Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor has been suspended 18-months by the Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) Agency for violating the UFC’s anti-doping policy.
On Tuesday, the (CSAD) announced that the former two-division champion accepted the 18-month sanction after repeated failures to submitted testing samples as required by athletes under contract with the promotion.
“McGregor missed three attempted biological sample collections within a 12-month period in 2024, which constitutes a violation of the UFC [anti-doping policy],” CSAD officials wrote in a press release. “UFC athletes are required to provide accurate whereabouts information at all times, so they can be contacted and submit to biological sample collections without prior warning.
“McGregor’s missed tests occurred on June 13, September 19, and September 20, 2024, and were each classified as Whereabouts Failures by CSAD under the UFC ADP.”
Despite the suspension, Conor McGregor could still return for the UFC White House event scheduled for June 14, 2026.
“McGregor fully cooperated with CSAD’s investigation, accepted responsibility, and provided detailed information that CSAD determined contributed to the missed tests,” CSAD officials noted.
“Despite these mitigating factors, CSAD emphasizes that accurate whereabouts filings and the ability to conduct unannounced testing are essential to the success of the UFC ADP. Taking McGregor’s cooperation and circumstances into account, CSAD reduced the standard 24-month sanction for three whereabouts failures by six months. His period of ineligibility began on September 20, 2024 (the date of his third whereabouts failure) and will conclude on March 20, 2026.”
