Conor McGregor suspended 18 months under UFC anti-doping policy
If Conor McGregor returns to the UFC Octagon, it won’t be until March 2026 at the earliest.
Combat Sports Anti-Doping — UFC’s drug testing partner — announced today that McGregor has accepted an 18-month suspension for three policy violations that occurred in 2024. All three violations were for “whereabouts failures,” meaning that McGregor did not make himself available for testing. His suspension is retroactive to his third failure on September 20, 2024 and will run through March 20, 2026.
“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,” a press release said. “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 publicly expressed interest in fighting on the card UFC is staging at the White House next year, though Dana White clarified that no deal has been completed for McGregor to fight as of now. The White House event is scheduled for June 14, 2026, so McGregor fighting at the event remains a possibility despite his suspension.
The last time we saw McGregor compete in UFC was more than four years ago, when he lost a pair of bouts to Dustin Poirier in 2021. The latter fight ended when McGregor suffered a broken leg.
A June 2024 return with McGregor facing Michael Chandler was planned until McGregor suffered a broken toe in training.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.