MMA News Roundup – Conor McGregor Becomes Most Tested UFC Athlete in 2024; Dana White and Co. $335M Settlement Exposed; Sean O’Malley Given the Green Light to Face Ryan Garcia

The world of MMA is buzzing with new headlines and we’re here with yet another roundup edition to keep you updated with the most noteworthy happenings in our favorite sport. We will start with Conor McGregor, who has become the most tested athlete so far in 2024. Then we’ll turn our attention to Dana White, who recently got exposed by a UFC veteran regarding the class-action lawsuit settlement. Finally, we’ll sum up the daily news compilation with Sean O’Malley and the possibility of him fighting Ryan Garcia. Without further ado, let’s dive into it.

Conor McGregor tops 2024 testing charts

For a while now, people have been speculating about whether Conor McGregor was on steroids since he failed to enlist himself in the USADA testing pool in early 2023 but joined the pool in the latter half of the year. However, in the wake of the UFC’s new partnership with Drug Free Sport International, McGregor has turned out to be the most-tested athlete in 2024, so far.

During a recent appearance on ‘The MMA Hour’, Conor McGregor had a conversation with Ariel Helwani ahead of the release of ‘Road House’. There, the former double champion claimed to have been subjected to most drug tests when he was an active MMA competitor. Moreover, McGregor also claimed to be the most tested in 2024.

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“I was the most tested all the time… I’m the most tested now on this new one too. They come to me two times a week,” said the Irishman. According to the UFC’s Anti-Doping Testing History charts, at the end of February 2024, McGregor had three tests, the most of all registered UFC athletes.

Brendan Schaub weighs in on Dana White’s multi-million-dollar class action lawsuit settlement

TKO Group Holdings, the company that owns the UFC, recently agreed to a $335 million settlement in two class action antitrust lawsuits brought by fighters, who were seeking fairer compensations. Former UFC fighter Brendan Schaub shared a tweet regarding the lawsuit settlement, claiming that it was a big win for the world’s biggest MMA promotion.

Meanwhile, Schaub also claimed that such lawsuits are a bad look for an organization as big and popular as the UFC. But despite the lawsuit settlement, he believes fighters’ pay conditions will remain the same until they create a union. “Until the fighters unionize like MLB, NBA, and NFL nothing will ever change. You can be mad at [Dana White] all you want but it’s not his fault or job.”

Brendan Schaub also sided with Dana White, claiming that his job is to take the UFC to new heights and the responsibility of being able to earn more rests upon the shoulders of the fighters. “His [White’s] Job is to build the UFC as big as possible and make the most profit. Period. Which he’s doing at a historic level. This unfortunately is on the fighters,” Schaub added. It remains to be seen if the issue of fighter pay in the UFC gets better in the months and years to come.

Sean O’Malley’s coach has no problems with him fighting Ryan Garcia

Similar to how Conor McGregor made the jump from MMA to boxing, the reigning UFC bantamweight champion also has an interest in doing the same. He had mentioned wanting to fight Ryan Garcia on several occasions. While Dana White hasn’t made any comments on that front, O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, appears to be in favor of ‘Suga’s boxing aspirations.

“There’s ways for him to that fight [against Garcia], there is. I wouldn’t be opposed to that, no,” said Tim Welch during a recent appearance on ‘The MMA Hour’. When asked how he thinks Sean O’Malley can win the boxing match against Ryan Garcia, Welch claimed that ‘Suga’ might just knockout ‘KingRy’. However, it does not seem likely that the fight will take place anytime soon as the champion may have to defend his UFC title a few more times.

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