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 suspension came into effect on September 20, 2024, and will end on March 20, 2026. This sanction comes after several failures in anti-doping controls. McGregor was being considered to participate in a major event, which could have marked his return to the octagon after almost five years. The CSAD, in charge of the UFC’s anti-doping program, revealed that the suspension is due to three “whereabouts failures”. These failures occurred when McGregor did not show up for testing on June 13, September 19, and September 20, 2024, in addition to not providing accurate information about his location.UFC athletes must provide accurate whereabouts information at all times to be contacted and subject to no-notice testing. On the day of the first failed test, June 13th, UFC CEO Dana White announced the cancellation of the scheduled fight between McGregor and Michael Chandler at UFC 303. CSAD noted that, at that time, McGregor was recovering from an injury and was not preparing for a fight. McGregor fully cooperated with the CSAD investigation, accepted responsibility, and provided detailed information which, according to the CSAD, contributed to the failures in testing. Due to the cooperation and circumstances, the CSAD reduced the standard 24-month sanction for three whereabouts failures in six months. The suspension comes a day after McGregor announced on X that he would be taking an indefinite break from social media. The former two-division champion is currently in the UFC’s drug testing pool, and has submitted four samples in 2025.“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 Anti-Doping Program,” according to a CSAD press release published on the UFC website.
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