Conor McGregor has accepted an 18-month ban for violating the UFC’s anti-doping policy, the organisation says.<\/p>\n
According to Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD), Irish fighter McGregor, 37, missed three attempted biological sample collections within a 12-month period in 2024.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
McGregor, who has not competed professionally since suffering a broken leg in his last fight against Dustin Poirier<\/a> in July 2021, missed tests last year on 13 June, 19 September and 20 September.<\/p>\n CSAD said it reduced McGregor’s ban from 24 months to 18 months in acknowledgment of his cooperation with their investigation and injury circumstances.<\/p>\n A statement, external<\/a> on the UFC website said McGregor “accepted responsibility, and provided detailed information that CSAD determined contributed to the missed tests”.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n On Monday, McGregor told his social media followers he is talking a break from the platforms.<\/p>\n In November 2024, McGregor was ordered to pay \u00a3206,000 in damages<\/a> plus costs to Nikita Hand, who accused him of raping her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018.<\/p>\n Ms Hand announced in August her intention to sue McGregor<\/a> and two other people for damages, alleging they engaged in malicious abuse of court processes.<\/p>\n