Will Conor McGregor still fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303? That was in question after his press conference scheduled for June 3 was abruptly canceled.
Both McGregor and Chandler were scheduled to appear at a press conference at Dublin's 3Arena to promote the main event of UFC 303 in Las Vegas on June 29. Officially, UFC announced about 12 hours before the press conference was due to begin that it had been “postponed” due to uncertainty surrounding McGregor.
The fight is just a few weeks away and is still expected to go ahead as scheduled, but the situation remains tense. Here's what we know about the McGregor vs. Chandler situation.
June 3: McGregor issues statement and apologises
Any doubt that McGregor was behind the cancelled press conference was allayed when the former two-division UFC champion released a statement blaming the sudden turn of events for “a series of obstacles” beyond his control. McGregor didn't specify whether the reason was injury, contractual or something else, so no one knows what that means exactly.
After consulting with UFC, today's press conference has been cancelled due to a series of obstacles beyond our control. We apologise to our fans in Ireland and around the world for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your passion and support. We can't wait to bring you a great fight…
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 3, 2024
June 3: Chandler mentions Martin Luther King in cryptic message
Chandler was reportedly on his way to the airport to catch a flight to Dublin when he received a call from UFC informing him the press conference had been canceled.
About 30 minutes after McGregor's statement, Chandler shared his own feelings using an inspiring quote from Martin Luther King Jr. About X.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge and controversy.” Martin Luther King Jr. #UFC303
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Keep walking.
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See you at the top!
June 4: Chandler leaves training camp
In another bad sign that the fight won't happen, Chandler revealed on Instagram that he plans to leave training camp in South Florida and return to his home state of Tennessee.
June 5: 'Great positivity' McGregor-Chandler fight still goes ahead
On Wednesday's episode of “The MMA Hour,” host Ariel Helwani, who is close to McGregor's camp, reported that things are looking up.
“The atmosphere on Sunday was pretty confusing. The atmosphere on Monday was pretty pessimistic and there was some anxiety,” Helwani said. “I can tell you, last night and today, early this morning afternoon, it's 1:10 p.m. ET right now, there's a lot of optimism going forward in this fight.”
Helwani did not give specific reasons for cancelling the press conference but denied there was “any illegal or lewd activity, drug use or partying.”
Ariel Helwani said: #UFC303 The main event.
“Is Conor McGregor going to fight Michael Chandler on June 29th? Right now, my answer is yes. You know what's going to happen tomorrow? No.”
▶️ https://t.co/dsNMiCLCdy #MMAHour pic.twitter.com/sV8tpeEIo7
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) June 5, 2024
June 5th: McGregor injury confirmed?
McGregor later posted a photo of himself in a doctor's office, wearing jogging shorts and leaning back shirtless and smiling, further fuelling injury speculation.
June 6: McGregor releases sparring footage
McGregor posted 10 different videos of his sparring sessions on Instagram with the caption: “The harder you work like a goat, the better you get!”
The footage, which shows McGregor working on various aspects of mixed martial arts training – clinching, kicking and punching – as well as traditional boxing sparring with headgear, is unclear when the footage was filmed.
This post will be updated as new developments occur.
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