Conor McGregor has been handed an 18-month suspension for violating the UFC’s anti-doping policy after missing three attempted tests last year, the Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) announced on Tuesday.
CSAD stated that McGregor missed three biological sample collections within a 12-month period in 2024, constituting a breach of the UFC’s anti-doping rules. The missed collections occurred on 13 June, 19 and 20 September 2024, and were each recorded as whereabouts failures.
The sanction is backdated to 20 September 2024 and runs until 20 March 2026. CSAD noted that McGregor was recovering from injury and not in fight preparation during the missed collections, and that he fully cooperated, accepted responsibility and explained the circumstances.
These mitigating factors led to a reduction from the standard 24-month penalty for three whereabouts failures. However, CSAD stressed that accurate whereabouts filings and unannounced testing are essential to the UFC ADP.
The 37-year-old Irishman has since re-entered the testing pool and provided four samples in 2025. He has not competed since July 2021, and a scheduled bout with Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in 2024 was cancelled due to injury.
With the suspension ending in March 2026, McGregor would be eligible to fight in spring 2026, pending medical clearance—potentially in time for a UFC card at the White House, announced by President Trump for 14 June 2026.
