Conor McGregor Criticizes ‘Trash’ Usada in the Midst of Drug-Test Controversy

Conor McGregor has expressed his discontent with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada), by calling it a ‘garbage organisation’ after it claimed he ought to belong to its testing pool. The UFC declared in January that McGregor would return this year to fight Michael Chandler. Nevertheless, the fight’s weight class, date, and location have not yet been established, and McGregor has yet to re-enter Usada’s testing pool. In order to participate in the UFC, competitors must have been present in the Usada pool for six months and have submitted two negative tests, with no positive outcomes. Despite this, Usada issued a statement on 16 March, stating that the UFC “can make an exception” in “exceptional circumstances”. The organization also remarked that such an exemption may be made in cases that are “manifestly unfair” to athletes. However, the statement maintained: “Our position, which we have made clear, is that Conor should be in the testing pool for the full six-month period.” In response, McGregor tweeted “Usada is going in the bin” and later shared a tweet that he had deleted, saying: “You are not the be all end all in this equation usada…Over 70 clean tests. Never violated once. I will not be scapegoated by this garbage organization.”