Dana White: Conor McGregor needs to complete six months of USADA testing before UFC return

Unlike many others on the company roster, UFC superstar Conor McGregor has not undergone USADA testing in 2022. The last time “The Notorious” subjected himself to a UFC drug test test was in the third quarter of 2021, after his UFC 264 trilogy with Dustin Poirier which he lost via TKO due to a broken leg.

USADA later issued a response by simply saying “the athlete must provide at least two negative samples before returning to competition.” The agency did not provide a clear statement, also saying they “do not comment on the testing pool status of any particular athlete.”

McGregor has so far been teasing a return by posting a bunch of training videos. But as UFC president Dana White confirmed during the UFC 280 post-fight media scrum, the Irishman will have to undergo testing for six months before he can return to competition.

Assuming he gets himself back to testing ASAP, the earliest we’d see McGregor back in action would be around the second quarter of 2023. It would be another lengthy layoff, similar to the one he had in 2016 after becoming the UFC’s first champ-champ in history.