One of the most highly anticipated fights of the year has officially been called off. After weeks of speculation, rumours, and even 11th hour optimism that the bout could be salvaged, Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler has been postponed.
According to reports, McGregor suffered an injury during training camp and will no longer be able to headline the PPV card. It marks the first time in his career that the Irishman has pulled out of a fight for any reason.
In its place, Dana White announced that a light heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka will now headline the UFC 303 card.
But the changes didn’t stop there. White also announced that bouts between Diego Lopes and Brian Ortega and Carlos Ulberg vs. Anthony Smith had been added to the card after Jamahal Hill who was previously scheduled to take part in the co-main event also had to withdraw due to injury.
The loss of McGregor from the card is a massive financial blow to the UFC as preliminary projections had UFC 303 on pace to set a company record for largest live gate in the history of the promotion. The “Notorious One” is also a PPV darling, holding multiple UFC PPV purchase records as well.
The fight was set to become the 35 year old’s return to the Octagon following a gruesome broken leg injury suffered in a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in 2021. Meanwhile, Chandler, 38, has been out of action since 2022 as well as he waited for the high profile bout vs. McGregor to materialize.
At the moment, the UFC has yet to provide any clarity as to whether the bout will be rescheduled for later this year, if at all.
The new UFC 303 fight card is as follows:
Main Card (10 p.m. ET)
Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka
Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes
Anthony Smith vs. Carlos Ulberg
Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Macy Chiasson
Ian Machado Garry vs. Michael Page
Preliminary Card (8 p.m. ET)
Joe Pyfer vs. Marc-Andre Barriault
Charles Jourdain vs. Jean Silva
Cub Swanson vs. Andre Fili
Payton Talbott vs. Yanis Ghemmouri
Early Preliminaries (6 p.m. ET)
Michelle Waterson-Gomez vs. Gillian Robertson
Andrei Arlovski vs. Martin Buday
Rei Tsuruya vs. Carlos Hernandez
Ricky Simon vs. Vinicius Oliveira
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