The UFC have announced that Conor McGregor v Michael Chandler has been postponed.
Dana White finally confirmed in the early hours of Friday morning after more than a week and a half of speculation that the UFC 303 main event has been cancelled due to an injury suffered by McGregor.
The Dubliner was scheduled to return to the Octagon for the first time in almost three years on June 29 to face Chandler in Las Vegas. However, the fight has been scrapped and will be rescheduled for later this year, according to reports.
Read more: Conor McGregor 'not motivated' for UFC return as Daniel Cormier fears worst for Michael Chandler fight
Read more: Conor McGregor 3Arena press conference for Michael Chandler fight postponed
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.
"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.
“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 be 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.”
For all the latest news from Dublin and s urrounding areas visit our homepage.
Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. 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.
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
