UFC star McGregor yet to be tested by USADA in 2022
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Of all the athletes on the UFC’s active roster prior to Aug. 1, 2022, Conor McGregor is the lone fighter yet to be tested this year by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which oversees the promotion’s year-round anti-doping program.
All active UFC athletes under contract are subject to year-round testing, which includes fighters who have not competed for more than eight years who have opted to remain in the program.
McGregor last competed on July 10, 2021, where he lost to Dustin Poirier after fracturing his tibia and fibula in the first round of the bout, which served as the main event of UFC 264.
McGregor remains listed on the UFC’s roster page and is ranked No. 11 in the official lightweight rankings, which would indicate that he has not filed any retirement paperwork. McGregor is a former UFC two-division champion who has competed across three divisions, amassing a 22-6 career record.
The UFC and McGregor’s management team declined to comment.
The athlete test history database, which is updated regularly, was last updated on Sept. 22. Among the fighters who have been tested in 2022 are John Hathaway, Travis Browne and Sheldon Westcott, all of whom have not competed in the promotion for more than five years.
The lone exception outside of McGregor that exists on the UFC roster page is Ricky Legere Jr., who was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 16 show that premiered in 2012. Legere Jr. has been inactive in MMA for more than seven years and has never competed in the UFC or been tested by USADA.
According to the database, McGregor’s last recorded test was a sample collected in the third quarter of 2021.
According to the UFC’s anti-doping policy, UFC fighters are subject to year-round random anti-doping testing until they are either released from their contract or give the UFC written notice of their retirement.
"Once UFC athletes are enrolled in the testing program, they are subject to testing – even when not competing – unless they notify the UFC of their retirement, their contract is terminated, or they are otherwise removed from the program,” USADA said in a statement provided to TSN.
“In the event of an athlete's return to the UFC, they are required to remain in the USADA testing pool for six months before they are permitted to compete. Similar to World Anti-Doping Agency rules, the UFC may grant an exemption to the six-month written notice rule in exceptional circumstances or where the strict application of that rule would be manifestly unfair to the athlete, but in both cases under the UFC rules, the athlete must provide at least two negative samples before returning to competition. We do not comment on the testing pool status of any particular athlete.”
McGregor has resumed training but no timetable for his return to the octagon has been set.
This week, Floyd Mayweather told The Daily Mail that he was in negotiations for a boxing rematch with McGregor. McGregor has since responded on Instagram with a photo of himself landing an uppercut on Mayweather with the caption “#notinterested”.
Mayweather defeated McGregor by technical knockout in the 10th round of their boxing match, dubbed “The Money Fight,” on Aug. 26, 2017.