Conor McGregor is set for his UFC return. But before that can happen, his past appears to have become a subject of conversation. Appearing in an interview with Ariel Helwani, ‘The Mac’ addressed several legal cases that befell him in the aftermath of his last fight in the UFC. He also pushed back against the NYT’s report, which investigated his PED use during his hiatus from competition. 

“God knows my heart and the things that I’ve gone through. I’m a young man… I forgive myself for disgracing the position that God put me in, which I’ve done many times, and I won’t do it again,” McGregor said. “And that’s where I’m at today. I don’t have regrets. I’m happy and thankful for the lessons that I learned on the way.”

The lessons McGregor is talking about stem from his long layoff from the UFC. This was triggered by a gruesome injury he suffered during his July 2021 loss against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. In the years that followed, he recovered from the injury. Not to mention, he also had several legal troubles, including the Irish civil trial, where he was found liable for the 2018 Nikita Hand case. 

And despite those experiences, he is coming back to fight Max Holloway on July 11 at UFC 329 when he doesn’t really need to. ‘The Notorious’ is an exception in the UFC. Unlike most fighters, he has been able to twist things in his favor, get the best deals, and make the most money. In fact, outside of fighting, McGregor has a thriving business empire. But it’s also this life of excess that led to his recklessness. 

“Money isn’t the end-all, be-all,” McGregor added. “… I’ve done the Forbes [highest-paid athletes] list, I won the Forbes list. You won’t see me on it again. I won’t register to go on it again. Look what it brought to me. Still, even now, I can feel it somewhere. ‘Oh, he’s back.’ This is coming in, and I just—there [are] forces. They’re trying to get their claws on you in this life. And I don’t want to give it energy. I don’t want to give it life. 

“… I am a religious man, I was raised Catholic by my mother and my family. We’re a religious family. It takes a deeper meaning when you hit rock bottom, and there’s nothing else there but God. And then, just the divine coincidence is everything — I keep seeing it. I keep being shown it, and I’m going all in on it. There were a few dark moments. But I relished the opportunity to show my strength. 

“I was put in a position to showcase my strength. So I stood up and showed it, and that’s what I’ve done. A few dark moments, I’m through them, I’m in the light, I’m walking the tightrope, and I’m keeping my balance. And please, God, I [pray I] keep it. People don’t understand the darkness of being in that situation with that injury. It ain’t easy. So I’m very happy that I’m f—ing through it.”

Although he feels grateful that he doesn’t have to deal with those lawsuits anymore, the 2018 case wasn’t the last. In October 2019, McGregor was accused of s—ally assaulting her in a vehicle parked outside a Dublin pub. ‘The Mac’ denied the claims, and no charges were filed. The next year, in September, McGregor was arrested and detained for two days on suspicion of s—al assault and indecent exposure in a bar on the island of Corsica. 

Even in this incident, no charges were filed, and prosecutors didn’t pursue a trial due to a lack of evidence. Another case came during the 2023 Miami NBA Finals, after a woman accused McGregor of s—ally assaulting her in a men’s restroom at the Kaseya Center in Miami. She filed a civil lawsuit in January 2025, but it was dismissed with prejudice in December 2025. 

In any case, when McGregor’s liable verdict in the 2018 case was presented in front of UFC CEO Dana White at UFC 310’s post-fight conference in Las Vegas, he claimed that if he had a comment, he would have made it. Clearly, the UFC didn’t want to deal with that part of Conor McGregor’s life. But today, McGregor appears to have moved on from it ahead of his UFC return.

But the return has also brought PED allegations made in the NYT report, which McGregor addressed later in the interview. 

Conor McGregor pushes back against PED allegations

Ahead of McGregor’s UFC return, speculation has run rampant about his transformation into a bigger and chiseled fighter. Joe Rogan has claimed that McGregor may have skirted the U.F.C.’s anti-doping rules to use performance-enhancing drugs while recovering. ‘The Mac’ effectively stopped being subjected to UFC drug testing when he quietly withdrew from the USADA testing pool after his injury during the Poirier fight. 

He did not re-enter the testing pool until October 2023. His actions raised concerns with USADA antidoping officials, who viewed efforts for exemptions as potentially exploiting loopholes. While McGregor has never tested positive for PEDs, the NYT presented two anonymous sources confirming that McGregor had used powerful banned drugs to recover from his gruesome injury during the Poirier fight. 

Prominent sports doctor Neal ElAttrache, who performed the surgery, confirmed that while he didn’t prescribe the substances, he supported their use for McGregor to heal from the injury under a therapeutic use exemption. Since then, the UFC has issued a statement defending Conor McGregor’s “recovery and rehabilitation protocol” advised by ElAttrache. 

“As a result, McGregor did not compete for five years and maintained proper communication with our team throughout, remaining in full compliance with the rules of our comprehensive drug program,” the statement read. “McGregor has been tested 19 times over the past two years, including 12 times in 2026, making him the most tested athlete during this time.”

They also claimed that any suggestion that UFC separated from USADA in 2024 because of Conor McGregor was false. UFC claimed USADA was simply misrepresenting the facts after UFC terminated its partnership. Since the separation, the UFC has launched its own independent anti-doping program administered by CSAD. With this new drug testing partner, McGregor has become the most tested athlete in the promotion.  

While speaking to Helwani, McGregor reacted to the NYT report, defending himself. 

“Shocking. A man’s private medical [records],” McGregor said. “The most devastating injury you’ll see in combat sports. The whole thing is strange to me. You have an injury like that; you’re not going to walk again. The objective should be to get that athlete, who has given his livelihood for the entertainment of the people, it should be get this man back on his feet.

“If a doctor is prescribing certain medications to help you come back. Otherwise you’re not going to walk again. There’s like a 20 percent chance that [the] leg doesn’t join together again. It’s called a non-union, where the bone doesn’t heal. That’s what’s at stake here.

“Whatever, I took myself out of the pool, listened to my doctors, and didn’t ask questions. I don’t need to know, and I don’t want to know. All I want to know is what’s going to get me back on my fucking feet and able to play with my children in a normal capacity again. That was it.”

That being said, it appears Conor McGregor’s return to the UFC has come with several questions about his past. However, he doesn’t appear to be too bothered by any of them.