Drew Dober in his third UFC fight in April 2016. However, the booking fell through a day before the event after the Dagestani standout tested positive.

Meldonium is the drug that is used to treat ischemia. The World Anti-Doping Organization (WADA) banned it on January 1, 2016 after finding plenty of evidence of athletes using it to improve performance.

There were some initial doubts about Makhachev failing a drug test immediately after his lone career loss, but the Dagestani standout did not face any punishments as the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) found him to be “without fault or negligence.” For more news and sources about MMA and any sports news visit Nextbet.