Conor McGregor, a former UFC two-division champion, logged his first UFC drug test of 2025, a key step toward returning to the octagon. The test, recorded on the UFC Anti-Doping website, marks his re-entry into the testing pool after exiting earlier this year. McGregor, sidelined since a leg injury in 2021, is targeting a comeback at a proposed UFC White House event in July 2026. He shared his excitement, saying, “I gave my first blood test, that’s what the plaster is on my shoulder. I am ECSTATIC! I’m in SHAPE!” Legal troubles, including a recent civil lawsuit loss, loom over his plans.
Drug Test and Comeback Plans
McGregor posted photos and videos showing a bandage on his shoulder from a blood test and a urine sample. The UFC Anti-Doping website confirmed one test session on August 1, 2025, his first since 11 tests in 2024 for a canceled fight with Michael Chandler at UFC 303 due to a toe injury. UFC rules require six months of random testing, making him eligible by February 2026, well before the White House event.
He’s pushing for the White House card, announced by President Donald Trump for America’s 250th Independence Day. McGregor wrote, “I would be honored. Count me in.” He hinted at facing Chandler, saying, “The only place where disputes truly get settled. The White House.” The UFC is planning the event, though details are limited.
Updated Aug 1, Conor McGregor shows 1 test session in 2025. pic.twitter.com/gSY51imk4T
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 1, 2025
McGregor’s Fighting and Legal History
McGregor, 37, is a former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion from Dublin, Ireland. He won the featherweight title in 2015, knocking out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds, and the lightweight title in 2016 against Eddie Alvarez. His knockouts of Dustin Poirier in 2014 and Chad Mendes in 2015 made him a global star. His 2018 loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov led to a post-fight brawl and suspensions. His last fight was a TKO loss to Poirier in July 2021 at UFC 264, where he broke his leg. His record is 22-6.
Nikita Hand accused McGregor of sexually assaulting her in December 2018 at the Beacon Hotel in Dublin. She filed a civil lawsuit in 2019, alleging McGregor pinned her to a bed, choked her three times, and “brutally raped and battered” her after a party involving drugs and alcohol, causing bruising and PTSD. McGregor denied this, claiming consensual sex and no signs of distress. In November 2024, a Dublin High Court jury found him liable for assault, awarding Hand nearly €250,000. In December 2024, Justice Alexander Owens ordered McGregor to pay approximately €1.3 million in Hand’s legal costs, including discovery expenses. Both amounts remain unpaid as McGregor considers a Supreme Court appeal.
McGregor appealed, arguing the jury was misled by the term “assault” instead of “sexual assault” and the use of his 150 “no comment” police responses. On July 31, 2025, Justices Isobel Kennedy, Brian O’Moore, and Patrick MacGrath dismissed the appeal, saying the jury understood Hand’s rape claim. McGregor withdrew affidavits from Hand’s former neighbors, Samantha O’Reilly and Stevens Cummins, who alleged her then-partner, Stephen Redmond, caused her bruising. Hand’s lawyer, John Gordon, called this evidence a lie, leading to a perjury probe by the Director of Public Prosecutions
McGregor co-owns BKFC and starred in the 2024 “Road House” remake, keeping him visible outside fighting.
