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Is Conor McGregor finally nearing a return to the UFC?
For months, there’s been a lot of talk — and even an entire season of TUF — to promote his comeback, but there hasn’t been any concrete signs of a UFC return. The biggest hurdle is that unless the promotion grants him a controversial exception, McGregor will need six months of USADA drug testing before he can return, but he has remained out of the testing pool to “heal.”
Has things finally changed on that front?
Is Conor McGregor finally back in the USADA testing pool?
On an Instagram post about his recent sparring session, Conor McGregor mentioned that he’s already passed his USADA requirements to .
“Find my targets. Hit them. F— the consequences. You’re going down. This is fighting. Sparring day with slick @grozdevnikolay. Always a banger of a spar with the slick fella,” McGregor wrote, before mentioning a possible return.
“Submitted my stuff to Novitzky. Ball rolling ⚽️ see you soon you little light work b—h.”
Conor McGregor to make UFC return soon?
While some have branded him as delusional for holding out hope that Conor McGregor fights him, Michael Chandler believes that they will “unequivocally” be fighting, and hoping it happens at UFC 300. If he is truly back in the testing pool, USADA’s 6-month rule will still make him eligible for the landmark UFC 300 event.
It’s worth noting though, that this isn’t the first time Conor McGregor said that USADA requirements are “done,” with him making claims back in May, only to not really sign back up with the anti-doping agency.
USADA policies state that McGregor simply needs “send a return-from retirement statement through courier, fax, or email to the UFC,” for him to be put back in the testing pool. This simple requirement wasn’t done for months, but perhaps things could be different now that McGregor specifically indicated he “submitted stuff” to UFC’s Jeff Novitzky?
I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
According to USADA’s database, as of September 28, 2023, McGregor has yet to be drug tested since the third quarter of 2021.
McGregor has been the UFC’s biggest PPV draw of all time, but has been on a rough stretch as of late. Now 35, the former two-division champion only has one win in the last seven years, and suffered a gruesome leg break in 2021.
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