RIZIN MMA fighter Ren Hiramoto, of Japan, recently held a press conference to address doping allegations made against him. The controversy stems from claims by Yukinori Akazawa, a trainer who has suggested that Hiramoto used performance-enhancing drugs in his recent fight.
RIZIN’s Ren Hiramoto Breaks Silence
Hiramoto vehemently denies these allegations, stating he has never engaged in doping and asserting that any supplements received from Akazawa were never used. During the press conference, Ren Hiramoto explained that he had received a supplement from Akazawa, but chose not to use it after being advised by his agency about potential doping violations.
“I have not done anything related to doping, and there is absolutely no truth to the claim that I willingly asked to dope … I received supplements from Mr. Akazawa but did not use them. I trusted his advice but chose not to use the supplements after being advised by my agency.”
He mentioned that Akazawa’s advice and the supplement were not used, and the only injections he received were for a knee injury, which was confirmed not to be problematic for doping tests. Hiramoto expressed confusion over Akazawa’s actions and stated that he still does not understand the motivation behind the claims or why Akazawa acted as he did.
“I suffered serious injuries during training and received injections for my knee, which I was assured were not problematic for doping tests. “
Ren Hiramoto’s press conference was preemptive, aiming to address the situation before RIZIN released its official doping test results. The results are still pending, but Hiramoto emphasized his innocence and commitment to fair play. His legal team is prepared to take action if needed, depending on the outcomes of the tests and the continued spread of misinformation. RIZIN CEO Sakakibara has indicated that results from the drug tests conducted during Super RIZIN 3 will be released soon.
“I will wait for the results of RIZIN’s tests and will cooperate fully, including undergoing additional tests if necessary. I believe I am innocent and am confident the results will reflect that.”
