CONOR McGREGOR has accepted an 18-month UFC ban for an anti-doping violation.
McGregor failed to inform Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) – the UFC’s drug testers – of his whereabouts on three different occasions.
He will remain eligible to fight at the UFC’s the White House event next year[/caption]
That constitutes a violation of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy.
McGregor missed tests due to occur on June 13, September 19, and September 20 of last year.
As a result, he has accepted an 18-month period of ineligibility – backdated from September 20 – the date of his third missed test.
It means he will be able to return by March 20 of next year – in time for the UFC’s planned event at the White House on June 14 in 2026.
UFC stars are required to provide their accurate whereabouts at all times – so they can be subject to random testing.
So McGregor falls under the Whereabouts Failures by CSAD under the UFC ADP.
The Irishman is yet to return since July 2021 – when he brutally broke his leg against Dustin Poirier in their trilogy bout.
He was due to do so against Michael Chandler on June 29, 2024, until he pulled out with a broken toe on June 13.
It means his first whereabouts failure came only ONE day after withdrawing from the fight – for the very first time in his UFC career.
The CSAD noted that McGregor was recovering from an injury – the broken toe – and was not preparing for an upcoming fight at the time of the three missed tests.
McGregor is said to have “fully cooperated with CSAD’s investigation, accepted responsibility, and provided detailed information that CSAD determined contributed to the missed tests.”
Due to his cooperation and circumstances being taken into account, CSAD reduced the standard 24-month ban for three whereabouts failures by six months.
This is McGregor’s first doping violation of his UFC career.
It comes just after the former two-weight champion revealed he was taking time away from social media – having pulled out of the Irish presidential election.
He posted: “Hey folks online, I’m out of here for a bit, see you again soon!
“My love, unwavering! Thank you all.”
McGregor – who recently returned to training after announcing plans to fight at the White House – has faced controversy since being out of action.
Last December, he was found liable for assault in a civil case against him dating back to 2018.
The court heard how McGregor was said to have “brutally raped and battered” Nikita Hand in a penthouse at the Beacon Hotel in Dublin.
McGregor was ordered to pay Ms Hand £206,000 in damages and pay her legal costs – since losing an appeal to the verdict.
He even suggested he could RETIRE during a Bare Knuckle Press Conference in March – before quickly backtracking on the claim.
McGregor last fought in the octagon in 2021 in a loss against Dustin Poirier[/caption]
But McGregor did return to the UFC’s drug-testing pool in August – needing six months of clean tests before fighting again.
In July, US President Donald Trump first announced plans to host UFC fights on the lawn of the Oval Office.
And UFC boss Dana White has been in talks to make the dream event into a reality to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Only 5,000 spectators are expected to be in attendance amid strict safety protocols.
McGregor, 37, is a frontrunner to fight on the card with White in talks to bring the superstar back to the octagon.
He said: “We’ll build the greatest card of all time.
“Conor and I have been talking consistently, he wants this fight bad and when you get to a level that Conor is at you have to find things that motivate you, and the White House card has definitely motivated Conor McGregor.”
