Conor McGregor’s rather buff physique has been a topic of conversation the past few weeks — and UFC President Dana White has now revealed that the former double champ is no longer part of the USADA testing pool.
“Yeah, yeah. Right,” White replied during the UFC 280 post-fight press conference, when asked whether McGregor would need to complete six months of drug testing before being cleared to compete.
UFC athletes who are removed from the testing pool, for example, after retiring, are required to complete six months worth of negative tests prior to returning to action, should they choose to do so. While McGregor has never officially announced his retirement, he has not been tested this year, something initially reported by TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter.
McGregor (22-6) has not been in action since breaking his leg in a rubber match with Dustin Poirier in July of 2021. While the former UFC double champ has frequently talked up a return, and has continued to post clips from training, no return date has been set. It now appears that any return will require six months worth of notice to USADA to allow for proper testing — though in “exceptional circumstances” the promotion can, with written notice to USADA, waive that window.
The six-month window was waived to facilitate the return of Brock Lesnar at UFC 200 in 2016, with disastrous results. Lesnar won his fight with Mark Hunt, capturing a unanimous decision following three rounds. But after failing his drug test, the win was overturned to a No Contest.
