McGregor suspended 18 months for missed tests

Conor McGregor received an 18-month suspension from UFC anti-doping programme Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) connected Tuesday.

His suspension volition extremity connected March 20, 2026, a small implicit 3 months earlier the UFC's White House combat paper that President Donald Trump announced would instrumentality spot connected his birthday, June 14. McGregor has been campaigning heavy to beryllium included connected the card, which would beryllium his archetypal combat successful astir 5 years.

CSAD, the in-house bureau that runs the UFC's anti-doping program, announced the suspension was for 3 "whereabout failures" successful which McGregor missed tests connected June 13, September 19, and September 20, 2024 and did not supply close accusation regarding his location.

"McGregor missed 3 attempted biologic illustration collections wrong a 12-month play successful 2024, which constitutes a usurpation of the UFC ADP," work a CSAD quality merchandise connected the UFC's website. "UFC athletes are required to supply close whereabouts accusation astatine each times, truthful they tin beryllium contacted and taxable to biologic illustration collections without anterior warning. McGregor's missed tests occurred connected June 13, September 19, and September 20, 2024, and were each classified arsenic Whereabouts Failures by CSAD nether the UFC ADP."

The missed trial connected June 13 was the aforesaid time that UFC CEO Dana White announced that McGregor's scheduled combat with Michael Chandler astatine UFC 303 was cancelled. Although McGregor did not supply his whereabouts, CSAD noted that helium was dealing with an wounded and not preparing for a combat erstwhile the samples were expected to beryllium collected.

"Although McGregor failed to marque himself disposable for investigating connected those dates, CSAD noted that helium was recovering from an wounded and was not preparing for an upcoming combat astatine the clip of the 3 missed tests," CSAD wrote successful a connection Tuesday. "McGregor afloat cooperated with CSAD's investigation, accepted responsibility, and provided elaborate accusation that CSAD determined contributed to the missed tests.

"Taking McGregor's practice and circumstances into account, CSAD reduced the modular 24-month authorisation for 3 whereabouts failures by six months. His play of ineligibility began connected September 20, 2024 (the day of his 3rd whereabouts failure) and volition reason connected March 20, 2026."

The suspension comes a time aft McGregor announced connected X that helium would beryllium taking an indefinite hiatus from societal media. The erstwhile two-division champion is presently successful the UFC's anti-doping investigating pool, with 4 samples submitted successful 2025.