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Commentator Joe Rogan is the latest UFC luminary to dispute the decision from Sunday’s blockbuster fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev.
Footage has emerged of his live stream during the event that showed him backing Volka before the decision had been announced, before disputing it when MC Bruce Buffer read the judge’s scorecards and handed Makhachev the victory.
“He won!” shouts Rogan. “Volkanovski is the fucking double champ, 100%. What a fucking fight! What a fucking fight, man! He beat him, he fucking beat him! He beat Islam in Australia, that is insane.”
The Aussie finished the fight stronger, surviving multiple takedown attempts before ending the contest in the ground-and-pound position over the stricken Russian. Makhachev was able to make it to the final bell and be awarded a unanimous decision.
“I guarantee Makhachev never saw that coming. He never thought that the end of the fight would be him on his fucking back. What a scramble, it’s so huge.
Look at that left hand. Right there, that’s a legit knockdown. He’s beaten him up at the end of the fight here. My god, he did it. I can’t believe he did it. Oh my god look at Makhachev, he’s so distraught. He realises now that he just lost, 100%.”
Rogan was stunned when the call went the other way, saying: “That’s insane. He got robbed. We were convinced.”
Meanwhile, Kiwi UFC star Dan Hooker has claimed that Makhachev cheated his way past Volkanovski on Sunday in Perth.
Hooker, who trains with Volkanovski, posted late last night on social media about the struggles that Makchachev had to make weight, accusing him of hiring a nurse to give him intravenous fluids after weighing in the day before the fight.
“Dumb c*** thinks he can fly to Australia to hire a nurse to give him an I.V and we won’t find out,” tweeted Hooker.
Such a move would be against the rules of the UFC, which uses the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) protocols. If the accusations were proven, a two-year ban could result.
“USADA doing fuck all,” continued Hooker. “Prove me wrong. Bet cha can’t. He doesn’t cheat, he doesn’t win.”
Hooker initially did not name Makhachev, but when questioned by a reply to his tweet, doubled down. “Islam is a cheat’ he wrote.
Hooker himself fought Makhachev in 2021, losing to a first round submission.
Makhachev struggled to make the 155lb (70kg) limit and was forced to weigh in naked to sneak under the limit. If he was found to have used an IV to rehydrate, he could face a similar ban to Middleweight contender Paulo Costa, who was banned for six months in 2019 after being found guilty of such an offence.
Dehydration is a relatively normal tactic employed to help fighters make weight, with many ballooning back to far above the stated weight by the time fights start.
Some other combat sports, notably boxing, institute multiple weigh ins to restrict the ability of fighters to dehydrate to lower than the limit, with a maximum amount that a fighter can weigh after rehydrating.
Dehydration is often seen as advantageous in allowing a fighter to enjoy a weight advantage over their opponent after rehydrating, but can result in worse injuries, particularly on the brain, as fluid forms the barrier between the brain and the skull.
Worse concussions, and some combat sport deaths, have been attributed to over-aggressive weight cuts. Kidney problems have also been linked to dehydration, with UFC officials ordering fighters to stop weight cuts after medical issues.
Yang Jian Bing, a fighter in the ONE Championship promotion, died of heart failure in 2015 after a drastic weight cut ahead of a fight.
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