Conor McGregor has “accepted” an 18-month ban from the UFC after three absences during attempted drug tests, the mixed martial arts promotion has announced.
The UFC said in a statement on Tuesday (7 October) that McGregor, a former two-weight champion in the organisation, had missed three drug tests in 2024 – on 13 June, 19 September, and 20 September of that year.
As a result, the UFC has banned McGregor from competing until 20 March 2026, with the suspension backdated to the date of his final missed test.
That means the Irishman, 37, could still compete on the planned UFC event at the White House next June. McGregor has made clear his desire to feature on that fight card, although UFC president Dana White has stressed that negotiations with fighters have not yet begun.
A UFC statement released on Tuesday read: “Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) announced today that Conor McGregor, of Dublin, Ireland, has accepted an 18-month period of ineligibility for a violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy (UFC ADP).
“McGregor missed three attempted biological sample collections within a 12-month period in 2024, which constitutes a violation of the UFC ADP. 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, and were each classified as Whereabouts Failures by CSAD under the UFC ADP.
“Although McGregor failed to make himself available for testing on those dates, CSAD noted that he was recovering from an injury and was not preparing for an upcoming fight at the time of the three missed tests. McGregor fully cooperated with CSAD’s investigation, accepted responsibility, and provided detailed information that CSAD determined contributed to the missed tests.
“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.
“His period of ineligibility began on September 20, 2024 (the date of his third whereabouts failure) and will conclude on March 20, 2026.”
McGregor has not fought since July 2021, when he suffered a broken leg in his second straight loss to old rival Dustin Poirier.
The Irishman was due to return to the Octagon in June 2024 but sustained a broken toe, withdrawing from a planned fight with Michael Chandler on two weeks’ notice.
More recently, McGregor has involved himself in politics, but this month he ceased his pursuit of becoming president of Ireland. He said the nation’s eligibility criteria was a “straitjacket”.
McGregor has also battled numerous legal issues in recent years and, in November, a civil jury found in favour of a woman who had accused him of rape in 2018. McGregor was found liable for assault, and his appeal against the verdict failed in July, but he continues to deny all allegations against him.
