UFC’s Conor McGregor Hurls Steroid Accusations at Umar Nurmagomedov

"I often get accused of long lay offs in between fights," Nurmagomedov said. "But it's not always up to me. I'm ready to fight on February 17th or March 9th, but not one single fighter in my division wants to fight me."

McGregor replied directly with a deleted Tweet on the same date:

"Your younger brother popped for steroids," McGregor remarked. "That's 4 now out of your family caught on steroids while fighting."

In this instance, "The Notorious" is suggesting Umar's "long layoffs" are due to the Russian fighter circumnavigating anti-doping regulations. Out of nine scheduled UFC bouts, Umar has had five cancellations, with four withdrawals; now it looks as though fighters are avoiding the Dagestani for fear of him pulling out.

The "younger brother" McGregor refers to is Usman Nurmagomedov, Umar's younger brother and former Bellator lightweight champion. Usman was suspended for six months following a banned substance violation in November 2023. Umar is also the cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov.

McGregor could be using the term "family" in a loose manner, possibly referring to Islam Makhachev's IV bag debacle in 2023 and Zubaira Tukhugov's two-year suspension for Ostarine in 2016.