UFC CEO Dana White made the announcement on Thursday night that Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler’s main event at UFC 303 has been canceled. White claims that McGregor’s injuries forced him to withdraw from the bout.
Instead, Jiří Prochazka vs. Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight championship will serve as the replacement main event. Former featherweight champion Brian Ortega versus up-and-coming featherweight talent Diego Lopes will be the co-main event.
#UFC303 UPDATE 🚨 https://t.co/pX2d2VItVd
— UFC (@ufc) June 14, 2024
Because of Hill’s injury, the original co-main event—a fight between Jamahal Hill and Carlos Ulberg—was rescheduled.
Dissapointment but hope for Connor McGregor
It was expected in recent days that McGregor vs. Chandler would be canceled. The fight appeared to be in risk last week after an unexpected cancellation of the event’s press conference. The fight’s cancellation was all but assured on Thursday when the UFC started looking for replacements.
After not competing since 2021, the fight between McGregor and Chandler was supposed to be his victorious comeback; however, he will now have to wait to return to the sport.
There is hope that the battle between McGregor and Chandler will happen later because, according to Ariel Helwani of MMA Hour, there have been talks about rescheduling the bout for August or September. Naturally, the length of time could vary based on how serious McGregor’s injury is—White did not provide specifics.
