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Jeff Novitzky says there is no evidence Islam Makhachev used an IV to rehydrate after the UFC 284 weigh-ins.
Makhachev was headlining the pay-per-view card in Australia which marked his first title defense as he took on featherweight champ, Alexander Volkanovski. It was a much closer fight than many thought, but it was Makhachev who won by decision.
Since the fight, Dan Hooker – a teammate of Volkanovski – accused Makhachev of cheating and using an IV to rehydrate after weigh-ins, which is illegal. Volkanovski also mentioned the possibility of that, but Novitzky, UFC senior vice president of athlete health and performance, says there is no evidence proving that Makhachev used an IV.
“I think the Australian commission put out a statement last night saying there’s no credible evidence of him violating any of their rules,” Novitzky said in a chat with UFC commentator Brendan Fitzgerald (h/t MMAJunkie). “I think I’ll leave it at that. They have a specific rule that IVs are banned completely for rehydration purposes. So it wouldn’t matter the volume, it wouldn’t matter if there was a medical professional involved. Perth bans those IVs.”
With Jeff Novitzky saying there is no evidence, and no complaints being made, perhaps this is the end of the accusations that Makhachev used an IV. However, both Volkanovski and Makhachev have expressed an interest in running it back in the future.
Islam Makhachev (24-1) extended his win streak to 12 last time out with a decision win over Volkanovski. Prior to that, he scored a second-round submission win over Charles Oliveira in October to win the lightweight title. In his UFC tenure, he holds notable wins over Hooker, Bobby Green, Thiago Moises, Drew Dober, and Arman Tsarukyan among others.
Are you surprised there is no evidence that Islam Makhachev used an IV at UFC 284? Sound off in the comment section, PENN Nation!