Islam Makhachev's manager has explained why the UFC lightweight champion had needle marks on his arm amid scandal over allegations that he cheated in his win over Alexander Volkanovski.
The Russian fighter claimed the No.1 pound-for-pound ranking when he scraped a decision victory against Volkanovski, the featherweight champion, in Perth on Saturday night. But Volkanovski's teammate Dan Hooker brought the result into question when he claimed that the fighter had illegally used an IV drip to rehydrate after the pair weighed in.
Volkanovski was moving up from 145lb to face Makhachev, who is known to be a particularly large lightweight. There was a massive size difference, and despite rumours that the Russian was struggling to make the weight and his need to use the towel during weigh-ins, he tipped the scales at exactly 155lb.
