Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler will not be competing at UFC 303 after all, making way for a new main event for the June pay-per-view.
The matchup between McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) has been in the works since they coached opposing teams on Season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2023. It was finally set to take place as the headliner of UFC 303 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on June 29, however, due to an injury, McGregor is unable to compete
UFC CEO Dana White officially announced the change in a social media video on Thursday.
The new main event for UFC 303 will be a light heavyweight championship rematch with Alex Pereira set to defend against former titleholder Jiri Prochazka. The first meeting happened at UFC 295 in November, with Pereira earning a second-round TKO finish that Prochazka called a premature stoppage.
McGregor’s return to action has been highly anticipated since he was last seen in 2021 at UFC 264 in a trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier. The former two-division champion suffered a broken leg in the first round, and has not competed since. He was set on a collision course with Chandler when they were tabbed as coached for TUF, but setting an official date was met with constant delays due to various reasons.
Chandler was last in action in November 2022 at UFC 281 in a bout against Poirier, where he suffered his third loss in the promotion. With only five fights under his belt since joining the UFC in 2021, Chandler’s decision to wait for the McGregor matchup was met with criticism.
Chandler’s frustration with the process of locking down a fight date against McGregor was always apparent, but he attempted to find motivation as the days and months passed. After vowing to “make him pay” for the wait, Chandler will ultimately not have that opportunity to fight McGregor.
White also announced a slew of other fights for UFC 303, including ….
With the changes, the new UFC 303 lineup includes:
- Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka – for light heavyweight title
- Diego Lopes vs. Brian Ortega
- Anthony Smith vs. Carlos Ulberg
- Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Macy Chiasson
- Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Joe Pyfer
- Ian Machado Garry vs. Michael Page
- Andre Fili vs. Cub Swanson
- Vinicius Oliveira vs. Ricky Simon
- Charles Jourdain vs. Jean Silva
- Yanis Ghemmouri vs. Payton Talbott
- Gillian Robertson vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez
- Andrei Arlovski vs. Martin Buday
- Carlos Hernandez vs. Rei Tsuruya
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.
