Joe Rogan has no issue if Conor McGregor used performance-enhancing drugs to recover.
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) withdrew from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) testing pool when he broke his leg in a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021, and has yet to return.
Although there’s no evidence to support that McGregor took PEDs during his recovery time, he has repeatedly teased the topic on social media. Longtime UFC commentator Rogan says the Irishman should be allowed to take whatever healing agents needed after suffering such a gruesome injury.
McGregor was readmitted to the USADA testing pool in October, and is expected to fight Michael Chandler in the first half of 2024. With the likes of Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman visibly struggling to successfully return from breaking their leg, Rogan thinks fighters should be able to use PEDs while they’re sidelined for recovery.
UFC’s partnership with USADA expires at the end of this month. The agency has a hard stance against non-traditional recovery methods, but with UFC shifting to a new anti-doping partner in 2023 with Drug Free Sport, Rogan would like to see athletes have more freedom to explore expediting recovery from serious injuries.
“I would imagine it’s going to be a little more lax, and I would support that,” Rogan said in a recent episode of his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.” “I certainly support guys taking things to recover from injuries like Conor did with his leg injury. 100 percent, no question about it. I’m 100 percent all in on that. That’s the only way. No one comes back from that. No one has ever come back from that catastrophic leg break.”
Silva went 1-5-1 since returning from his leg break, whereas Weidman ended up fracturing his other leg in a unanimous decision loss to Brad Tavares in his comeback at UFC 292.
“The shin break, not a single athlete has come back from it and performed at the same level,” Rogan continued. “Anderson Silva is the only guy who came back and fought multiple times and he was not the same guy.”
