Conor McGregor‘s impending return to the UFC requires him to spend six months in the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s (USADA) testing pool.
The Irishman stirred controversy when he announced that he was “clear for testing” in February and will book a fight after undergoing two tests, despite not being part of the USADA testing pool.
UFC welterweight veteran Matt Brown addressed the issue in an appearance on the podcast The Fighter vs. The Writer and compared Conor McGregor’s situation to Brock Lesnar:
“If you have a criticism against that rule then you have to criticize that rule but anybody can do that. So fair game to him for that. Having the ranking is questionable and then I heard he’s attempting to get an exemption kind of like Brock Lesnar did when Brock came back for UFC 200. I don’t know why the UFC would do that for Conor being that him fighting in March or February versus him fighting in August or September doesn’t really change the bottom line. He’s going to be a draw no matter when he fights.”
Brown further expressed his surprise at more fighters not taking advantage of the technical loophole:
“I think we all know why [he dropped out of the testing pool] but it’s just a loophole. We can all exploit it. Any of us could exploit it. I don’t think most of us make the money he has to afford that much time off, right? He has the money, he’s still pretty young. He’s young enough… He doesn’t have to fight again if he doesn’t want to. Most guys, the vast majority of guys, can’t afford to take a year off, do six months of steroids and six months back in the testing pool. Otherwise, I guarantee you, way more people would be doing it. It’s a simple loophole.”
Catch the full episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer below:
Nate Diaz may return to the UFC for Conor McGregor trilogy fight
Nate Diaz exited the UFC after over a decade of thrilling fans with his exploits inside the octagon. The iconic fighter is now a free agent and is looking to sign on with other promotions or perhaps dabble in professional or exhibition boxing.
However, Diaz’s agent, Zach Rosenfield, spoke to MMA Junkie in an interview and kept the option of his client returning to the UFC open in one case – fighting Conor McGregor:
“Nate [Diaz] is going to be looking at the biggest fights possible. He has stated that completing the trilogy with Conor McGregor is something that interests him, and that has not changed.” [h/t MMA Junkie]
The two fighters have met twice and each has one win. A trilogy fight will not only help settle the score but also be a massive draw despite both fighters not holding any current championship.