Surprise, surprise, the king is back: Conor McGregor enters USADA pool
UFC Roster Watch is an X account that monitors the status of fighters on the UFC’s official roster and tweets out fighter additions, removals and, more recently, other updates such as USADA pool status. Today, Roster Watch posted that Conor McGregor is back in the USADA testing pool which means a fight is potentially on the horizon.
💉 Fighter Entered USADA Pool: Conor Mcgregor
— UFC Roster Watch (@UFCRosterWatch) October 8, 2023
Conor McGregor back in action. Michael Chandler fight soon?
After featuring on The Ultimate Fighter opposite Michael Chandler, Conor McGregor and his fans targeted “Iron” Mike for McGregor’s return fight. McGregor has been out of action since UFC 264 after his leg broke against Dustin Poirier in 2021.
Since then, McGregor has teased a return to fighting, though his recovery has taken longer than originally thought. While he hasn’t been caught and failed a test with USADA, anabolic steroids have been used to heal tibial fractures and with the size gain by McGregor, it’s widely believed that he was out of the USADA pool for his usage and recovery.
Since winning his second title against Eddie Alvarez, McGregor has lost to Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match, lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov in his return to MMA, beat Donald Cerrone, and lost back to back fights to Dustin Poirier.
UFC president Dana White confirmed in the UFC Vegas 80 post fight interview that McGregor submitted paperwork for USADA.
“The paperwork is being submitted. We’ll play it by ear, see how things work out. There’s still a lot of things that have to happen as far as fights go. Then we’ll see where he’s going to land.”
With all the juice out of his system and finally able to pass a drug test, McGregor will finally be able to return to competition and maybe even take on Michael Chandler.
It’s worth noting that the use of anabolic steroids in a break like McGregor had, a broken tibia, is normal in returning to normal life in a faster manner and there’s nothing unethical about it if done with a doctor’s discretion. It is a grey area, however, given the nature of McGregor’s job and the taboo around anabolic steroids.
No fight has been announced but one will surely come through as Conor McGregor gets through his six month USADA probation, or perhaps, a shortened period of probation due to the nature of his injury.
