Brendan Schaub sees no issue with Conor McGregor relying on performance-enhancing drugs to help his leg injury.
MMA enthusiasts believe McGregor has resorted to performance enhancers ahead of a potential return to the octagon. Social media images that showed his massive muscle gain and physique sparked the rumors.
It was also reported that McGregor wasn’t in the UFC’s drug testing pool. It’s mandatory that all active fighters be enrolled in the program. According to the USADA website, the 34-year-old has not been tested since the third quarter of 2021.
On a recent episode of his YouTube channel, Schaub shared his thoughts on rumors that McGregor is possibly using PED’s.
“I don’t think it’s crazy for Anthony Smith and some of the MMA experts or media to say that Conor, beyond a yacht, not being tested while he recovers from an injury, one could assume that he’s taking PED’s. Especially, when he is jacked.” Schaub said.
“But on the other end of that, it could be Conor is a freak when it comes to physicality. He’s a freak. You look at his shoulders when he is built, what he’s done in his athletic career, he’s a freak. Some of these guys that criticize him aren’t freaks. So they wanna assume that he’s on things.” (h/t Middle Easy)
Brendan Schaub Doesn’t See A Problem With Conor McGregor Using PED’s For Recovery
Schaub believes it’s likely that the former champion is relying on a banned substance. If that’s the case, he doesn’t see the problem if it’s used to recover.
“Now the chance of him being on things are probably pretty good and I’m not mad at any facet cause A. not fighting B. he’s the UFC’s cash cow, he’s their green elephant. I would do the exact same thing. If I was the UFC, I’d say, ‘take whatever the hell you gotta do to get back and healthy’. Cause you’re only getting older, the longer you stay out. It’s not good. Do what you wanna do. Go on your yacht, get in your Gucci pajamas, take all the HGH, whatever it takes to require you to get back to full health. Do what you gotta do.”
“I don’t have a problem with it and he’s not competing. I think athletes in general, if you have an injury of this magnitude, should be allowed. They shouldn’t be in the testing protocol cause they are gonna be taking stuff. Now doesn’t mean it’s PED’s but it’s for recovery. “I don’t have a problem with it, any facet to get back to a hundred percent health… When he does decide to fight, he will be clean.”
‘The Notorious One’ suffered a brutal leg break during his fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. He has responded to the PED allegations by stating that he was out of the USADA testing program to simply recover. Notably, McGregor has never tested positive for a banned substance during his career.
UFC president Dana White recently confirmed that McGregor will need six months of USADA testing before he can return. It will delay McGregor’s return to competition even more.