4 hours ago
1
Conor McGregor has accepted an 18-month ban for violating the UFC's anti-doping policy, the organisation says.
According to Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD), Irish fighter McGregor, 37, missed three attempted biological sample collections within a 12-month period in 2024.
UFC policy dictates that athletes must provide accurate whereabouts information at all times, so they can be contacted and submit to biological sample collections without warning.
McGregor, who has not competed professionally since suffering a broken leg in his last fight against Dustin Poirier in July 2021, missed tests last year on 13 June, 19 September and 20 September.
CSAD said it reduced McGregor's ban from 24 months to 18 months in acknowledgment of his cooperation with their investigation and injury circumstances.
A statement, external on the UFC website said McGregor "accepted responsibility, and provided detailed information that CSAD determined contributed to the missed tests".
His ban began on 20 September 2024 - the date of his third whereabouts failure - and will conclude on 20 March 2026, four months before he turns 39.
McGregor recently claimed that he has signed to fight on the UFC White House card on 14 June 2026 - the 80th birthday of US president Donald Trump.
On Saturday, UFC president Dana White denied those claims, saying: "I made it clear that Conor wants to fight on that card, and you can clearly see Conor is very fired-up to fight on that card, but nothing is done yet. No fights are being negotiated with the White House."
On Monday, McGregor told his social media followers he is talking a break from the platforms.
In November 2024, McGregor was ordered to pay £206,000 in damages plus costs to Nikita Hand, who accused him of raping her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018.
Ms Hand announced in August her intention to sue McGregor and two other people for damages, alleging they engaged in malicious abuse of court processes.
Last month McGregor said he is no longer seeking to run in the upcoming Irish presidential election.
