Conor McGregor, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s biggest superstar, has been inactive since July 2021 due to his rehabilitation from a broken leg sustained in his trilogy clash against Dustin Poirier. The Irishman has also been absent from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) testing pool since the third quarter of 2021, until recently. All gears are now shifting in favour of the superstar’s return to action.
The situation changed significantly after several months of negotiations with USADA over a six-month testing window stipulation. McGregor finally re-entered the testing pool on October 8, paving the way for him to compete from April 2024 onwards. The Dublin native has also recently submitted his first set of test samples, consisting of both blood and urine. As per online records, there were three samples taken in total, however, the specific date of collection was not specified.
Consequently, McGregor’s re-entry into the testing pool coincided with the announcement that the UFC-USADA partnership would end by the close of the year, a split which the testing agency partly attributed to McGregor. Disadvowing this claim, UFC executive Hunter Campbell denied seeking an exemption for the Irishman and criticised USADA for exploiting McGregor as a “media vehicle”. Starting next year, the UFC’s drug testing program is set to be overseen by Drug Free Sport International, with former FBI agent George Piro at the helm.
Recently, McGregor attended the crossover boxing super fight between former UFC heavyweight champ, Francis Ngannou and WBC champ, Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia. Expressing his frustration and eagerness to return to the Octagon as soon as possible, he declared, “I’m happy with April. I would’ve loved it earlier, but…I want to put in a good run, build myself back, and that’s it,” adding, “It’s looking like April, mixed martial arts.” Referencing Alexander Volkanovski’s remarks following UFC 294 about his own desire to stay active, McGregor remarked, “I’ve been kept from my living for almost three years now…This is my job. It’s beyond frustrating… I just want the date. Give me the date, please. That’s it.”