diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/inference/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/inference/registry/ModelRegistryMetadataTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/inference/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/inference/registry/ModelRegistryMetadataTests.java
index 7bf7bd48e5375..130016dd1696d 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/inference/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/inference/registry/ModelRegistryMetadataTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/inference/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/inference/registry/ModelRegistryMetadataTests.java
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ public static ModelRegistryMetadata randomInstance() {
     }
 
     public static ModelRegistryMetadata randomInstance(boolean isUpgraded) {
-        if (rarely()) {
+        if (rarely() && isUpgraded == false) {
             return ModelRegistryMetadata.EMPTY;
         }
         int size = randomIntBetween(1, 5);