Conor McGregor has released his first public statement since withdrawing from his UFC 303 bout with Michael Chandler on Thursday.
The two-time champion did not provide any details about the injury that forced him to withdraw from the welterweight, non-title fight. He said only that the decision was made in consultation with doctors, the UFC and its representatives.
“It is very difficult to be excluded from my planned return match,” McGregor wrote on social media. “I suffered an injury prior to the press conference that took more time to heal than I could. The decision to postpone the fight was not taken lightly, but was made in consultation with my doctors, the UFC and my team. “
It is very difficult to be excluded from my planned return match. I suffered an injury prior to the press conference that took longer to heal than I had available. The decision to postpone the fight was not taken lightly, but was made in consultation with my doctors, the UFC,… pic.twitter.com/ACNnbvr27p
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 15, 2024
The McGregor-Chandler bout was scheduled to be the main event for UFC 303 on June 29. While announcing that McGregor was not in attendance at the event, UFC president Dana White announced that the main event will now be the light heavyweight title rematch between champion Alex Pereira. and former champion Jiri Procházka.
Speculation about McGregor pulling out of the bout with Chandler has swirled since a press conference in Dublin to promote the fight was postponed earlier this month. MMA reporter Ariel Helwani said this on his show “The MMA Hour” at the time. the match would still take placeaddressing conspiracy theories and rumors that reasons other than injury, such as a failed drug test, caused the postponement.
In consultation with the UFC, today’s press conference was canceled due to a series of obstacles beyond our control. I apologize to my Irish fans and fans around the world for the inconvenience and I appreciate all your passion and support. I can’t wait to get the best…
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 3, 2024
In a post on social media, McGregor said only that “a series of obstacles” led to the press conference being postponed and gave no indication that he would be unable to fight. However, Helwani reported a day later that UFC was looking for a fighter to replace McGregor or a new main event fight. He repeated those messages the following week, days before the withdrawal was announced.
On Thursday, Helwani reported that McGregor suffered the unspecified injury a day or two later before the press conference was postponed.
McGregor, 35, has not appeared in a bout since 2021 when he lost to Dustin Poirier by TKO and broke his leg at UFC 264. He has fought just four times since winning the UFC lightweight championship from Eddie Alvarez in 2016. McGregor was eventually stripped of the title due to inactivity in 2018.