CONOR MCGREGOR has been slapped with a UFC ban for breaching anti-doping rules.
The Irishman has accepted a reduced 18-month “period of ineligibility” for his offences.
McGregor has already begun serving his punishment and his comeback date has been revealed.
Why has Conor McGregor been banned from UFC?
McGregor has been banned from UFC competitions for committing an anti-doping violation.
He failed to tell Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) – the UFC‘s drug testers – where he was on THREE separate occasions within a year.
All UFC stars must provide their accurate whereabouts at all times to allow for random testing to take place.
It has been confirmed that McGregor missed drug tests on June 13, September 19 and September 20 in 2024.
Under CSAD laws, these offences go down as “Whereabouts Failures” and fighters are normally given a 24-month sanction instead of an 18-month ban for this.
Why was Conor McGregor’s ban reduced?
An official statement from the UFC cited “mitigating factors” for the reason why they have given McGregor a reduced 18-month ban.
They confirm that the former world champion “fully cooperated with CSAD’s investigation, accepted responsibility, and provided detailed information that CSAD determined contributed to the missed tests”.
It is also noted that at the time of the missed tests, McGregor was recovering from an injury and had no upcoming fights scheduled.
When can Conor McGregor return to the UFC?
McGregor’s 18-month ban was announced on October 7, 2025.
But the “period of ineligibility” suspension was allowed to begin from September 20, 2024 – which was the date of his third whereabouts failure – as he has not competed since.
This means McGregor can return to the octagon on March 20, 2026.
And he WILL BE ABLE to fight in a blockbuster UFC event set to take place on June 14th, 2026 at the White House.
McGregor is a front-runner to feature on the Oval Office lawn and UFC chief Dana White is in talks over the event.
