Conor McGregor Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

UFC Hall of Famer irked by Conor McGregor’s possible USADA exemption

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated Aug 14, 2023 5:21 PM ET

When former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor (22-6) confirmed over the weekend he would be fighting Michael Chandler (23-8) in December, it piqued the interest of many, including UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier.

With his next fight less than four months away, Cormier questioned why the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency would make an exception for McGregor to return to action without going through the six-month testing window that’s mandatory for all fighters being cleared to return to the Octagon.

"We've all been led to believe that Conor McGregor doesn't have to do anything if he doesn't want to,” Cormier recently stated on his YouTube channel. “Hell, he doesn't have to be in the USADA program, even though the rules have stated that it has to be six months before he goes into actual competition. … My question is, how do you implement and make the USADA program be what it's supposed to be when there are rooms for exceptions?”

As of August 10, Conor McGregor doesn't show any USADA Sample Counts in 2023. pic.twitter.com/udHJQmYEmw
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 10, 2023

Per USADA’s bylaws, the organization can issue an exemption to a fighter “in exceptional circumstances or where the strict application of that rule would be manifestly unfair to an athlete provided that in either instance the athlete provides a minimum of two negative samples before returning to competition.”

McGregor doesn’t seem to have a strong case for an exemption. Though he hasn’t fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021, McGregor began filming Season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in February and has had ample time to re-enter the USADA testing pool in advance of his fight against Chandler, who coached opposite of him on “TUF.”

In fact, McGregor’s avoidance of USADA prompted Chandler to call out the 35-year-old Irishman, who has a noticeably bigger physique than the last time he fought, for avoiding being tested.

“Here's where the issue becomes [if] you make that exemption, then how do you implement the rule for the rest of the people?” Cormier asked.

Michael Gallagher

Michael Gallagher is a longtime sports journalist based out of Nashville with a decade of experience covering college football, mixed martial arts and prep sports plus the NFL and NHL — specifically the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators. He’s covered several notable sporting events including an AFC Championship game, a Stanley Cup Final, an NHL All-Star Game and an NHL Stadium Series. Some of his past bylines can be found at the Nashville Scene, SB Nation, The Hockey News and Fox Sports Knoxville

More must-reads: