New doubts have been cast over the Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler fight.
“Notorious” is set to return to the Octagon on June 29th in the main event of UFC 303 against the American.
Last week, fans feared the match would be cancelled after the opening press conference was postponed just hours before kick-off.
McGregor released a statement saying that circumstances beyond their control had forced them to cancel the fight.
Chandler himself later hinted at being out of training camp.
“If you're looking for me, I'm in Tennessee. There is no escaping the life we've chosen,” Chandler wrote. “Keep walking. See you at the top!”
McGregor vs Chandler
Chandler appeared to ease people's fears by declaring, “Yes, the fight is happening,” and insisting the matchup would go on as scheduled.
But journalist Helwani has released a worrying update about the marquee event at UFC 303, just two weeks before it takes place in Las Vegas.
He had this to say about his fight with X: “UFC 303 update: This time last week, it seemed like all the uncertainty surrounding the main event of UFC 303 was starting to fade. By Wednesday, no more probes had been sent out regarding replacement fighters.”
“All systems seemed to be OK (again). Later that week, Chandler spoke to The Pivot about how all was well, and on Saturday, UFC promoted the fight again on ABC's Fight Night broadcast. There was some fear that the fight would be canceled, but those fears now seem to have disappeared.”
“However, since this morning, multiple sources have said that talk is once again being underway for June 29th, with replacement bouts and new fights possible. In short, there seems to be renewed pessimism regarding the status of the 303 main event.”
“In fact, there seems to be even more pessimism now than there was last Monday when the press conference was cancelled at the last minute.
“Is this insurance? Is this due diligence? Is this emergency exchange mode? We don't know yet. Everything is (again) developing.”
“But either way, it doesn't seem like we're out of the woods yet. We'll continue to get more information and hopefully we'll have a clear answer soon, one way or another.”
Neither fighter nor UFC has confirmed or denied whether the bout will take place.
McGregor has not competed since breaking his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.
Chandler has been away from the Octagon for an extended period of time since his loss to Poirier in November 2022.
This match was announced before the end of last year, but fans have been forced to wait even longer to see the two face off.
