Ariel Helwani believes USADA’s reputation is at stake following latest accusations from Dan Hooker: “We need to figure this out”

Ariel Helwani believes that USADA’s reputation is at stake following the latest accusations from Dan Hooker.

It was this past weekend at UFC 284 that Dan Hooker was in attendance at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia to witness and cheer for Alexander Volkanovski (25-2 MMA) taking on Islam Makhachev (24-1 MMA) for the lightweight title. The result was a unanimous decision win for Makhachev.

Following the bout, ‘The Hangman’ took to ‘Twitter‘ with some very serious accusations stating:

“Dumb c*** thinks he can fly to Australia, hire a nurse to give him an I.V and we won’t find out. Cheating dog. Prove me wrong. Bet cha can’t. He doesn’t cheat, he doesn’t win.”

“Islam is a cheat.”

Islam Makhachev subs Dan Hooker at UFC 267

Apparently Hooker (22-12 MMA) believes Makhachev was administered an illegal IV drip prior to UFC 284.

Makhachev’s team firmly denies the allegation.

It’s true that Dan Hooker does have a history with Islam Makhachev – as they fought back in October of 2021 at UFC 267 with the Russian coming out the victor by submission. But, being defined as ‘a cheat’ is a serious accusation.

It was during a recent episode of ‘The MMA Hour’ that sports journalist Ariel Helwani spoke about the serious allegation from Hooker that has emerged concerning Makhachev (h/t MMANews):

“Dan Hooker has thrown out a very, very, very serious accusation. He’s made it very clear, he’s not dancing…There’s questions: when did he do it? How many times did he do it? Did he do it before or after the weigh-ins? … Did he do it at all? There are multiple questions that need to be answered. At this point, if we look at the relationship between USADA and the UFC ever since it was put in place… accusation or not, people have to answer now.”

Concluding, Helwani said:

“USADA needs to figure this out. They know about it at this point. Their reputation is at stake here. Let’s be honest, there haven’t been as many high-profile infractions and suspensions in the last three years as there were in the first three. Why? You could say maybe the fighters are getting smarter, or you could say… they’re like, ‘Huh, we’re losing out on millions of dollars by these fights being cancelled at the last minute. We need to figure this out.’”

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) is the official, independent, anti-doping agency for the UFC.

Do you agree with Helwani that an investigation should be launched by the USADA and the UFC into the matter?

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