The news UFC fans dreaded was confirmed early on Friday morning. Conor McGregor v Michael Chandler will not go ahead on June 29 as planned.
The pair were due to collide in Las Vegas in what would have been McGregor's first fight in almost three years. However, his return to the octagon will now have to wait due to an injury suffered by the Dubliner.
The fight has been in doubt ever since a press conference to promote it, which was due to take place at the 3Arena in Dublin, was cancelled hours before it was due to start on June 3. McGregor remained silent on rumours of his injury but took to social media on Wednesday to post an old video which he quickly deleted. "I think the more resistance you train with, the less movement and the more injury. The less resistance you train with, the more movement and the less injury," McGregor said in the clip.
READ MORE: Conor McGregor fight cancelled as reason given for UFC 303 Michael Chandler bout postponement
READ MORE:Conor McGregor Euro 2024 bet has return of $1million - but fans aren't impressed
"A band balances itself. You might be going a little bit lighter, but the positions you wouldn't be if everyone was tense. Everyone was trying to win every round."
The new main event of UFC 303 will see light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira defend his world title against Jiri Prochazka in a rematch seven months after their first fight. Announcing the news, UFC President White said: “Conor McGregor is out of UFC 303 v Michael Chandler with an injury. The new main event is Alex Pereira; former not only UFC middleweight champion but the first and only fighter to win both middleweight and light-heavyweight titles in UFC history.
Sign up for our Irish Mirror Fighting news service on Whats App
Click this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest League of Ireland news and top stories from the Irish Mirror. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
“He did it in the shortest amount of time, he did in 736 days and seven fights. He finished seven of nine wins by knockout which is a 78 per cent finish rate, and won 10 of his last 11 fights. He is facing former UFC light-heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka who has an unbelievable 23 first round wins.”
Announcing a new co-main event for June 29, White added: “The co-main event will b number three ranked Brian Ortega who has the second most finishes in featherweight history and the second most submissions, he has won performance of the night eight times.
“He is taking on rising superstar Diego Lopes. He has 22 of his 24 wins coming by finish with 10 knockouts and two submissions, that’s a 92 per cent finish rate. Also, Jamahal Hill is out with a knee injury so Carlos Ulberg will now be taking on Anthony Smith.”
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.
