UFC suspends Conor McGregor 18 months for violating anti-doping policy

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Conor McGregor has accepted an 18-month suspension for violating UFC anti-doping policy. The former two-division UFC champion had three Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) whereabouts failures in 2024. CSAD announced the suspension on Tuesday.

The news comes 13 months after McGregor last whereabouts failure. He’ll be eligible to compete again in March 2026. The whereabouts failure occurred on June 13, Sept. 19, and Sept. 20, 2024. 

“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,” CSAD wrote in a statement. “McGregor fully cooperated with CSAD’s investigation, accepted responsibility, and provided detailed information that CSAD determined contributed to the missed tests.

“Taking McGregor’s cooperation and circumstances into account, CSAD reduced the standard 24-month sanction for three whereabouts failures by six months.”

McGregor, 37, last fought at UFC 264 in July 2021, losing to Dustin Poirier after suffering a broken leg in the final seconds of the opening round. He’s teased an octagon return for years but it hasn’t came to fruition.

He was expected to return at UFC 303 against Michael Chandler in June 2024, but pulled out of the fight citing a toe injury. June 13 whereabouts failure was the same day UFC CEO Dana White announced McGregor’s bout against Chandler was canceled. 

McGregor would like to a return at the White House event next June. His suspension will be lifted three months prior. 

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