Following the revelation that Conor McGregor had removed himself from the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) testing pool, the former two-division UFC champion announced a timetable for his return.
McGregor has been absent from the Octagon since breaking his leg in the opening round of his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier. That was in July 2021. In the meantime, the outspoken Irish superstar has remained active on Twitter and in the gym, showing massive muscle gains in a relatively short amount of time. That matched with the reveal that he was no longer undergoing regular testing through USADA had many, including UFC fighter Anthony Smith, questioning how McGregor got so big so fast.
In response, ‘The Notorious’ has claimed that he will return to the USADA testing pool in February 2023.
“I am clear for testing in February. I will complete my two tests per USADA and we are booking a fight,” McGregor tweeted.
I am clear for testing in February. I will complete my two tests per USADA and we are booking a fight.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) November 24, 2022
The Earliest Return Date for Conor McGregor Would Be Summer 2023
Required to be in the testing pool for at least six months before he can fight, the earliest we could potentially see the former champ-champ back in the Octagon is August 2023.
Conor McGregor’s tweet was just one of many that took Twitter by storm on November 23rd. ‘The Notorious’ appeared to be amidst a marathon of his own bouts, including the historic UFC 229 showdown with bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov. The event is still the highest-grossing pay-per-view in the promotion’s 30-year history, earning more than two million buys.
McGregor has not been the same fighter since knocking out featherweight great Jose Aldo in 13 seconds at UFC 194. While he did score big wins over Nate Diaz and Eddie Alvarez, becoming a two-division titleholder in the process, McGregor has gone 3-5 overall since the Aldo fight, including a foray into boxing where he lost via knockout to Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather.
Inside the Octagon, McGregor has lost three of his last four including back-to-back knockouts against lightweight rival Dustin Poirier.