Islam Makhachev IV controversy: Top UFC official makes a shocking revelation
Things had been quite murky after Dan Hooker came out and accused Islam Makhachev of administering intravenous (IV) infusions after pre-UFC 284 weigh-ins.
On the one hand, Makhachev and his team denied the allegations. On the other hand, his manager Ali Abdelaziz was posting and deleting pretty incriminatory statements about the matter on his X handle.
In a statement on MMA Fighting, the chairperson of the Combat Sports Commission of Western Australia, Bob Kucera, said there was no "conclusive evidence" that any UFC 284 fighter had breached the policies.
Jeff Novitzky, the Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance for the UFC, posted a thread on X explaining the UFC's stance on IV usage. On Feb. 18, 2023, he sat down with UFC play-by-play announcer Brendan Fitzgerald and cleared the air on the matter.
Novitzky addressed the Islam Makhachev IV controversy and cleared the Dagestani fighter's name based on the commission's report:
"I think the Australian commission put out a statement last night saying there's no credible evidence of him violating any of their rules. I think I'll leave it at that."
However, he also revealed that the Western Australian Commission completely bans any quantity of IV infusions for fluid intake after weigh-ins:
"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."
For context, Novitzky explained before this statement that the UFC and USADA made the IV ban slightly flexible in 2019 to allow out-of-action fighters to get IV infusions if they fall sick and suffer from dehydration. However, every fighter has to follow the specific rules of the state commission where the fight is taking place, which in Islam Makhachev's case, was Western Australia.
Watch the full video here:
When Ali Abdelaziz's deleted social media post provided incriminatory information about Islam Makhachev IV controversy
At the time when Islam Makhachev's IV controversy was a hot topic in the MMA community, his manager Ali Abdelaziz made a controversial claim in a now-deleted post on X. The post claimed that fighters can take 2-3 liters of IV as long as it is done by a medical professional - a statement that does not align with the current rules put in place by the UFC.
During fight week, fighters are allowed to take 100ml or less quantity of IVs every 12-hour period, as long as it is done by a medical professional. They are also unanimously required to declare the same to the respective commission. However, Novitsky's comments made it clear that Makhachev was not allowed to take any amount of IV infusions under the rules of the Western Australian Commission.
Reacting to the post, veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani stated that Abdelaziz's statements were incriminatory in nature, which is possibly why he deleted the posts in the first place.
so Islam cheated???? https://t.co/1gfUwDWRA1
If Makhachev's manager had the wrong information on the permitted IV amount, did the rest of the team believe the same as well? Were they aware of the complete IV ban by the Combat Sports Commission of Western Australia?
The revelations by Novitzky raised further questions on the matter instead of clearing the air.