The United States Anti-Doping Agency has confirmed Dana White’s recent claims that Conor McGregor is out of the organisation’s testing pool.
When UFC 280 had concluded White attended his usual post-event media scrum, during which he made an offhand remark about McGregor’s absence from the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s testing pool. Speaking with MMA Fighting yesterday, USADA – who have been unwilling to disclose McGregor’s testing status until now – finally lent credence to these claims.
It still remains unclear why McGregor has been omitted from testing over the past year. Athletes will generally only exit the testing pool upon retirement – and any fighter who does will be required to complete six months of testing prior to re-entering competition. Barring an exemption from both the UFC and USADA (think Brock Lesnar vs Mark Hunt), it is expected McGregor will be subject to these same guidelines.
Regardless, the Irishman continues to tease his return, suggesting he’d fight multiple times before the release of the Roadhouse remake in which McGregor will feature.
The AllStar MMA roundup
- Banned Bets: Will fighters continue to bet despite UFC’s gambling ban?
- Roxanne Modafferi: My experience as a UFC fighter in Abu Dhabi
- Feature: Forthcoming fatherhood has lit another spark in Rob Font after back-to-back setbacks
- UFC Vegas 63: Tresean Gore dealt with depression leading to bad habits – ‘I’m clean, I’m sober, I’m happy’
- Road to UFC: The dark side of Muay Thai: How one fighter survived and got on the road to the UFC
The best of the rest
- Nate Diaz sends a message to ‘rookies’ Charles Oliveira, Kevin Holland and Dustin Poirier – BJPenn.com
- Anderson Silva’s last sparring session has controversial end – MMAFighting.com
- Jon Jones says he’s ‘preparing to fight’ Stipe Miocic at UFC 282, unsure of ex-champ’s status – MMAJunkie.com
- Eric Nicksick wants Francis Ngannou to fight Jon Jones in March, says UFC exec ‘agrees 1 million percent’ – MMAJunkie.com
- No defense, more brain damage – Doctors speak out against ‘insane’ Dana White’s Power Slap League – BloodyElbow.com
The soapbox
O’Malley reacts to his controversial win over Petr Yan:
Triple C prods at Aljamain:
Paulo Costa turns over a new leaf… apparently:
Some footage of Poatan in action:
A detailed breakdown of the interaction between Khamzat and Abubakar:
The morning view
Dan Hooker previews UFC 284:
Dan Hardy breaks down this weekend’s UFC main event:
MMA On Point details what the hell happened with TJ Dillashaw at UFC 280:
The Weasle reacts to rumours that Sterling vs Cejudo is being targeted for UFC 284:
Done deals
Wednesday
- Joshua Weems debuts in short notice fight opposite Christian Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 63 (per Marcel Dorff)
Tuesday
- Bryce Mitchell to fight Ilia Topuria at UFC 282 on December 10th (per David Van Auken)
- K.Rodrigues out. Cody Durden will now fight Carlos Mota at UFC Vegas 63 on October 29th (per Guilherme Cruz)
Monday
- None to note
On this day in MMA…
On the 26th of October, 2019, Ben Askren competed in his final MMA bout at UFC Fight Night 162 in Kallang, Singapore.
Askren faced BJJ wizard Demian Maia in the Fight Night headline event. The entire five rounds were not needed. After a display of some of the least technical striking to have ever graced the Octagon, Maia locked in a rear naked choke late in the third round.
It was Askren’s second loss in a row following a legendary 19-fight win streak and championship runs across multiple promotions. Plagued by injuries, the former NCAA division one wrestling champion decided to hang up the gloves at 35 years old.
Aside from the now infamous and ill-advised boxing match between himself and Jake Paul, Askren remained faithful in his decision to step away from the sport. It’s one of the few MMA retirements that stuck. Askren has just released his first book detailing his career in combat sports, titled: Funky: My Defiant Path Through the Wild World of Combat Sports.
