UFC: Conor McGregor suspended for 18 months for doping violations

Conor McGregor, star of the mixed martial arts, received an 18-month suspension after failing to submit to three drug tests within a one-year period, anti-doping authorities said Tuesday.

The Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) agency set the start of the suspension from September 2024, so the controversial 37-year-old Irish fighter will be eligible to fight again on March 20, 2026.

It had originally punished him with a two-year ban.

McGregor, a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight and lightweight champion, accepted the suspension, CSAD said in a statement.

The agency claims the Irishman, one of the UFC's most popular and profitable fighters, failed to report his location for testing on June 13 and Sept. 19 and 20, 2024, and did not comply with anti-doping "whereabouts" protocols in doing so.

The agency stated that the fighter cooperated with the investigation, accepted responsibility and provided information to explain his absence from testing.

The suspension window will allow McGregor to be available for the UFC's expected June 14, 2026 event at the White House, the birthday of U.S. President, Donald Trump.

The UFC chief executive and close Trump ally, Dana White, said Saturday that no fighters have been contracted for that date as yet.