Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon will have to wait.
The UFC announced on Thursday that his fight against Michael Chandler will no longer headline UFC 303 in Las Vegas on June 29 due to an injury.
Light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will defend his belt against Jiri Prochazka in the new main fight, UFC CEO Dana White announced in a video on the social networks.
It would have been McGregor’s first fight since July 2021, when he lost via first-round TKO to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. McGregor broke the tibia in his left leg that night, leaving him unable to compete further. The injury required surgery and months of recovery.
McGregor, a former featherweight and lightweight champion, boasts just one victory – a first-round TKO over Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 – in nearly eight years.
McGregor, a fiery Irishman known as much for his charisma outside the cage as his skills inside it, is arguably the biggest star in the history of mixed martial arts. He headlined the five best-selling UFC pay-per-view events of all time, including his showdown with Dagestani star Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018, which drew 2.4 million buys.
He also fought boxing legend Floyd Mayweather in the ring in August 2017. The spectacle generated 4.3 million PPVs – one of the most ever for a sporting event.
Chandler, a former UFC lightweight title challenger and longtime Bellator champion, has not competed since November 2022 in hopes of facing McGregor. He is 2-3 in five UFC fights, but has received post-fight performance bonuses in four of those fights.
It is unclear whether the match will be rescheduled.
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