Conor McGregor Accepted into USADA's Registered Testing Pool Ahead of UFC Return

Conor McGregor may be nearing a return to the UFC.

The MMA superstar posted a screenshot of his acceptance into the USADA drug testing program Wednesday, which will set the stage for his return.

The USADA confirmed the news in a statement:

McGregor will need to undergo six months of drug testing before he's cleared to return. UFC president Dana White said the promotion has "nothing planned" for McGregor in the immediate future.

"I literally have nothing planned with Conor McGregor right now, the paperwork is being submitted," White told reporters. "We'll play it by ear and see how things work out. There is still a lot of things that have to happen, as far as fights go, then we'll figure out where he is going to land."

McGregor is expected to fight Michael Chandler, his Ultimate Fighter co-coach, when he's eligible to return.

It's been more than two years since McGregor suffered a broken tibia in his July 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier. He's been slowly rehabbing the injury ever since, regularly hinting at a return but never getting a set date.

The 35-year-old has lost three of his last four UFC bouts overall, submitting to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018 and then losing twice to Poirier in the span of six months in 2021. By the time he returns, McGregor will have fought just three times in the past five years, with his only victory coming against an overmatched Donald Cerrone.

At this point, it's fair to wonder whether McGregor's name value offers more than his skills in the Octagon. Based on his post Wednesday, we're not going to have to wait much longer to find out.