05 October 2023 , 08:35
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Conor McGregor's UFC return has taken one more positive step forward as the Irishman claimed he has "submitted his stuff" to get drug tested for a fight.
The Irishman last competed in July of 2021 when he suffered a broken leg against Dustin Poirier that kept him out of the cage for a number of years. He has been back sparring and training full contact for months, and even has a return fight booked against Michael Chandler, with whom he coached on The Ultimate Fighter.
But the UFC legend has had a lengthy battle to get back in the USADA drug testing pool, which he left during his temporary 'retirement' in which he recovered from the injury. Fighters are required to spend six months in the testing pool and submit two negative tests in order to be sanctioned to fight, and he hasn't been tested in over two years.
In an Instagram post last night, McGregor wrote: "Find my targets. Hit them. F*** the consequences. You’re going down. This is fighting. Sparring day with slick Nikolay Grozdev. Always a banger of a spar with the slick fella. Submitted my stuff to [Jeff] Novitzky. Ball rolling. See you soon you little light work b****."
The 'Novitzky' he is referring to is Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance for the UFC Jeff Novitzky, who is a key player in the promotion's programme with USADA. Should McGregor re-enter the pool today or by the week's end, he would be eligible for April, when the highly-anticipated UFC 300 is slated to take place.
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However, there have been false dawns for McGregor's plans in the past, with the Irishman telling Mirror Fighting as long ago as May that the situation with USADA "is done". He promised an announcement for a Chandler fight date within the summer season of The Ultimate Fighter, but that never materialised.
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At the time, even USADA seemed to agree and wrote in a statement: "We have recently been in direct contact with Conor McGregor. As he confirmed today in the media, we expect to receive his paperwork coming out of retirement and re-entering the USADA testing pool immediately.
"Like other athletes who come out of retirement, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, McGregor will be subject to testing for at least six months and must provide at least two negative samples before being permitted to compete. The purpose of this rule is to ensure that all athletes who are not subject to a period of testing are adequately tested over a reasonable period of time before competing to ensure a level playing field for all athletes."
Speaking at the launch of his Forged Irish Stout last week in London, McGregor again reiterated to Mirror Fighting that his return is "imminent". He even went as far as to claim that the bout could happen in December, although that seems incredibly unlikely given that the UFC 296 pay-per-view card is already full.