Conor McGregor: UFC comeback OFF as injury forces Michael Chandler fight cancellation

Conor McGregor’s eagerly-anticipated return to UFC action this month has now been postponed.

The former UFC featherweight and lightweight world champion was due to step back inside the octagon for the first time since the summer of 2021 with a high-profile showdown against Michael Chandler to headline UFC 303 in Las Vegas on June 29.

However, that blockbuster bout - which was in line to set a new record for a UFC gate - had been subject to growing doubts over recent weeks after a pre-fight press conference scheduled to be held in Dublin earlier this month was cancelled at short notice.

There was brief optimism that the fight was then back on track, until UFC president Dana White officially confirmed on Thursday night that it had been postponed due to an unspecified injury suffered by McGregor, who has not competed in the UFC since suffering a gruesome leg break during a second successive defeat by Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 three years ago.

The contest is expected to be pushed back to an unspecified date later in the year, with a rematch between reigning light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and former title-holder Jiri Prochazka now headlining UFC 303 later this month instead.

“Conor McGregor is out of 303 versus Michael Chandler with an injury,” White said in an official social media update. “The new main event is Alex Pereira facing Jiri Prochazka.”

The duo previously fought in a thriller at UFC 295 in New York in November 2023, with Pereira claiming the vacant title that he would later successfully defend against Jamahal Hill with a second-round stoppage.

A featherweight clash between no3-ranked Brian Ortega and rising star Diego Lopes will be the new co-headline event on a card that also includes a showdown between Ireland’s Ian Machado Garry and English MMA veteran Michael ‘Venom’ Page, who fights in the UFC for just the second time after beating Kevin Holland via decision at UFC 299 in March.

Hill is also out of UFC 303 due to injury, meaning his scheduled co-main event against Carlos Ulberg is off. Ulberg will meet Anthony Smith instead further down the card.