Conor McGregor's return to the octagon is officially called off.
The UFC is gearing up for a major million-dollar showdown starring Conor McGregor, but now it seems like the biggest fight of the year might just go down the drain. The MMA superstar has gone silent on the cancellation of his upcoming fight against Michael Chandler on June 23 at UFC 303.
This was supposed to be an epic comeback fight, but fans will be left disappointed as the duel has been officially called off. The UFC announced that it's due to McGregor's injury. There had been rumblings about a possible cancellation a week prior when a press conference featuring these two fighters in Dublin got cancelled.
The UFC had been hyping this matchup for over a year, even going as far as pitting them against each other in the reality show "The Ultimate Fighter." With tickets already sold out months prior and the organization predicting over 20 million dollars in revenue, it was shaping up to be a record-breaker.
It's still unclear when McGregor will make his return to the ring, but UFC President Dana White has hinted that they're looking to reschedule the bout with Chandler. The Irishman hasn't spoken up about the cancellation or his supposed injury. We last saw him in the octagon three years ago when he broke his leg during his fight against Dustin Poirier.
Ever since his victory over Eddie Alvarez in November 2016, winning the Lightweight Title and becoming the first UFC fighter to hold titles in two weight classes at once, McGregor has only fought four times. Unfortunately, three of these four matches ended in losses - including a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in what many consider the greatest UFC fight in history. McGregor's most recent win came against Donald Cerrone in January 2020.
To make up for the cancelled main event, a new one has been slotted in place. Middleweight Champion Alex Pereira will take on former titleholder Jiří Procházka.
