McGregor suspended 18 months for doping control failures UFC

Conor McGregor Receives 18-Month Suspension for Anti-Doping Test Failure

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 after McGregor accumulated three “whereabouts failures” in which he did not show up for scheduled drug tests. The failures occurred on the following dates:

• June 13, 2024
• September 19, 2024
• September 20, 2024

According to a CSAD statement, UFC athletes must provide accurate location information to facilitate no-notice testing. McGregor did not comply with this requirement on the mentioned dates.

“McGregor failed to appear for three biological sample collection attempts within a 12-month period in 2024, which constitutes a violation of the UFC’s anti-doping program,” states the CSAD statement.

CSAD

Despite these breaches, CSAD acknowledged that McGregor was recovering from an injury and was not in preparation for a fight at the time of the failed tests. CSAD also highlighted McGregor’s cooperation during the investigation, which led to a six-month reduction in the standard 24-month sanction for three whereabouts failures. The suspension comes shortly after McGregor announced on social media that he would be taking an indefinite break. Currently, the two-division former champion is in the UFC’s drug testing pool, and has submitted four samples in 2025.