UFC president Dana White said Thursday night that Conor McGregor will no longer face Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29 in Las Vegas.
McGregor (22-6) was scheduled to headline the event but withdrew due to injury. This is the first time in McGregor’s illustrious UFC career that he has withdrawn from a fight for any reason.
According to White, the new main event will be a fight between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka for the light heavyweight title.
White also announced two additional bouts on the card: Diego Lopez will face Brian Ortega in the co-main event, and Carlos Ulberg will now take on Anthony Smith in a light heavyweight bout, as Jamahal Hill, who was scheduled to fight in the co-main event, has pulled out due to injury.
According to White, the event was on track to set a UFC record with a live gate of over $20 million. The UFC has not announced whether the nontitle welterweight bout between McGregor and Chandler will be rescheduled.
Chandler took the announcement in stride and wrote a post on social media on Friday acknowledging the uncertainty and “risk” of facing McGregor.
McGregor, 35, was set to return to competition for the first time since breaking his leg in a technical knockout loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021. The former featherweight and lightweight champion has fought only four times since his blockbuster boxing match against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017. He is 1-3 in those appearances, including two losses to Poirier and a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in a 2018 title fight.
The cancellation of the fight scheduled for June is a disappointing chapter in the story between McGregor and Chandler, a former champion in Bellator MMA who first seriously called out McGregor in 2022. The UFC announced the two would coach against each other on “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series in early 2023, which went ahead as scheduled that spring. However, for various reasons, the fight date wasn’t set until earlier this year.
The UFC’s former drug testing partner, the United States Anti-Doping Agency, claimed that the UFC program was shut down due to McGregor’s condition, as the promotion wanted to exempt McGregor from a six-month testing requirement following his leg injury. UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell denied the claim and demanded a public apology.
The UFC partners with several other agencies to run its drug program.
Ireland’s McGregor promised in a social media post that his return to the Octagon this year would mark the start of “the greatest comeback in sports history.” The UFC had scheduled a press conference with McGregor and Chandler at Dublin’s 3Arena on June 3 but cancelled the event just 12 hours before doors were due to open, leading to speculation over the status of the fight.
Chandler, 38, has not fought since his loss to Poirier at UFC 281 in November 2022. He has expressed interest in potential bouts against Nate Diaz, who is not currently signed to the UFC, or BMF titleholder Max Holloway.
