McGregor allegedly used banned drugs to recover from 2021 leg fracture, NYT reports

Conor McGregor used banned performance-enhancing drugs to aid his recovery from the broken leg he suffered against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021, according to a New York Times investigation published Thursday. The report lands weeks before McGregor is scheduled to return to competition for the first time in nearly five years, facing Max Holloway at UFC 329 this July.

McGregor fractured his fibula and tibia at the end of Round 1 of his trilogy bout with Poirier, requiring emergency surgery and an extended absence from the sport. According to The Times, McGregor and his team sought a therapeutic use exemption from the United States Anti-Doping Agency — then the UFC’s official anti-doping partner — that would have permitted the use of otherwise prohibited substances during his rehabilitation. The exemption was not granted.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the surgeon who operated on McGregor in 2021, told The Times he did not prescribe hormone or steroid treatment, but confirmed he wrote a letter supporting the exemption application. Sources cited in the report believed McGregor’s camp was attempting to exploit a loophole in USADA’s testing programme.

McGregor’s manager, Audie Attar, declined to address whether banned substances were used, but pushed back against any suggestion of wrongdoing. “Even with surgery there was a real risk Conor might not walk again, a high likelihood he would face numerous lifelong side effects that would limit his mobility and serious doubts he would ever return to the octagon,” Attar told The Times. He described McGregor’s withdrawal from the USADA testing pool as necessary for the fighter “to focus fully on his recovery,” and said McGregor’s medical team oversaw a combination of surgery, intensive physical therapy, and appropriately prescribed treatment.

McGregor’s physical transformation during his time away from competition had already drawn scrutiny from within the sport. Periodic social media posts showing a noticeably bulkier physique — including his appearance in the 2022 film Road House — prompted public comment from UFC veterans Justin Gaethje and Matt Brown, both of whom suggested McGregor was taking advantage of a gap in the testing system.

Because McGregor was not actively competing after the 2021 injury, he removed himself from the USADA testing schedule entirely. Under the terms of that arrangement, he would be required to complete six months of testing before being cleared to compete again upon his return.