Conor McGregor is out of his scheduled UFC 303 clash with Michael Chandler.
Following the decision to cancel the Dublin press conference between the two, at the 11th hour, speculation has been rife as to whether or not the bout would go ahead on July 29th.
Taking to Instagram, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed the withdrawal of ‘The Notorious’ and announced the new main event, an exciting co-main event and another change to the card. He said:
“Hi guys. Here I am again. Conor McGregor is out of 303 versus Michael Chandler with an injury. The new main event is Alex Pereira, former not only UFC middleweight champion, he's 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, in seven fights.
“He finished seven of nine wins by knockout, which is a 78% finish rate and won ten of his last 11 fights and he is facing former UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka, who has an unbelievable 23 first round wins. He has 25 by knockout, three by submission, that is a 97% finish rate. The Co-Main event will be number three ranked Brian Ortega, who has the second most finishes in Featherweight history and the second most submissions in Featherweight history.
“He won performance of the night eight times and he will be taking on rising superstar Diego Lopez. He has 22 of his 24 wins coming by finish with ten knockouts and 12 submissions - that's a 92% finish rate.
"Also, Jamahal Hill is out with a knee injury so Carlos Ulberg who is 11-1 and has 6 first round finishes with seven wins by knockout and two wins by submission and an 82% finish rate, and he's on a six fight win streak will now be taking on Anthony Smith. He has 21 first round finishes, 19 wins by knocked up, 15 by submission and ladies and gentlemen, that's a 90% finish rate.
“So it has been a crazy week here at UFC. That is the new line up for UFC 303. I'll see you guys in Vegas.”
The announcement came just mere hours after it was confirmed that Khamzat Chimaev has been forced to withdraw from his contest against Robert Whittaker, which was scheduled for Saudi Arabia next weekend.
At the time of writing the injury which McGregor has sustained has not been disclosed and both the Irishman and Chandler are yet to release statements regarding the bout. It is unclear as to what the next steps will be for either man and whether or not the bout will be booked later in the year.
