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Dana White introduced Thursday evening that Conor McGregor’s return to the octagon won’t happen at UFC 303 as he’s out of his battle in opposition to Michael Chandler resulting from an harm.
A report from MMA journalist Ariel Helwani mentioned earlier Thursday that every one indicators pointed to McGregor being faraway from the principle occasion to the purpose the place it was merely a “formality.”
“It is not 100% off, however I’d be very shocked at this level if it stays that approach and so they actively negotiate with a number of camps to discover a substitute,” Helwani posted on X. “It is all nonetheless up within the air, however they’re carrying on as in the event that they want a substitute at this level.”
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(L-R) Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler face off through the taping of The Final Fighter at UFC APEX on March 3, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
McGregor posted a message to his Instagram Tales on Wednesday night, hinting that he might have been injured.
There was additionally a press convention in Dublin, Eire on June 3, which was canceled simply 12 hours earlier than it was resulting from begin.
It’s unclear what harm McGregor is coping with.
With McGregor and Chandler not headlining the competitors, White introduced {that a} co-main occasion will happen, beginning with Alex Pereira dealing with Jiri Prochazka.
CONOR MCGREGOR’S UFC RETURN APPEARS TO BE CANCELLED: ‘JUST A FORMALITY AT THIS POINT’
As White mentioned, Pereira is the one fighter within the battle UFC historical past to win each the middleweight and light-weight heavyweight titles in UFC historical past. And he did it in 736 days over seven battles, which can be the shortest time in historical past.
Pereira has received 10 of his final 11 fights.
Alex Pereira of Brazil arrives for a middleweight bout in opposition to Israel Adesanya of Nigeria on the UFC 281 combined martial arts occasion starting Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, in New York. (AP Photograph/Frank Franklin II)
As for Prochazka, he’s additionally a former gentle heavyweight champion and at present has 23 first-round submission victories to his title. He’s 30-4-1 for his profession with 25 wins by knockout and three by submission, for a 97% ending share.
Rounding out the co-main occasion is No. 3 featherweight Brian Ortega, who has the second-most finishes in featherweight historical past and likewise the second-most submissions within the weight class. Ortega is 16-3 with eight complete submissions on his UFC stat sheet.
He’ll face Diego Lopes, who has 22 of his 24 victories. He has knocked out 10 opponents and submitted 12 others with an general document of 24-6.
Conor McGregor attends Sport 4 of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Warmth on June 9, 2023 on the Kaseya Heart in Miami, Florida. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE by way of Getty Photographs)
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So whereas McGregor’s hiatus from the UFC should proceed, White will nonetheless placed on a present in Las Vegas on June 29.
Observe Fox Information Digital’s sports activities reporting on Xand subscribe to the Fox Information Sports activities Huddle e-newsletter.
Scott Thompson is a sports activities author for Fox Information Digital.
Conor McGregor leaves UFC 303 with harm, Dana White proclaims new predominant occasion
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