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Desperate to replace Conor McGregor at UFC 303, the promotion sent ‘Feelers’ to Max Holloway and Dricus Du Plessis

Desperate to replace Conor McGregor at UFC 303, the promotion sent out 'feelers' to Max Holloway and Dricus Du Plessis Before opting to completely scrap Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler from UFC 303, the promotion scrambled to find a…

Before opting to completely scrap Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler from UFC 303, the promotion scrambled to find a replacement opponent for the former Bellator champion.

On Thursday, UFC CEO Dana White announced that McGregor was officially out of the long-awaited clash after suffering an injury, presumably while training. As a result, fans inside T-Mobile Arena and those watching around the world will instead see light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira put his title on the line against Jiri Prochazka in a rematch of their November 2023 showdown.

Offering a timeline of the events that ultimately led to McGregor’s withdrawal, The MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani revealed that the promotion had sent out some “feelers” in hopes of finding Chandler a suitable replacement. Among the names was none other than the promotion’s newly minted BMF titleholder, Max Holloway.

‘Blessed’ claimed the bragging rights belt with an insane buzzer-beating knockout of Justin Gaethje and UFC 300 in April.

Holloway wasn’t the only fighter the UFC considered to replace Conor McGregor

Helwani went on to reveal that Dricus Du Plessis, the current UFC middleweight titleholder, was also discussed as a potential opponent for ‘Iron.’ Clearly, none of those panned out, but Helwani did make it clear that neither Holloway nor ‘Stillknocks’ made it very far into negotiations.

As it stands, the UFC has not revealed a new date for McGregor’s scrap with Chandler, though Helwani also reported that the promotion is looking to reschedule the fight for August or September.

In addition to the shift in the main event, UFC 303 also received a new co-headliner as Brian Ortega is set to take on Diego Lopes in the penultimate bout.

Also added to the card was a fight between Carlos Ulberg and Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith. Originally, Ulberg was set to square off with Jamahal Hill, but ‘Sweet Dream’ exited the contest due to a knee injury.

UFC 303: 4 Replacement Fights in Place of Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler

UFC 303 was supposed to be one of the promotion’s biggest shows of the year, but with Conor McGregor seemingly out of the main event, it’s entirely unclear…

UFC 303: 4 Replacement Fights for Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler Main Event

UFC 303 was supposed to be one of the promotion’s biggest shows of the year, but with Conor McGregor seemingly out of the main event, it’s unclear what kind…

Alexander Volkanovski claims his next fight will be for the featherweight title, eyes potential move to 155

Alexander Volkanovski insists his next fight will be for the featherweight title—but a return to lightweight is looking pretty…

Alexander Volkanovski insists his next fight will be for the featherweight title—but a return to lightweight is looking pretty good.

Volkanovski’s run in the featherweight division is among the greatest runs in all of mixed martial arts history. But as ‘The Great’ learned firsthand, all good things come to an end. After failing in back-to-back attempts to add a second belt to his collection, Volkanovski surrendered the 145-pound crown at UFC 298, suffering a brutal second-round knockout at the hands of Ilia Topuria.

Since then, Volkanovski has been content to sit on the sidelines, allowing himself to heal while his three-time opponent, Max Holloway, gears up for a title tilt with ‘El Matador’ later this year.

Speaking with ESPN Australia, ‘The Great’ revealed that his next fight inside the Octagon will offer him the opportunity to reclaim the featherweight title—but that doesn’t mean he won’t look to get a little action at lightweight first.

“My next fight at featherweight will be for the title,” Volkanovski said. “It’s just the time. Obviously, I wanted to wait. I don’t know what exactly are the plans. I haven’t been hounding the UFC, just sort of been taking it easy. So, I don’t know if they got plans. I know for a fact my next fight is for the title. Whether something happens before that, and if that’s the case, does that mean I’m waiting too long?

“That’s where I’m like, if that is the case, alright. Maybe if Dustin Poirier [wants to], that would be an incredible fight. Obviously, he’s a good dude with a lot of respect for each other. Big name, very, very fun fight. That’s something, and I just thought I’d put feelers out so you never know. Lightweight division looks good but my next featherweight fight is for the belt” (h/t MMA Mania).

Considering the laundry list of injuries Poirier sustained in his UFC 302 title fight against Islam Makahchev, Volkanovski could be waiting quite a while for a showcase with ‘The Diamond.’

Alexander Volkanovski awaits the winner of ilia topuria vs. max holloway

Meanwhile, Ilia Topuria appears to be on a collision course with Holloway, a former featherweight titleholder who recently claimed the promotion’s bragging rights belt—the BMF title— at UFC 300 in April. Following his insane buzzer-beating KO of Justin Gaethje, ‘Blessed’ called for a clash with Topuria. It looks like he’ll get his wish.

No official announcements have been made, but all signs point toward Topuria’s first defense of the featherweight strap going down at UFC 306 when Dana White and Co. head to Sphere in Las Vegas for an event unlike any other in combat sports history.

Volkanovski will likely find himself matched up with the winner sometime in 2025. Will it be a fourth meeting with Max Holloway, or will ‘The Great’ run it back with the No. 5 ranked P4P fighter in the world? Only time will tell.

Michael Chandler urged to fight Max Holloway for BMF belt if Conor McGregor clash at UFC 303 fails

Michael Chandler has been urged to chase a BMF championship fight against Max Holloway if a scheduled fight against…

Michael Chandler has been urged to chase a BMF championship fight against Max Holloway if a scheduled fight against rival, Conor McGregor falls away from UFC 303 later this month – amid continued speculation over the pairing.

This week, speculation has been rife regarding this month’s UFC 303 headliner between McGregor and Chandler at welterweight, with the promotion cancelling a pre-fight press conference at the 3Arena in Dublin, just hours before the event was set to take place in the Irish capital.

And keeping their cards close to their proverbial chest regarding the potential rescheduling of a so-far postponed pairing, the UFC have been the subject of much speculation – as has Dublin striker, McGregor, who addressed the presser’s scrapping on social media yesterday evening.

Cancelling his own media obligations with broadcast partners of the UFC according to reports, McGregor claimed that “obstacles” outside of the promotion’s control forced the cancellation of the press event in in the Dublin docklands, before confirming he is still preparing to make an Octagon comeback.

And amid further speculation that the ex-two-weight champion may be carrying an injury of sorts into his set fight with Chandler at UFC 303 during International Fight Week later this month, a host of potential fights have been floated as replacements for the pairing if the matchup sinks.

From the likes of a light heavyweight title fight rematch between incumbent champion, Alex Pereira and former gold holder, Jiri Prochazka – to a short-notice BMF title fight between Chandler – in order to keep him on the card, against champion, Holloway.

Michael Chandler urged to fight Max Holloway at UFC 303

According to former title challenger, Chael Sonnen to boot, while the Oregon native expects McGregor to stand opposite Chandler on June 29. – if all else fails, Holloway should be drafted in to fight the ex-Bellator MMA star.

“But I will tell you this: there will be no postponement of this fight,” Chael Sonnen said on Good Guy / Bad Guy. “They either fight on the 29th. or we move on. Oh, and by the way, the show is still gonna happen. I believe Conor is gonna be opposite Michael Chandler, I’m very confident in telling you that. However, if he’s not, Michael Chandler versus Max Holloway for the BMF [title] is the fight to book.”

Furthermore, prior to confirmation of the presser’s cancellation yesterday, UFC CEO, Dana White confirmed during his media appearance with assembled reporters after UFC 302 over the weekend how a BMF championship fight was currently in the works.

Would you like to see Michael Chandler fight Max Holloway at UFC 303?

Video – Justin Gaethje returns to the gym 6 weeks after his brutal knockout loss to Max Holloway

Six weeks removed from his brutal knockout loss at UFC 300, Justin Gaethje is already back in the gym….

Six weeks removed from his brutal knockout loss at UFC 300, Justin Gaethje is already back in the gym.

After claiming the BMF title with a sensational second-round head-kick KO against Dustin Poirier last summer, ‘The Highlight’ became the first man to defend the bragging rights belt. Featuring at the promotion’s landmark event on April 13, Gaethje stepped inside the Octagon with former featherweight champion Max Holloway and delivered an instant classic.

Unfortunately, things would not go Gaethje’s way as the former interim titleholder suffered a brutal buzzer-beating knockout, ending his short run with the BMF belt and effectively taking him out of the lightweight title picture for the time being.

Less than two months removed from the four-minute and 49-second war, Justin Gaethje is already trying to get back into the swing of things, courtesy of a video clip shared on the fan favorites’ Instagram.

“Trying to get back in the routine, ” he wrote.

What’s next for Justin Gaethje?

We’re still a long way off from seeing Justin Gaethje back inside the Octagon as he previously told MMA Hangout that he wanted to take at least six months off before jumping back into full-on training.

“Metaphorically, I could be ready tomorrow, but physically, I do want to take care of myself,” Gaethje said. “I do think that repeated concussions, with me going to sleep like that, me receiving that shot, it would be foolish for me to jump back into training anytime before 180 days.

“I could do cardio, I can stay in shape, that’s what I want to try and do — especially [with] the older I get, the harder it is to get back to the best shape of my life, so I want to stay active. Obviously, the physical contact is going to be limited for quite some time, just because I want to preserve myself. … I think six months, at least, before I get back to taking shots. But that doesn’t say that I won’t be training the whole time” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Who he faces in his inevitable return will ultimately come down to how things play out at the top of the division over the next several months.

On Saturday, June 1, reigning lightweight world champion Islam Makhachev is scheduled to defend his title against two-time Gaethje opponent Dustin Poirier in the UFC 302 headliner. It will likely be Poirier’s final shot at gold as ‘The Diamond’ has already been talking about retirement following the fight — win or lose.

Should Makhachev survive ‘The Diamond,’ he’ll likely find himself paired up with No. 1 ranked contender Arman Tsarukyan this October when the UFC makes its annual fall pit stop in Abu Dhabi.

How those two fights shake out will determine what comes next for Gaethje and ‘The Highlight’ guns for one more shot at the 155-pound crown before laying down his own gloves.