Newly ranked UFC lightweight contender, Benoit Saint-Denis, has accused the current UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, and Khabib Nurmagomedov of taking performance enhancing drugs.
“Regarding the Nurmagomedov family, for example, I no longer have any doubt,” Saint-Denis said in an interview with Le Figaro. “They are loaded like mules. They are intelligent in the way they do drugs, but they know how to do it very well.”
Saint-Denis took the accusations one step further, citing an incident involving Makhachev and the entire Russian Federation in 2016.
“[Islam] Makhachev was caught with meldonium for example, this is a product that got the entire Russian Federation sanctioned and removed from the 2016 Olympics,” Saint-Denis said. “The current UFC lightweight champion got caught in 2016.”
Islam Makhachev Fails a Drug Test
The incident Saint-Denis is referring to occurred in 2016 at UFC 192 in which Makhachev suffered his only professional loss to the hands of Adriano Martins. After the fight Makhachev tested positive for the banned substance, meldonium. The drug is stated to increase endurance and aerobic capabilities for athletes. Despite testing positive for the drug USADA deemed the Russian lightweight had taken the drug “without fault or negligence” and avoided any suspension or punishment.
Other UFC Lightweights Chime In
While Saint-Denis has brought this incident back to light, he isn’t the first UFC lightweight to do this. Most recently, Conor McGregor took to X to trash the top pound-for-pound fighter on the roster.
“KO’d unconscious and caught on steroids. MMA’s current PFP no1. What a sport,” McGregor said via X on a post that has since been deleted.
As most fans know ever since McGregor’s feud with Nurmagomedov started back at UFC 229, the Irish superstar hasn’t stopped accusing and verbally attacking the Russian tandem.
Benoit Saint-Denis’ Run to the Title
Saint-Denis joined the rankings officially following his fight with Matt Frevola at UFC 295. The French rising star delivered a massive head kick knockout just a minute and a half into the fight. Now ranked the twelfth best lightweight in the division, Saint-Denis still has a ways to go before he can get his hands onto the man he accuses of cheating. Despite a one sided loss in his debut fight, the ‘God of War’ turned it around and finished everyone who was put in front of him since . The French lightweight now sits 5-1 in the UFC with finish wins over: Gabriel Miranda, Niklas Stolze, Ismael Bonfim, Thiago Moises and Matt Frevola.
After picking up his first ranked win at UFC 295, it seems Saint-Denis is eager to take that next big step and fight a top ten ranked contender.
“I would like to [face] Dustin Poirier, [Mateusz] Gamrot or Justin Gaethje as fast as possible,” Saint-Denis said in his UFC 295 post fight interview. “Gamrot is European… let’s do a main event in Paris.”
Who would you like to see Saint-Denis face next? Let us know.
