The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the middle of a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox, but the biggest story hovering over the clubhouse doesn’t involve a pitch or a swing. It involves the team’s head physician, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, and a UFC superstar known for his knockout power and his use of performance-enhancing drugs.
According to a report from The New York Times, Major League Baseball plans to question ElAttrache in the coming weeks after it emerged that he supported Conor McGregor’s decision to use banned substances during his recovery from a broken leg. The revelation has raised eyebrows inside the league’s anti-doping apparatus, and now the MLB wants answers about whether that same medical judgment was ever applied to its own players.
ElAttrache, a prominent orthopedic surgeon, serves as the head team doctor for both the Dodgers and the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams. While the NFL has yet to announce whether it will open its own inquiry, MLB investigators have already signaled that they intend to dig deeper into ElAttrache’s role in McGregor’s controversial recovery plan.
What MLB Wants to Know
The league’s investigators are focused on understanding why ElAttrache backed McGregor’s use of banned drugs — a move that anti-doping officials viewed as an attempt to exploit a loophole in the UFC’s testing protocols. The New York Times report, citing two people familiar with the matter, states that MLB wants to determine whether ElAttrache has ever supported similar drug use for baseball players under his care.
“The investigators want to understand why Dr. ElAttrache backed the decision of the U.F.C. star, Conor McGregor, to use banned drugs — a move that distressed anti-doping officials who saw it as McGregor trying to exploit a loophole in the drug-testing system,” wrote Michael S. Schmidt in the Times report.
“Investigators also want to make sure that Dr. ElAttrache never supported baseball players’ use of banned drugs,” Schmidt added, citing the two anonymous sources briefed on the matter.
What This Means for the Dodgers
For a franchise eyeing another World Series run, this investigation introduces an unwelcome layer of scrutiny. ElAttrache has been a trusted figure in the Dodgers’ medical staff, and his reputation as one of the top surgeons in sports medicine has made him a go-to for elite athletes across multiple leagues. But if MLB finds that he endorsed performance-enhancing drug use for a non-baseball athlete, the league may push for stricter oversight — or even disciplinary action — that could affect his role with the team.
The Dodgers have not publicly commented on the investigation, and ElAttrache has not responded to requests for comment. The NFL has not indicated whether it plans to launch a parallel inquiry regarding his work with the Rams.
At this point, the investigation remains in its early stages. But for a player like McGregor — a fighter who has long been dogged by PED speculation — the involvement of a high-profile team doctor only adds to the questions surrounding his path back to the Octagon. For the Dodgers, the hope is that this is a story about a doctor’s outside work, not about the integrity of their own clubhouse.
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