Conor McGregor: UFC comeback OFF as injury forces Michael Chandler fight cancellation
The much-awaited comeback of Conor McGregor in the UFC this month has been delayed.
The ex-UFC champion, who had won in both featherweight and lightweight divisions, was all set to make his grand return to the octagon after almost a year, with a highly anticipated bout against Michael Chandler as the main event of UFC 303, scheduled for June 29 in Las Vegas.
Nonetheless, the eagerly anticipated fight, expected to break a UFC record for ticket sales, faced mounting uncertainty in the weeks leading up to the event. This was due to the unexpected cancellation of a pre-fight press conference in Dublin that was scheduled to take place earlier this month.
Initially, there was some hope that the match was getting back to its original schedule. However, on Thursday evening, UFC's president Dana White announced that the event had been delayed. This was because McGregor, who hasn't competed in the UFC since his leg got severely injured in his second back-to-back loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 - three years ago, suffered an unknown injury.
It is anticipated that the tournament will be delayed until a later date in the year without a specific date being confirmed. In its place for this month's UFC 303 event, there will be a rematch between the current light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and previous title-holder Jiri Prochazka as the headline act.
The UFC President made an announcement on social media stating that Conor McGregor had been forced to withdraw from his scheduled fight against Michael Chandler due to an injury. As a result, the new headline event will be Alex Pereira versus Jiri Prochazka.
Previously, these two people had a fight at UFC 295 in New York during November 2023. The battle was very exciting, and Pereira emerged victorious, winning the vacant title. He went on to defend his title successfully against Jamahal Hill in the second round by stopping him.
An upcoming fight night will feature a battle between third-ranked fighter Brian Ortega and rising talent Diego Lopes in the featherweight division. The event will also showcase a fight between Ireland's Ian Machado Garry and experienced MMA fighter Michael 'Venom' Page from England. This will only be Page's second fight in the UFC, following a previous victory over Kevin Holland by decision at UFC 299 in March.
Hill won't be able to fight in UFC 303 because of an injury, which resulted in his scheduled co-main event against Carlos Ulberg being canceled. Instead, Ulberg will now fight Anthony Smith at a later time during the event.
