USADA shoots down Conor McGregor’s bogus claim of UFC drug-testing privilege, insists ‘Notorious’ is still retired

Conor McGregor is under the impression that he’ll be able to pass a pair of drug tests and waltz right back into the Octagon, thanks to a special exemption that allows inactive athletes to bypass the required six-month return window established by United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the official drug-testing partner of UFC.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar pulled off that con job back in early 2016, then flunked his drug test anyway.

“There’s hurdles and what not, but we’re in constant communication [with USADA] and there’s an interview scheduled and a meeting happens and then it will be official,” McGregor told The MMA Hour. “But the six months thing, what they had said was two clean tests and off I go, so I assume it won’t be too long.”

I guess someone from Team McGregor should check with USADA.

“While we meet with all athletes who enter or re-enter the testing pool, we do not currently have a meeting set with Conor and, as of today, we have not received notice of his coming out of retirement to compete,” officials told Aaron Bronsteter. “The UFC rules are clear that, in addition to two negative tests, an athlete must make themself available for testing six months before returning to competition. This is a fair way to ensure an athlete does not use the retirement status to gain an unfair advantage by using prohibited substances during the retirement period, which would enhance their performance unfairly if they ultimately decide to return to competition.”

There is still an outside chance that McGregor could secure a special exemption once he’s finished his coaching duties opposite lightweight rival Michael Chandler on Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), but the promotion would have to demonstrate an “exceptional circumstance” and prove the six-month drug-testing window presents a financial or competitive hardship for McGregor.

Getting “more rope” because he’s the UFC cash cow probably doesn’t qualify.

“While the rules permit the UFC to make an exception to the six-month rule in exceptional circumstances, when the strict application of the rule would be manifestly unfair to the athlete, our position, which we have made clear, is that Conor should be in the testing pool for the full six-month period,” the statement concluded.

Dana White wasn’t kidding when he said there was “a lot of work to do” ahead of McGregor’s return.