A “disgusted” Conor McGregor fired a remarkable social media tirade at Ryan Garcia after it emerged the American failed two drug tests for his victory over Devin Haney last month, however the former UFC champion quickly deleted his post.
Garcia and Haney’s teams were informed on Wednesday by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) that the 25-year-old had returned positive urine tests for the banned substance ostarine the day before, and the day of, his shock victory at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. A positive test for 19-norandrosterone was also recorded, but further lab analysis is required to confirm its presence.
Garcia was a huge underdog heading into the fight against WBC super-lightweight champion Haney following a bizarre and chaotic build-up, but the California native produced a sensational performance, knocking Haney down three times en route to a majority decision victory on the scorecards.
Garcia quickly denied any wrongdoing and declared he is not a “cheat” and “I don’t even know how to get steroids”, but he has since shared pictures of Ashwagandha Root, an herbal supplement that he believes may have caused the positive test. “My bad I shouldn’t have took this,” he posted on X, with the product’s bottle carrying a message that it had not been tested by anti-doping authorities.
But UFC icon McGregor did not hold back in his verdict on the situation, which followed Garcia being unable to make the 140-pound limit for the fight, coming in 3.2 pounds over. “Cheated the weight and was juiced, lifetime ban. Sad to see, sad to say. Sad and a bit sick. Don’t come near me if I see you ever Ryan Garcia. I am actually disgusted,” McGregor posted on X.
“This Ostarine it reminds me of Sean O’Malley – [he] was on that as well. I don’t like this, I’ll bust yous [sic] both up, do yous want a spar? I will set flights right now for you both for a full-on spar each. Hotel, black forge inn the lot. Let’s spar O’Malley and Garcia, two little Ostarine heads. I’ll ride you both like yous are ostriches. Wtf is up. What do you think you are at?”
McGregor, who would delete the post soon after, was referring to UFC bantamweight champion O’Malley’s two failed tests for ostarine five years ago. It was ruled by the United States Anti-Doping Agency that he had unknowingly taken a contaminated supplement, but he still faced two six-month suspensions.
Ostarine is a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) that is in development for medical purposes and has not been approved for public use worldwide. It is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency as it is an anabolic steroid that can enhance muscle growth and recovery.
“Ryan owes the fans an apology, and by his recent tweet he still thinks this is a joke,” Haney told ESPN soon after the details’s of Garcia’s test emerged. “We put our lives on the line to entertain people for a living. You don’t play boxing. This puts the fight in a completely different light. Despite the disadvantage, I still fought on my shield and got back up! People die in this sport. This isn’t a joking matter.”
Garcia has 10 days from notification of the positive test to request for his B-sample to be tested. Haney has called for the fight to be ruled a no-contest by the New York State Athletic Commission.