The UFC has replaced the highly anticipated fight between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler that was supposed to headline UFC 303 in Las Vegas on June 29.
It would have been McGregor’s first fight since breaking his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier in 2021 and Chandler’s first time back in the Octagon since losing to Poirier in 2022. McGregor opened as a -112 favorite, but those odds flipped toward Chandler before the fight was eventually called off.
Instead, Alex Pereira vs. Jiří Prochazka will headline the event in a light heavyweight title fight.
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Rumors had been swirling since early June that the fight might be in jeopardy. Here’s a brief timeline of events that led up to the biggest fight of the year being called off.
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April 14 — UFC Announces McGregor vs Chandler
BREAKING 🚨@MAKHACHEVMMA vs @DustinPoirier – #UFC302@SStricklandMMA vs @BorrachinhaMMA – #UFC302 @TheNotoriousMMA vs @MikeChandlerMMA – #UFC303 pic.twitter.com/oGbgtoyHho
— UFC (@ufc) April 14, 2024
June 3 — UFC Abruptly Cancels Press Conference in Ireland
Dear UFC Fans–
The #UFC303 press conference scheduled for Monday June 3rd in Dublin, Ireland at 3Arena has been postponed until further notice. We sincerely apologize to all the fans who were planning to attend. When we have further information on a new date and time, we will… pic.twitter.com/nIXRIZl5pv
— UFC (@ufc) June 3, 2024
A promotional press conference for UFC 303 that was scheduled to take place on June 3 was canceled without warning. In a social media post, McGregor apologized to his followers on X, formerly known as Twitter for the inconvenience.
“In consultation with the UFC, todays press conference was cancelled due to a series of obstacles outside of our control,” the post stated. “I can’t wait to put on the greatest all-time show in the Octagon.”
June 7 — Michael Chandler Says He Believes Fight Will Happen
“I have had enough conversations to believe this fight is going to happen…” @MikeChandlerMMA
With all the noise and speculation around #UFC303 happening or not, Michael Chandler addresses the situation directly to @Realrclark25 @FredTaylorMade @OfficialCrowder “June 29th, it’s… pic.twitter.com/5SvHUZrIPM
— Pivot Podcast (@thepivot) June 8, 2024
Chandler joined Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor on the Pivot podcast to talk about UFC 303. The conversation begins with Chandler addressing the canceled press conference before saying he’s been reassured by conversations with the UFC that the fight would happen.
June 11 — Ariel Helwani Reports UFC Is Searching for Replacement Fights
Latest on UFC 303:
Around this time last week, all the anxiety surrounding the UFC 303 main event seemed to start to dissipate. By Wednesday, no more feelers about replacements were being sent out. All systems seemed to be a go (again). Later in the week, Chandler did an…
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 11, 2024
Rumors that McGregor vs. Chandler will be called off begin to grow louder with reports UFC is looking for a new headline event.
June 13 — UFC Officially Announces McGregor vs Chandler is Off, Replaced with Pereira vs. Prochazka
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In a late night social media post, UFC CEO Dana White makes it official that McGregor vs. Chandler is off. He announced that McGregor withdrew with an injury, and that the headliner will now be Alex Pereira vs. Jiří Prochazka.