It has been almost two years since the Irish megastar Conor McGregor graced the Octagon. Coaching this year’s season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter, one would assume ‘The Notorious’ will face opposing coach Michael Chandler sometime in 2023.
For now, it appears a McGregor fight may be farther away than what we’d previously thought. The Dublin native has been away from the Octagon healing after breaking his tibia at UFC 264 against Dustin Poirier. Conor has also been busy shooting for his film, Road House while promoting various other ventures.
TUF, episode 2, airs tonight! Make sure to tune in!
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🇮🇪 Available for 48 hours exclusively on @UFCFightPass and Thursdays (starting June 6) on Virgin Two
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🇬🇧 Available for 48… pic.twitter.com/GBmqOE21qz
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 6, 2023
The former UFC two-division champion left the USADA testing pool during the recovery of his leg injury. As such, once he does re-enroll, Conor will need to stay in the pool for at least six months before being eligible to compete, per USADA rules, unless they grant him an exception of course.
This past week, reports claimed that Conor had a narrow window of 48 hours to re-enter the pool, should he plan to fight before the end of 2023. Missing the said deadline would have hurt his chances of headlining the promotion’s year-end PPV, UFC 296.
Did Conor McGregor enter the USADA testing pool?
The Conor McGregor-USADA fiasco has taken the MMA community by storm. Between that and the latest s*xual assault allegations, the Dublin native’s return to the Octagon seems doubtful from the looks of it.
As per renowned MMA reporter Aaron Bronsteter, samples submitted by Conor have not been updated in USADA’s available athlete test history. While ‘The Notorious‘ did promise a return to the Octagon, he has yet to enter the testing pool.
The UFC star had till June 16th to submit his samples, if he were to fight by the end of the year. However, as per the testing agency’s available history, it doesn’t look likely that he will return in 2023.
The USADA athlete test history was updated yesterday and did not include any samples submitted by Conor McGregor.
This does not necessarily mean that he has not re-enrolled in the program, however several inquiries made to USADA regarding his status that have gone unanswered.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) June 16, 2023
In his tweet, Aaron also shared that inquiries made to USADA (U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) regarding the subject have gone answered.
Bronsteter wrote – “The USADA athlete test history was updated yesterday and did not include any samples submitted by Conor McGregor. This does not necessarily mean that he has not re-enrolled in the program, however several inquiries made to USADA regarding his status that have gone unanswered.”
These reports surfaced during a time when McGregor has been accused of s*xual assault at a recent NBA game, where he also happened to send the Miami Heat mascot to the ER after punching the latter twice. The MMA world has alluded to the recent allegation being a much bigger battle than his Octagon outings.
When will ‘The Notorious’ return to the Octagon?
TUF 31 ends on August 15 of this year. At the end of each season, the coaches clash. However, there seems to be no set date for McGregor vs. Chandler.
The last UFC event of 2023 is December 16, with Sherdog claiming T-Mobile Arena in Nevada to be the venue. To headline the said night, Conor was supposed to enter the testing pool by June 16, as previously mentioned. Following that, he’d need to undergo six months of random testing before being allowed to compete. Henry Cejudo, who retired in 2020, followed the same process in his return to face Aljamain Sterling last month.
Last month, UFC president Dana White claimed Conor’s return was “all in motion.” While speaking at the UFC Vegas 73 post-fight presser, White gave insight into the UFC superstar’s return status.
He said, “That’s correct [there will be an announcement during the airing of TUF] … He’s filling out the paperwork. I don’t know how soon that will be done or what’s going on, but that’s his business that he’s handling with USADA. But it’s all in motion.”
If McGregor had submitted a sample before the deadline, we would have been looking at a possible return in Madison Square Garden in November or in Las Vegas the following month. Conor last competed at the famed NYC-based arena in 2016, when he achieved the coveted “double champ” status.
Face/Off pic.twitter.com/HVV68XRQNq
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 13, 2023
Unfortunately, going by the reports, USADA has yet to receive a sample from the UFC icon. As per their website, the agency last tested him 11 times in 2021. Thus, even if Conor doesn’t return this year a PPV in January 2024 seems highly likely, given his history of fighting in the said month at least twice in the promotion – UFC 246 and UFC 257.
Many people hope that the agency provides an exemption for Conor. At the same time, the most important piece of information fans seem to seek is the reason behind his reluctance to enter the pool. Only time will uncover those details.