Israel Adesanya makes "legal loophole" jibe about IV usage on Islam Makhachev and manager Ali Abdelaziz

Israel Adesanya appears to have the controversy surrounding Islam Makhachev's alleged IV usage at UFC 284 front of mind ahead of his clash this weekend. The lightweight champion was accused of using an IV to rehydrate following a tough weight cut.

Makhachev's co-manager, Ali Abdelaziz, took to Twitter following the controversy to declare that there was a 'legal limit' to the amount of IV a fighter can use to rehydrate. Abdelaziz also inadvertently hinted at someone in the Dagestani camp using more IV than is legally allowed.

Adesanya's opponent at UFC 287 this weekend, Alex Pereira, is known to cut a huge amount of weight to make the 185-pound limit. Earlier this week, 'The Last Stylebender' tweeted that following the official weigh-ins, he wants USADA to surveil Pereira 24/7 to make sure he doesn't rehydrate illegally:

"USADA, monitor us from the moment we get off the scale till we hit the arena on Saturday. Have people take shifts if they have to…no loopholes to jump here."

Adesanya continued the IV usage theme today and appeared to taunt Makhachev and Abdelaziz as he tweeted the following:

"Fine then, I’ll just use an IV to rehydrate. What’s the “legal loophole limit” again?"

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira are set to headline a stacked UFC 287 card, which sees Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal do battle in the co-main event. 'The Last Stylebender' will be eager to reclaim the title he held for over three years, while 'Poatan' will be looking to end his rivalry with Adesanya once and for all.

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Israel Adesanya believes he "knows what to do" to beat Alex Pereira at UFC 287

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira share a rivalry that spans two different combat sports, and their fourth meeting at UFC 287 could be the final chapter in their epic story.

'Poatan' holds a combined 3-0 record against Adesanya in kickboxing and MMA, something no other man can boast. Pereira defeated 'The Last Stylebender' twice in kickboxing, via unanimous decision and knockout, before his TKO win over Adesanya at UFC 281 in November 2022.

But heading into their fourth bout, the former champion is confident that he will walk away victorious. Israel Adesanya almost knocked out Pereira in the dying seconds of Round 1 of their previous bout, and despite having lost to 'Poatan' three times, Adesanya knows that he has come immensely close to beating him.

'The Last Stylebender' recently sat down with UFC commentator Jon Anik and said:

"If you watch me when I fight him, every single time I have him. Every single time I have him until I don't. So I know exactly what to do with this guy."

Watch the video below from 1:35: