UFC fans call out Conor McGregor after he doubles down on plans to skirt USADA rules

Conor McGregor’s return to the UFC octagon is one of the most highly anticipated events of the year. Fans are eagerly waiting for the Irishman to face Michael Chandler. However, McGregor’s comeback is contingent upon his successful completion of the current USADA testing protocol.

McGregor has been out of action for quite some time due to a leg injury he sustained in his third outing against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. Despite his injury, the regulations stipulate that McGregor must remain in the USADA testing pool for at least another six months before returning to competition.

However, in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, McGregor dropped a bombshell that suggested favoritism, which was met with disapproval from the MMA community. McGregor claimed that he only needs to pass two tests instead of remaining in the testing pool for six months:

“I’m not rushing nothing. There are hurdles and whatnot, but we’re in constant communication, and there’s an interview scheduled, and a meeting happens, and then it will be official. But the six-month thing, what they had said, was two clean tests, and off I go, so I assume it won’t be too long.”

If McGregor’s statement is true, it could set a significant precedent for discriminatory practices within a strictly enforced USADA system. Fans were outraged and took to Twitter to react to McGregor’s claims.

“Given the recent Krause gambling controversy, the USADA testing needs to be fully transparent so the fans don’t assume certain stars are permitted to circumvent the testing rules that their opponents are and have been subject to. I’m not a gambler, but that’s not fair.”

Another fan speculated that McGregor was using PEDs to recover from his injury and that USADA was granting him an exception from the six-month testing pool because he brings in a lot of money for the UFC.

This isn’t the first time McGregor tried to push this narrative. Last time, USADA explicitly rebuffed his assertations explaining:

Conor McGregor must spend six months in the system before he can compete again since he is not presently part of the UFC’s testing pool. ESPN was the first to reveal the information after receiving it from a USADA representative.

But it looks like the narrative is getting shifted once again and considering the fact he was given leeway on TUF to promote his brands and even swap some contestants, it’s not hard to imagine this going through.

McGregor claims he’s targeting a late summer return. He’s not been tested upto March of 2023 according to USADA’s official database that’s publicly available.