Getty Conor McGregor of Ireland walks in the octagon before his lightweight bought against Dustin Poirier during UFC 264.
UFC superstar Conor McGregor stands out as the only athlete in the promotion that has not yet got tested.
Based on the UFC’s active roster prior to Aug. 1, the former two-division champion was the only fighter that was yet to be tested by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in 2022, first reported by Aaron Bronsteter of TSN Sports. The agency is responsible for regulating the company’s anti-doping program.
The UFC subjects all its active fighters to year-round testing, including random drug tests. The testing pool includes athletes who may choose to remain in it even if they have not competed professionally for more than eight years.
McGregor has been on the sidelines since his last outing against longtime rival Dustin Poirier in Jul. 2021. Poirier earned the second victory over McGregor in the same year when ‘The Notorious’ succumbed to a horrific leg break injury. He has been in recovery since undergoing surgery and has expressed his desire to return to the octagon. However, a concrete timeline for his return or the opponent has not yet developed.
McGregor Will Need To Remain for Six Months in the Testing Pool Before Returning
Talks of McGregor’s comeback started raging once the Irish icon got back to training in all facets of mixed martial arts. McGregor recently made headlines for looking absolutely jacked in a photo he shared online, leading to speculation about his gear use while away from the competition.
USADA provided a statement to TSN, indicating that McGregor would need to re-enter and then remain in the testing pool for six months before he would be allowed to fight.
“Once UFC athletes are enrolled in the testing program, they are subject to testing – even when not competing – unless they notify the UFC of their retirement, their contract is terminated, or they are otherwise removed from the program,” USADA said.
“In the event of an athlete’s return to the UFC, they are required to remain in the USADA testing pool for six months before they are permitted to compete. Similar to World Anti-Doping Agency rules, the UFC may grant an exemption to the six-month written notice rule in exceptional circumstances or where the strict application of that rule would be manifestly unfair to the athlete, but in both cases under the UFC rules, the athlete must provide at least two negative samples before returning to competition. We do not comment on the testing pool status of any particular athlete.”
Poirier Is Willing To Face McGregor a Fourth Time
In an interview with Heavy, CELSIUS-sponsored athlete Poirier talked about the prospect of welcoming McGregor back in his return in what would be the fourth fight between them.
“We’ll see. Obviously, he’s where the money is at,” Poirier said. “He’s still, even after the losses, after whatever he does, he’s still one of the biggest names in the sport. It grows my platform, it grows the things that’s attached to my platform, with my charity and other businesses. It’s good business but at the same time, we got to see when he comes back, how he looks, and where I’m at in the race to the title.”