Conor McGregor has been suspended for 18 months by the anti-doping agency.
Just when it seemed that Conor McGregor was back for good this time the rug has been pulled from the former UFC Lightweight Champion. McGregor is being punished for repeated failures to submit testing samples that’s required for every athlete under contract with the promotion.
The Combat Sports Anti-Doping agency revealed that Conor has accepted an 18-month sanction after repeated failures to submit testing samples in 2024.
“McGregor missed three attempted biological sample collections within a 12-month period in 2024, which constitutes a violation of the UFC [anti-doping policy],” CSAD officials wrote in a press release. “UFC athletes are required to provide accurate whereabouts information at all times, so they can be contacted and submit to biological sample collections without prior warning.
“McGregor’s missed tests occurred on June 13, September 19, and September 20, 2024, and were each classified as Whereabouts Failures by CSAD under the UFC ADP.”
Conor hasn’t provided an explanation on why he missed those testing dates. However, the CSAD officials have stated that Conor’s been fully cooperative throughout the process and do bring up that he was dealing with an injury during this period.
“McGregor fully cooperated with CSAD’s investigation, accepted responsibility, and provided detailed information that CSAD determined contributed to the missed tests,” CSAD officials noted.
“Despite these mitigating factors, CSAD emphasizes that accurate whereabouts filings and the ability to conduct unannounced testing are essential to the success of the UFC ADP. Taking McGregor’s cooperation and circumstances into account, CSAD reduced the standard 24-month sanction for three whereabouts failures by six months. His period of ineligibility began on September 20, 2024 (the date of his third whereabouts failure) and will conclude on March 20, 2026.”
That means Conor is still available to fight at the White House special in June. He’s been specifically aiming to fight on that UFC card and that can still happen if him and Dana White come to terms with a new deal.
Conor has not spoken publicly about this, though he’s been out and about in the media. This likely won’t affect any of his training (if he’s doing any right now) nor should it put a hammer on Dana’s decision to put Conor on the White House card if he chooses. We’ll keep you updated if any more news comes forward about Conor’s suspension or possible in-ring return.