Dana White introduced Thursday night time that Conor McGregor’s return to the octagon is not going to occur at UFC 303, as he’s out of his battle in opposition to Michael Chandler following an harm.
A report from MMA journalist Ariel Helwani earlier Thursday mentioned all indicators have been pointing to McGregor being out of the principle occasion to the purpose the place it was only a “formality.”
“It’s not 100% off however I’d be extraordinarily shocked at this level if it stays and they’re actively negotiating with a number of camps to discover a substitute,” Helwani posted on X. “It’s all up within the air nonetheless however they’re continuing presently like they want a substitute.”
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(L-R) Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler face off through the filming of The Ultimate Fighter at UFC APEX on March 3, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
McGregor hinted on his Instagram story on Wednesday night time that he could also be injured.
There was additionally a information convention in Dublin, Ireland, on June 3 that was canceled simply 12 hours earlier than it was set to start out.
It’s unclear what harm McGregor is coping with.
With McGregor and Chandler not headlining the competitors, White introduced there will probably be a co-main occasion, beginning with Alex Pereira dealing with off in opposition to Jiri Prochazka.
CONOR MCGREGOR’S UFC RETURN APPEARS TO BE GETTING CANCELED: ‘JUST A FORMALITY AT THIS POINT’
As White mentioned, Pereira is the one fighter in UFC history to win each the middleweight and light-weight heavyweight title belts, and he did it in 736 days over seven fights, which is the shortest period of time in historical past as properly.
Pereira has received 10 of his final 11 fights.
Brazil’s Alex Pereira arrives for a middleweight bout in opposition to Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya on the UFC 281 blended martial arts occasion on Nov. 13, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
As for Prochazka, he is a former gentle heavyweight champion as properly, at present proudly owning 23 first-round wins. He is 30-4-1 for his profession with 25 wins by knockout and three by submission for a 97% end price.
Rounding out the co-main occasion is No. 3-ranked featherweight Brian Ortega, who has the second-most finishes in featherweight historical past and the second-most submissions within the weight class as properly. Ortega is 16-3 with eight whole submissions on his UFC stat sheet.
He’ll be going head-to-head with Diego Lopes, who has seen 22 of his 24 victories by end. He’s knocked out 10 opponents and had 12 others submit with an general 24-6 document.
Conor McGregor attends Game Four of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat on June 9, 2023, at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE by way of Getty Images)
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So, whereas McGregor’s hiatus from the UFC should proceed, White will nonetheless be placing on a present in Las Vegas on June 29.
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