USADA has issued a statement on why Conor McGregor hasn’t been tested in 2022.

The USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) can’t comment on any specific athlete’s participation in the UFC’s anti-doping program or on those who have been removed from the testing pool.

USADA officials did however offer the following statement to ‘MMA Fighting‘ when asked about Conor McGregor’s status:

“We do not comment on the testing pool status of any particular athlete.”

Conor McGregor (22-6 MMA) has been out of commission ever since he suffered a broken leg in his bout with Dustin Poirier (28-7 MMA) at UFC 264 in July of 2021.

The Irishman is expected to return to the Octagon in the 1st quarter of 2023.

‘Notorious’ was one of the most tested athletes in 2021, with 11 samples taken from January thru July of that year. McGregor has not been tested by the USADA in 2022.

USADA’s policy indicates that all athletes enrolled in the program are subject to testing at any time. It is also made clear that decisions on when and how often testing occurs is up to the USADA and depends on a number of factors.

Per USADA’s website, those factors include:

Physical demands of the sport and possible performance-enhancing effect that doping may elicit
Available doping analysis statistics
Available research on doping trends
History of doping in the sport and/or discipline
Training periods and the competition calendar
Information received on possible doping practices

McGregor has stepped away from fighting while rehabilitating and training, and is currently filming a starring role in the upcoming movie production ‘Road House‘ with Jake Gyllenhaal.

There has been much attention drawn to the Irishman for pictures he’s posted to social media where he looks to have really ‘bulked up’, having fans and others questioning if he is in fact using PED’s.

Time will tell, and obviously the USADA has not started testing McGregor yet, but that will all change when he announces a date for his return to the Octagon in 2023.

Do you believe Conor McGregor is using performance enhancing drugs? Who would you like to see ‘Notorious’ fight next?

TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter did some digging into the USADA testing database and discovered that McGregor stands alone in terms of active UFC fighters who have yet to be tested in 2022.

Conor McGregor is the only UFC fighter yet to be drug tested by USADA this year despite his plans to return to the octagon in the coming months, according to reports.

McGregor's team and the UFC declined comment.

USADA provided TSN with the following statement: pic.twitter.com/7iNSS6BwXU

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 23, 2022

McGregor, 34, has been out of action since suffering a gruesome leg break against Dustin Poirier in July 2021, which kept him out of training for close to a year.

Now the Irishman is closing in on a return to action after recent footage on social media showed him looking sharp in the gym, with potential bouts against Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje mooted and Floyd Mayweather also keen to bring him back over to boxing for another money-spinning crossover event.

“After cross-referencing the entire active UFC roster with USADA’s athlete test history database, I found that Conor McGregor was the lone active fighter, (aside from some athletes who signed after Aug. 1) to not be tested by USADA.”

According to the UFC's anti-doping policy, the only way McGregor would be exempt from testing would be if his UFC contract was terminated or he provided the UFC with written notice that he was retiring.

McGregor is currently ranked #11 in the official UFC lightweight rankings. pic.twitter.com/bAVFvIgezx

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 23, 2022

As seen in Bronsteter’s tweet, USADA has issued a statement on the matter without addressing the McGregor situation specifically.

“Once UFC athletes are enrolled in the testing program, they are subject to testing – even when not competing – unless they notify the UFC of their retirement, their contract is terminated, or they are otherwise removed from the program. In the event of an athlete’s return to the UFC, they are required to remain in the USADA testing pool for six months before they are permitted to compete.

Similar to World Anti-Doping Agency rules, the UFC may grant an exemption to the six-month written notice rule in exceptional circumstances or where the strict application of that rule would be manifestly unfair to the athlete, but in both cases under the UFC rules, the athlete must provide at least two negative samples before returning to competition. We do not comment on the testing pool status of any particular athlete.”

Among those who have been tested in 2022 are John Hathaway, Travis Browne and Sheldon Westcott, all of whom have not competed in the promotion for more than five years.

The USADA athlete test database was last updated yesterday.

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 23, 2022

However, despite his imminent comeback plans McGregor is the only UFC fighter to have not undergone USADA testing in 2022, according to reports from American TV channel TSN.

While he has not competed in the octagon in over a year, USADA rules state that inactive fighters remain enrolled in the testing programme unless they notify the UFC of their retirement from MMA or their contract is terminated.

McGregor would therefore have been subject to the same regulations as active fighters, raising concerns about his alleged exclusion from testing this year.

He is still under contract and is still in the USADA pool. He has been for years, but there is no indication on whether he plans on resuming his career.

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 23, 2022