UFC 303: Conor McGregor provides update on withdrawal from Michael Chandler comeback clash

Conor McGregor has issued an update on his withdrawal from UFC 303.

The 35-year-old was set to make his long-awaited return to the Octagon for the first since breaking his leg in a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021.

But on Thursday, UFC president Dana White announced that McGregor was pulling out of the comeback clash with Michael Chandler on June 29.

The Dublin-born fighter has now released a statement on Instagram, reassuring fans that he is in good spirits and feels he will make a return, without confirming a specific timeframe.

McGregor posted: “Very tough to be ruled out of my scheduled return bout. I picked up an injury prior to the press conference that required more time to heal than was available to me.

“The decision to postpone the fight was not made lightly, but one made in consultation with my doctors, the UFC, and my team.

“My fans and opponent deserve me at my best for this fight and we will get there.

"Thank you for the messages of support, I am in good spirits and confident I’ll be back.”

This is the first time in McGregor’s career that he has had to pull out of a fight.

In place of McGregor’s bout with Chandler, White confirmed Alex Pereira versus Jiri Prochazka as the new main event for UFC 303 in Las Vegas.

White announced on X: "The new main event is Alex Pereira, former not only UFC middleweight champion, he is also the first and only fighter to win both middleweight and light heavyweight titles in UFC history.

"He also did it in the shortest amount of time, he did it in 736 days and seven fights.

"He is facing Jiri Prochazka, who has an unbelievable 23 first-round wins.”

In addition to the light heavyweight title fight, two more match-ups have been added to the night’s action, with Diego Lopes to take on Brian Ortega, and Carlos Ulberg to face Anthony Smith.

McGregor has a record of 22-6, but the Irishman has lost three of his four fights since a blockbuster boxing match against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017.

The event in Las Vegas was on track to help set a new record for the UFC, with an expected live gate of more than $20,000,000.

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