Conor McGregor has accepted an 18-month suspension for violating the UFC Anti-Doping policy. McGregor was suspended for missing three attempted biological sample collections in 2024.
Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) announced Tuesday that McGregor accepted the 18-month sanction for repeatedly failing to submit testing samples. Submitting samples is a requirement under UFC’s in-house anti-doping program.
“McGregor missed three attempted biological sample collections within a 12-month period in 2024, which constitutes a violation of the UFC [anti-doping policy],” CSAD officials wrote in a press release. “UFC athletes are required to provide accurate whereabouts information at all times, so they can be contacted and submit to biological sample collections without prior warning. McGregor’s missed tests occurred on June 13, September 19, and September 20, 2024.”
The CSAD noted that McGregor was injured and out of camp when the samples were supposed to be collected. The anti-doping body cut the standard suspension by a quarter, citing McGregor’s cooperation and mitigating circumstances.
“McGregor fully cooperated with CSAD’s investigation, accepted responsibility, and provided detailed information that CSAD determined contributed to the missed tests,” CSAD officials noted.
“Despite these mitigating factors, CSAD emphasizes that accurate whereabouts filings and the ability to conduct unannounced testing are essential to the success of the UFC ADP. Taking McGregor’s cooperation and circumstances into account, CSAD reduced the standard 24-month sanction for three whereabouts failures by six months.”
The suspension begins retroactively to the date of McGregor’s most recent violation, Sept. 20, 2024. McGregor is eligible to compete after March 20, keeping alive his hopes to compete on the UFC White House card, which President Donald Trump recently announced would take place on June 14.
McGregor has submitted four samples in 2025, according to UFC’s anti-doping website, a requirement for him to compete. The former two-division UFC champion has not competed since July 2021, suffering his second consecutive loss to Dustin Poirier. A planned fight with Michael Chandler in June 2024 was scrapped after McGregor pulled out with an injured pinkie toe.
