Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor hasn’t been tested by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) this year, and Chael Sonnen wants “Notorious” to speak up about the controversy.
If a fighter is signed to the UFC, they must undergo random testing throughout the year by USADA in an effort for the promotion to curb drug-induced cheating.
Well, TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter revealed in a recent report that McGregor was the only fighter on the UFC’s roster who hadn’t been tested for disallowed performance enhancers in 2022, barring some combatants who signed with the promotion after August 1.
Notorious hasn’t competed inside the Octagon for over a year. His last outing was in July 2021 at UFC 264 when he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier. McGregor has said on several occasions that he fully intends to return to mixed martial arts, however he’s currently filming “Road House” and isn’t expected to return until 2023.
Even if a fighter remains on the shelf, they will still be tested by USADA per UFC’s policy. So, because McGregor has elected to remain as an active fighter on the roster, it’s unprecedented that he hasn’t been visited by the organization.
And in a recent video on his YouTube channel, Sonnen called on McGregor to explain why he hasn’t been.
“Conor has a lot of opportunities,” Sonnen said (h/t Low Kick MMA). “I don’t make anything salacious out of the USADA business. If he is indeed out of the pool, I think it would serve him to tell us why.”
“24/7 365 to be a part of a pool that wouldn’t even matter because you’re not going to compete, there would be a responsibility for your lawyer or your legal team to come to you and say ‘Hey, let’s remove you from this pool.’ That might have just been it.”
Justin Gaethje Recently Accused McGregor of Taking Steroids
Top-ranked UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje has had his eyes on McGregor for years. However, the two have never clashed inside the cage. And when he was speaking with MMA Fighting recently, he accused the Irishman of “taking steroids.”
“If everybody would just remember correctly, I fought Cowboy, I beat him and then he fought Cowboy right after that [at UFC 246 in January 2020],” Gaethje said. “I was primed and ready to go. It sounds to me like he’s off taking steroids right now. He hasn’t been drug tested by USADA in quite some time. I’m looking for fair competition.”
“If he’s on steroids, then give me steroids and let’s go, I’m down with that,” Gaethje continued. “My health is my biggest factor. I have never taken a performance-enhancing drug, and I do not want to fight people that are taking performance-enhancing drugs.”
Gaethje Continued to Try and Pull McGregor Into a Fight
Gaethje continued with his take on McGregor, making it clear that he wants to scrap with the former 155-pound king.
“I don’t even know how it works, I don’t even know how steroids work,” Gaethje said. “I’m sure there’s windows, I’m sure it will [eventually] be fine, I’m sure he can come back and be clean, but the fact that he hasn’t been drug tested tells me he’s taking steroids, whether it’s to heal his leg or not.
“If I break my leg, I’m not taking steroids to heal my leg. He had the chance to fight me, he didn’t fight me. He picked ‘Cowboy,’ so whatever. Who knows? Maybe. I’m sure he’s much more confident now that he can beat me, he certainly didn’t take the fight then because he wasn’t confident, so maybe he’s more confident now and more willing to dance.”
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Former Champion Conor McGregor Asked to Speak on His Recent UFC Controversy