It appears that things are moving in a favorable direction for Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon. The UFC’s Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance, Jeff Novitzky, has received paperwork from McGregor to re-enter the USADA testing pool. This news is significant for the former two-division champion, who has been inactive for more than two years due to a broken leg sustained during his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier (29-8). The decision to return to the ring has been in negotiation for months with the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
The UFC CEO, Dana White, has now verified the submission of the paperwork adding that the professional mixed martial artist will officially join the pool in the coming week. White stated that, “He’s not officially in the USADA pool; He submitted the paperwork; probably by Monday it’ll be submitted.” McGregor’s stay in the pool is not yet definite as he had constantly hinted at a comeback by the end of the year. This would require a special exemption from USADA from the mandatory six-month testing period.
However, McGregor’s return timeline could match up with the promotion’s major event, UFC 300, next spring if he does undergo the six-month testing window. When asked whether this was an appealing idea, White commented that he currently has no specific plans for McGregor. He elaborated, “I literally have nothing planned with Conor McGregor right now. The paperwork is being submitted, we’ll play it by ear, see how things work out. There’s still a lot of things that have to happen as far as fights go. Then we’ll decide where he’s going to land.”