Bobby Green accuses Islam Makhachev of taking steroids from a young age: “There was something interesting about Islam”
Bobby Green has accused UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev of taking steroids from a very young age.
Green, who collides with Drew Dober this Saturday in Las Vegas, spent some time during his pre-fight media obligations claiming his most-recent opponent, Makhachev, had taken steroids in the past. The pair met earlier this year at UFC Vegas 49, where Makhachev scored a TKO victory in the opening round.
Returning after severing a six-month USADA suspension for testing positive for Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), Green addressed the situation at the media scrum.
During his duties, Green was suspicious of why Makhachev’s failed drug test before his fight with Drew Dober in 2016 wasn’t looked at closer.
Bobby Green throws a huge accusation at UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev
“I was f**king around on my YouTube right, and I found this little video and it said Islam had a little trouble with drugs. But I don’t see people talking about him. He was saying that when he first came over, his school that trained him in Russia, they just gave him vitamins. They’ve been doing this since…. who knows when?”
“Imagine if you gave someone steroids form the age of 10, 12, 13, 14, 15; how strong you would be… He was really strong; it makes sense now… I move with thousands of guys, that was interesting,” Green continued. “I told my coach, ‘There was something interesting about Islam. I felt it. It’s just not human.’ (Now), it makes sense.”
Makhachev’s suspension was rescinded after USADA cleared the Dagestan native after a hearing on July 2, 2016.
Green detailed the history of Russian athletes taking performance-enhancing drugs in competition. Notably, the Olympics scandal which resulted in the country being stripped of 46 medals. Not only that, the World Anti-Doping Agency banned Russian athletes from all sporting events for four years.
With Green believing Russia has a moderate approach when it comes to their athletes using performance-enhancing drugs, he speculates that fighters hailing from the country are encouraged to participate in doing so in the early days of their careers.
That said, Green feels it gives Makhachev and other fighters representing Russia an advantage inside the octagon.
