Dana White introduced Thursday night time that Conor McGregor’s return to the octagon won’t occur at UFC 303, as he’s out of his struggle in opposition to Michael Chandler on account of an damage.
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 stunned 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 at the moment like they want a substitute.”
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(L-R) Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler face off in the course of the filming of The Final Fighter at UFC APEX on March 3, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
McGregor posted to his Instagram Tales on Wednesday night time, hinting that he could also be injured.
There was additionally a press convention in Dublin, Eire on June 3 that was canceled simply 12 hours earlier than it was set to begin.
It is unclear what damage McGregor is coping with.
With McGregor and Chandler now not headlining the competitors, White introduced there shall be a co-main occasion, beginning with Alex Pereira going through 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 historical past to win each the middleweight and light-weight heavyweight title belts in UFC historical past. And he did it in 736 days over seven fights, which is the shortest period of time in historical past as effectively.
Pereira has gained 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 early Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, in New York. (AP Picture/Frank Franklin II)
As for Prochazka, he is a former mild heavyweight champion as effectively, at the moment proudly owning 23 first-round wins. He’s 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 effectively. Ortega is 16-3 with eight whole submission 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 is knocked out 10 opponents and had 12 others submit with an total 24-6 report.
Conor McGregor attends Recreation 4 of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Warmth on June 9, 2023 at Kaseya Heart in Miami, Florida. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE through Getty Pictures)
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So, whereas McGregor hiatus from the UFC should proceed, White will nonetheless be placing on a present in Las Vegas on June 29.
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