Conor McGregor has accepted an 18-month period of ineligibility following a violation of the UFC‘s Anti-Doping policy.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the UFC confirmed McGregor missed three attempted biological sample collections within a 12-month period in 2024.
His period of ineligibility began on September 20, 2024 and will conclude on March 20, 2026 – meaning he’d be eligible to fight at the White House event on June 14.
The statement read: ‘Although McGregor failed to make himself available for testing on those dates, CSAD noted that he was recovering from an injury and was not preparing for an upcoming fight at the time of the three missed tests.
‘McGregor fully cooperated with CSAD’s investigation, accepted responsibility, and provided detailed information that CSAD determined contributed to the missed tests.
‘Taking McGregor’s cooperation and circumstances into account, CSAD reduced the standard 24-month sanction for three whereabouts failures by six months.
Conor McGregor has accepted an 18-month period of ineligibility for violating UFC policies
However, his ban is set to end before the UFC’s highly-anticipated White House event
‘His period of ineligibility began on September 20, 2024 (the date of his third whereabouts failure) and will conclude on March 20, 2026’.
Just last week, Donald Trump revealed the UFC card taking place at the White House is set to go ahead on June 14 next year – which will be his 80th birthday.
The President made the announcement during a speech at Naval Station Norfolk to mark the upcoming 250th anniversary of the U.S. Navy on Sunday.
He had announced in July that a UFC event would take place at the White House in 2026, but did not give a date. Early July, when America will celebrate its 250th birthday, was initially floated as a potential date.
Trump counts UFC chief Dana White as a close friend and considers fans of the sport part of his political base, although their ties long predate his presidency.
White this week told the Sports Business Journal that the UFC will spend $700k to replace the South Lawn grass at the White House after the event.
McGregor has been tipped to be the big name on the card, with UFC chief White claiming that the Irishman is one of the organization’s most dependable stars.
More to follow…