McGregor vs. Chandler Is Off; Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka Headlines Instead
Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler is off, as Alex Pereira will headline against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 on June 29.
McGregor and Chandler were preparing for their first fight since their respective losses to Dustin Poirier. McGregor lost at UFC 264 in 2021, breaking his leg in the process. Chandler came up short at UFC 281, as he chose to wait for the McGregor fight rather than taking bouts in between. All seemed well when the McGregor-Chandler presser was announced for June 3. However, problems began soon after.
The UFC canceled the presser until further notice. McGregor claimed there were obstacles which prevented it from happening. This was followed by a post from McGregor showing him visiting the doctors. This fuelled rumors he was injured, while Helwani confirmed the UFC had put out ‘feelers’ over a replacement.
Helwani has said the fight is off, which was also confirmed by Dana White. The bout will take place later this year, with the possibility of it happening at UFC 306 at the Las Vegas Sphere. Pereira will defend his UFC Light Heavyweight Title. His last bout was a first-round KO win over Jamahal Hill at UFC 300. Meanwhile, Prochazka stopped Aleksandar Rakic in his last bout.
McGregor vs. Chandler
“Now that the Saudi main event situation has been resolved, all the focus is on 303. They have a new main event lined up (that doesn’t include McGregor and Chandler). They have a new co-main lined up (that doesn’t include Hill and Ulberg). The consensus seems to be that they want to announce it all + the new date for McGregor x Chandler.
“August or September has been discussed, and that would likely mean creating a new PPV dates those months (8/31 and 9/28) have been discussed. That part – which is massive in all this – hasn’t been finalized. Hence the delay. Lots of moving parts. No talk, by the way, has centered around Chandler fighting someone else on 303. That was once discussed at the very beginning of all this but nothing made sense. The plan, at least as of right now, seems to be to just move it to later this year,” Helwani said
Co-Main Event
The news has also gotten worse as the co-main event is off. Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jamahal Hill has reportedly has injured his knee, preventing his fight with Carlos Ulberg from happening. Ulberg will now fight Anthony Smith.
“In addition to working on a new main for 303, I’m told UFC is also looking at a new co-main for that card. The current co-main – Hill x Ulberg – might need a replacement now too, and if so it could get bumped down. One new fight that has been discussed – not for the main – is Brian Ortega x Diego Lopes,” Helwani added
Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes has been added to the card in the co-main event. Ortega has beaten Yair Rodriguez in his last bout, his first victory since 2020 when he beat The Korean Zombie. Lopes has three straight wins since losing on his UFC debut. His last bout was a KO win over Sodiq Yusuff at UFC 300. The news has understandably gotten MMA fans talking.
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