It looks as though USADA has tested Conor McGregor far less than others who have been inactive as long (or longer) than he has.
By official accounts, former two-division champion Conor McGregor hasn’t been subject to a USADA drug test since the third quarter of 2021. The ‘Notorious’ UFC superstar has spent the last year sitting on the sidelines as he recovers from a broken leg suffered in the first round of his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier last July.
McGregor returned to sparring in April of this year and teased a July 2022 return. However, the longtime SBG Ireland talent’s recent role in the upcoming Road House reboot, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, appears to have pushed that expected re-entry to the UFC all the way back to 2023.
In the meantime, with all this time on the sidelines spent rehabbing, it seems the UFC’s drug testing partner has taken a back seat when it comes to watching over the fighter’s shoulder.
McGregor’s testing history according to USADA is as follows:
2015: 8
2016: 11
2017: 6
2018: 11
2019: 7
2020: 8
2021: 11
2022: 0
Breaking down those 2021 numbers a little further—for a year where McGregor fought once in January and once in July—it looks like USADA largely stepped away once he started rehab:
Quarter 1: 4
Quarter 2: 6
Quarter 3: 1
Quarter 4: 0
Bloody Elbow did reach out to USADA, who confirmed “that our Athlete Test History is accurate” in reguards to their posted online records being up to date and complete.
For the sake of comparison, other fighters who have been inactive as long (or longer) than McGregor have the following 2022 testing history:
Yana Kunitskaya: 3 (most recent fight – July 10, 2021)
Tanner Boser: 4 (most recent fight – June 26, 2021)
Warlley Alves: 4 (most recent fight – June 26, 2021)
Daniel Pineda: 4 (most recent fight – June 26, 2021)
Julia Avila: 3 (most recent fight – June 26, 2021)
Kanako Murata: 3 (most recent fight – June 19, 2021)
Jon Jones: 3 (most recent fight – February 8, 2020)
David Teymur: 2 (most recent fight – February 2, 2019)
Urijah Faber: 4 (most recent fight – December 14, 2019)
Travis Browne: 3 (most recent fight – July 8, 2017)
USADA deferred to the UFC when asked if McGregor is currently enrolled in the UFC/USADA testing program. The UFC and McGregor’s management company have not replied to an inquiry regarding McGregor’s status in the promotion’s drug testing pool as of publication time. This story will be updated if we receive a response.