A new report from Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times claims Conor McGregor took “powerful, banned drugs” during his recovery from the broken tibia he suffered against Dustin Poirier in July 2021, and that his surgeon sought a therapeutic use exemption on his behalf that was never granted.
The Times reports that McGregor’s surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the head physician for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Rams, sent McGregor to specialists in bone healing following the procedure and wrote a letter supporting an application for a special exemption that would have allowed McGregor to use performance-enhancing drugs without penalty.
ElAttrache told the Times by text:
After he had repaired McGregor’s broken leg he sent him to specialists in bone healing and explained that I don’t prescribe hormone or steroid treatment. After McGregor saw a specialist, he wrote a letter supporting McGregor’s application for a special exemption that would have allowed him to use performance-enhancing drugs without facing a penalty. The exemption was never granted.
ElAttrache said he was concerned about whether McGregor’s bones would fuse properly.
I felt it would be appropriate to consult other physicians with expertise in bone healing and bone metabolism. I recommended the consultations but not the course of treatment. I purposely wasn’t involved with his evaluation by the consultant nor with prescribing medication. The expert opinions McGregor received had showed he could optimize his chance of solid union and healing of his fractures and decrease the chances that he would be left with incompletely healed fracture lines.
McGregor’s manager Audie Attar did not confirm or deny whether McGregor used performance-enhancing drugs in his written response to the Times, instead pointing to the severity of the injury and calling the disclosure of medical records “an unfathomable breach of health and privacy protections.”
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. They oversaw a combination of a gruesome surgery, intense physical therapy and appropriately prescribed medicines.
McGregor left the USADA testing pool in 2022 and re-entered in October 2023. He was scheduled to fight in June 2024 but withdrew after breaking his pinkie toe. Drug testers were unable to locate him for a test during that period, and he missed two more tests in September 2024. The UFC’s relationship with USADA ended at the start of 2024.
McGregor is scheduled to return against Max Holloway at UFC 329 on July 11 in Las Vegas.
