Conor McGregor Receives 18-Month Suspension for Anti-Doping Violations
The renowned mixed martial arts fighter, Conor McGregor, has been suspended for 18 months by the UFC’s anti-doping program, Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD). The sanction, which began on September 20, 2024, will extend until March 20, 2026. This suspension comes at a crucial moment, as McGregor had expressed his desire to participate in a UFC event that could take place on June 14, coinciding with the birthday of former President Donald Trump. This event would mark McGregor’s return after almost five years of inactivity. The suspension is due to three “whereabouts failures”, in which McGregor did not show up for doping tests on June 13, September 19 and September 20, 2024, in addition to not providing accurate information about his location.According to CSAD, UFC athletes must provide accurate whereabouts information at all times to facilitate no-notice testing. The agency indicated that McGregor was recovering from an injury and was not preparing for a fight during the failed tests.“McGregor failed to appear for three attempts to collect biological samples within a 12-month period in 2024, which constitutes a violation of the UFC’s ADP,” reads a CSAD press release on the UFC website.
CSAD
Despite the absences, CSAD highlighted McGregor’s cooperation in the investigation, his acceptance of responsibility, and the detailed information he provided. Because of this, CSAD reduced the standard 24-month sanction for three whereabouts failures in six months.
The suspension comes one day after McGregor announced on X that he would be taking an indefinite break from social media. Currently, the former two-division champion is in the UFC’s drug testing pool, and has submitted four samples in 2025.
