Conor McGregor Out of UFC 303 Due to Injury, per Dana White

Karl Rasmussen | Jun 13, 2024

Conor McGregor before fighting Dustin Poirier during UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena. / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

UFC president Dana White announced Thursday evening that the headlining bout between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler at UFC 303 is off after McGregor suffered an injury just prior to the press conference in Dublin in early June.

UFC 303, which is slated for June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. was set to be McGregor's big return to the octagon and his first fight since his defeat against Dustin Poirier in 2021. The unfortunately timed injury will force the UFC legend to postpone that fight.

White announced that with the McGregor fight shelved, current UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira would be taking over as the main event in a showdown against Jiří Procházka.

"Conor McGregor is out of 303 vs. Michael Chandler with an injury," announced White in a video on Thursday, before going on to hype up the Pereira-Procházka fight.

UFC 303 International Fight Week June 29th pic.twitter.com/P47PSsKcg0

— danawhite (@danawhite) June 14, 2024

Ariel Helwani of the MMA Hour reports that the fight will be rebooked for a later date in 2024 and that the plug was officially pulled on the bout around 48 hours prior to the announcement. No date has been established of yet, but Helwani notes that the UFC is "hoping" for August or September.

Additionally, White also informed MMA fans that Jamahal Hill would be sidelined with a knee injury and replaced by Carlos Ulberg, who will fight Anthony Smith at UFC 303 on short notice. Meanwhile, a melee between Diego Lopes and Brian Ortega has also been added to the card.