Conor McGregor’s rather ethereal physique has been the talk of the town for the past few weeks – and UFC president Dana White has now revealed that the former two-time champion is no longer part of the USADA testing panel.
“Yeah, yeah. Right,” White said during the UFC 280 post-fight press conference when asked if McGregor would have to undergo a six-month drug test before being cleared to compete.
UFC athletes who are removed from the testing pool, such as after retirement, must pass six months of negative tests before returning to action if they choose to do so. Although McGregor has never officially announced his retirement, he has not been tested this year, something first reported by TSN’s Aaron Bronstetter.
McGregor (22-6) has been out since breaking his leg in a fight with Dustin Poirier in July 2021. While the former two-time UFC champion has often talked about a return and continues to post training videos, no return date has been set . It now appears that any return will require six months’ notice to USADA to allow for proper testing – though in “exceptional circumstances” the promotion may, by written notice to USADA, waive this window.
The six-month window was canceled to facilitate Brock Lesnar’s return at UFC 200 in 2016, with disastrous results. Lesnar won his fight with Mark Hunt by unanimous decision after three rounds. But after failing his drug test, the win was vacated to No Contest.