Conor McGregor is the most drug tested fighter in the UFC this year, and it isn’t close. Bloody Elbow reported that the promotion’s anti-doping records, updated this week, show McGregor tested 15 times since January. The fighters tied for second place sit at eight apiece.
Those runners-up are Anthony Hernandez and Luis Dias de Assis. Both are middleweights, and both have fought twice in 2026. McGregor has spent far less time in the cage. His comeback against Max Holloway at UFC 329 lasted 69 seconds. So two guys who each made the walk twice this year have given roughly half the samples of a man whose entire competitive year fit inside a little over a minute.
The wider numbers come from Jed I Goodman, a social media user who compiled the list of tested athletes. By his count, 759 fighters have been tested in 2026, and 3,355 total samples have been collected so far. Every fighter under UFC contract is subject to random testing. Within that pool of 759, McGregor’s total of 15 stands well above everyone else.
The reason the testers kept his number on speed dial goes back to his five years away from competition. During that layoff McGregor served a suspension for missing drug tests. That happened around the same time his planned fight with Michael Chandler was cancelled, a matchup that never got made. Bloody Elbow noted that nobody was taking chances with his testing before he was cleared to fight again this year, and the totals reflect that.
The count has also held at 15 for a while. According to the outlet, his most recent test came around the Holloway fight, though the exact date of that last collection isn’t clear from the records. Even with no new tests logged since then, nobody else on the roster has come within seven tests of him.
What comes next could freeze that number for good. Bloody Elbow also reported that McGregor has ruled out re-signing with the UFC and says he is looking forward to being “free.” If he leaves the promotion, the UFC’s random testing program no longer has any reason to keep knocking on his door. Hernandez and Dias de Assis could keep climbing. McGregor would stay at 15.
My take: this is how it should work. A fighter with a missed-test suspension on his record, coming back after five years, with the biggest name in the sport, should have the busiest testing calendar on the roster. Nobody should feel sorry for him over 15 tests. What stands out to me is the ratio. Hernandez and Dias de Assis put in two full fight camps each and got tested eight times. McGregor got 15 for 69 seconds of work. Fair enough. If that 69 seconds turns out to be his last UFC appearance, he leaves holding the 2026 testing lead by almost double.
