Rival Ridicules McGregor’s Return: ‘I Think Conor is Cheating’

Beneil Dariush believes Conor McGregor is cheating, per his interview with The Schmo on March 27.

Dariush, who is ranked No.4 in the UFC’s lightweight division, could well be fighting for the title with a victory over Charles Oliveira at UFC 288 on May 6. This makes Dariush a potential rival to McGregor, who has plans for a title shot with a victory over Michael Chandler later this year.

McGregor, 34, retired after breaking his tibia in the trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier on July 10, 2021. The Irish superstar is slated to return later this year but has had some upset with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

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Dariush: ‘I Think Conor is Cheating’

Dariush was right off the mark when prompted about his opinions on McGregor’s return, “I think [Conor McGregor] is cheating, because in reality [it’s like] you want to fix your knee, or you want to fix your leg, and you need to get certain, say, growth hormones or whatever he’s doing. You can get a therapeutic exemption, you can speak to USADA and get a therapeutic exemption, but like, you can’t add extra stuff.”

Dariush refers to USADA therapeutic use exemptions, which state that athletes can submit a therapeutic use exemption if they require the use of prohibited substances, for an emergency or urgent treatment of an acute medical condition. In this case, Dariush refers to McGregor’s broken tibia, and how he could have opted for a therapeutic use exemption, rather than retiring and leaving the USADA testing pool entirely.

“Whatever you’re putting in, you have to declare with them and get it figured out,” Dariush continues. “This is BS to be honest with you, the fact that they say ‘oh, well he’s doing this, he’s not getting tested right now because of his leg’, no, you can still get tested, you just have to declare and say ‘hey this was a therapeutic exemption’, but that’s not the case.”

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Dariush: ‘This Is Garbage, But That’s The Game’

Dariush remarked, “He even put down retirement, so he went into retirement, I guess. So USADA recently said when you come out of retirement you need six months and two clean tests, so like, bro this is… this is garbage. But, you know, that’s the game.”

Due to the nature of McGregor’s retirement, and subsequent recovery and return to the sport in such a short time span, Dariush implies McGregor feigned retirement in order to use prohibited substances and to heal his injuries much faster.

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Could Beneil Dariush And Conor McGregor Fight In The Future?

Both Dariush and McGregor have made a name for themselves in the UFC’s lightweight division. McGregor expressed interest in fighting for the title with a victory over Chandler later this year, whether this is for the lightweight or welterweight title is yet to be confirmed.

Dariush has his sights set on the title with a victory over No.1 ranked Oliveira at UFC 288 on May 6. With this victory, Dariush could secure a shot at champion Islam Makhachev, and with a victory, could be a potential candidate for McGregor if the Irishman does challenge for a title.

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