UFC 303 and Conor McGregor’s big comeback fight are falling into worrisome territory.
The promotion planned to return to McGregor’s home of Dublin, Ireland yesterday (Mon., June 3, 2024) for a pre-fight press conference between “The Notorious” and his upcoming opponent, Michael Chandler. However, UFC announced late Sunday night (June 2, 2024) that the presser was postponed for undisclosed reasons until further notice.
No new date has been set for the pre-fight press conference. Instead, updates have only indicated worse speculations as McGregor reportedly canceled all upcoming media obligations. McGregor, 35, tweeted about the postponement, claiming it was because of “obstacles outside of our control.” Reports have since come out, stating the delay has nothing to do with any type of drug-related issues after some recent suspect McGregor videos surfaced. Therefore, narrowing it down to a potential “minor injury.”
As of right now, the Welterweight main event is still on for June 29, 2024. Despite that, UFC has started to hide some promotional material for UFC 303 and according to senior journalist, Ariel Helwani, alternatives are now being sought just in case they’re needed.
“The hope is still that the fight is on,” Helwani tweeted. “There is positivity, I’d say. But they have sent out feelers to see who might be able to fill in, either as a replacement or an entirely new fight at the top of the bill. Still developing, and still some time.”
McGregor last fought when he suffered a first round technical knockout to Dustin Poirier in their trilogy clash at UFC 264 in July 2021 (watch highlights). The Irishman grossly broke his leg in the fight, which has kept him sidelined ever since and required surgery.