UFC Star Conor McGregor's UFC return is likely to be delayed till next year due to his status in U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) drug-testing program remains unclear.
As per the UFC policy, McGregor needs to complete six months of mandatory drug testing before appearing in a fight.
The Irishman has not been a part of the testing pool since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in their trilogy fight at UFC 264 in July 2021, as official records on USADA's website show he is still yet to submit a drug testing sample since then.
The only way a UFC fighter can skip the mandatory drug-testing program is due to “exceptional circumstances”. Former UFC Star Brock Lesnar used this defence to compete on short notice against Mark Hunt at UFC 200 in 2016.
However, despite Lesnar winning with a unanimous decision, the result was later overturned to a no-contest after the WWE superstar failed both an out-of-competition and a night-of-fight drug test.
Earlier on Thursday (June 15), McGregor was accused of sexually harassing a woman at an NBA basketball match in Miami.
According to TMZ, a woman accused the 34-year-old of sexually assaulting her in the bathroom right after the basketball game ended.
Ariel Mitchell, the women’s attorney claimed that McGregor used the security personnel of the Miami Heat and NBA to direct her to the arena’s restroom where the UFC star was waiting for her with her guards.
Meanwhile, representatives for McGregor firmly denied the allegations, asserting that they are false and stating that McGregor will not be intimidated. The UFC officials acknowledged the allegations and decided to allow the legal process to unfold before making any further statements
The Irish star has lost three of his last four fights. Including back-to-back defeats against Poirier at UFC 257 and 264 and a famous submission defeat against the undefeated UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 on October 7, 2018.
At his peak, McGregor won two UFC titles and impressively knocked out eight opponents. The quickest knockout win of his career came against Jose Aldo in December 2015 when he knocked Aldo out in just 13 seconds.
In his UFC career, the 34-year-old was undefeated in his first seven fights from 2013 to 2015. His first loss came against Nate Diaz at UFC 196 in March 2016.