Conor McGregor suspended 18 months by UFC for missed tests

Conor McGregor received an 18-month suspension from the UFC Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) program on Tuesday.

His suspension is retroactive to September 20, 2024 and will end on March 20, 2026, just over three months before the UFC White House fight card that President Donald Trump announced would take place on his birthday, June 14. McGregor has been campaigning intensely to be included on the card, which would be his first fight in almost five years.

CSAD, the internal agency that manages the UFC’s anti-doping program, announced that the suspension related to three “whereabouts failures” in which McGregor missed tests on June 13, September 19 and September 20, 2024, and did not provide specific information on his whereabouts.

“McGregor failed three attempts to collect biological samples over a 12-month period in 2024, which constitutes a violation of the UFC ADP,” reads a CSAD press release on the UFC website. “UFC athletes are required to provide accurate whereabouts information at all times, so that they may be contacted and subjected to biological sample collections without prior warning. McGregor’s missed tests took place on June 13, September 19, and September 20, 2024, and were each classified as whereabouts failures by CSAD under the UFC ADP.”

The missed test on June 13 was the same day UFC CEO Dana White announced that McGregor’s planned fight with Michael Chandler at UFC 303 had been canceled. Although McGregor did not indicate his whereabouts, CSAD noted that he was suffering from an injury and was not preparing for a fight at the time the samples were supposed to be collected.

“Although McGregor did not make himself available for testing on these dates, CSAD noted that he was recovering from an injury and was not preparing for an upcoming fight at the time of the three missed tests,” CSAD wrote in a statement Tuesday. “McGregor fully cooperated with CSAD’s investigation, accepted responsibility, and provided detailed information that CSAD believes contributed to the missed tests.

“Taking into account McGregor’s cooperation and the circumstances, CSAD reduced the standard 24-month sanction for three failed locates by six months. His period of ineligibility began on September 20, 2024 (the date of his third failed locate) and will end on March 20, 2026.”

The suspension comes a day after McGregor announced on X that he would be taking an indefinite break from social media. The former two-division champion is currently part of the UFC’s drug testing panel, with four samples submitted in 2025.