All seemed well with the main event at UFC 303 being Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler on June 29. Since nothing can be that simple nowadays though, there has been a hurdle, and the fight may not happen at all.
It started in the early afternoon today, as MMA journalist Ariel Helwani posted this tweet:
The tweet expresses pessimism surrounding the upcoming fight between McGregor and Chandler, claiming that though “feelers” regarding replacement for either combatant stopped going out about a week ago, they have since resumed. That alone is enough to shed enough doubt on the fight. Given the press conference cancellation last Monday as well though, everyone is starting to expect some changes, or a full-blown cancellation, to be announced soon.
Here are the latest rumors surrounding UFC 303.
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Why was the press conference canceled?
The press conference last Monday was cancelled after “a series of obstacles” prevented McGregor from attending.
McGregor claimed that those “obstacles” were unavoidable and out of his control. However, the reality of his situation is anyone’s guess.
While many people assumed that the fight was being called off due to this, the fight continued to be marketed. On June 6, McGregor even posted footage of him sparring to his Instagram easing the concerns fans had of him dropping out due to an rumored injury. On June 7, UFC even posted a trailer featuring both McGregor and Chandler on YouTube as a UFC 303 promo.
That same day, Michael Chandler confirmed via The Pivot Podcast, that the fight was still happening. Chandler even went as far to say that the press conference cancellation was no big deal and that the speculation got out of control too fast.
Daniel Cormier and Demetrious Johnson were doubtful of the fight early on
Although Chandler tried to convince fans that the press conference cancellation was no big deal, UFC legends Daniel Cormier and Demetrious Johnson were having none of it.
On June 4, during an interview on the Good Guy/Bad Guy podcast, Cormier said, “Start to brace yourself a little bit for disappointment.” He continued, “To me, it feels like this is a big deal. I have reached out to many in the organization to try and find out what happened, and when everyone is as tight-lipped as they are right now, to me that tells me it’s a little worrisome.”
When even someone as involved in the UFC world as Daniel Cormier cannot figure out the real reason behind a press conference being canceled, you know there are some secrets going on behind the curtain.
Demetrious Johnson shared similar concerns but for different reasons. During an appearance at the MMA Hour, Johnson said that he believes Chandler is wasting his time trying to fight McGregor. “I just feel like Chandler might be wasting his time,” he said. “He’s been sitting on the sidelines to wait and fight Conor McGregor, this might never happen. Conor could be like, ‘F*** you guys! I don’t need your f****** money! I don’t need none of you guys! I’m on a f****** yacht!’ So that could potentially happen, and then it’s like Chandler waited all this time [for nothing].”
Regardless of the reasoning, it appears both Cormier and Johnson believe the uncertainty of this fight lies with McGregor, whether or not he wants to fight or if he’s medically incapable.
What would happen to UFC 303 if the fight is canceled?
Forbes reports that this fight’s cancellation would have a “severe” impact on the draw of UFC 303. There would no longer be a title fight on the card, and while the Jamahal Hill-Carlos Ulberg bout is intriguing for hardcore UFC fans, it’s not something that should be a main event. After all, Ulberg is already a replacement for Khalil Rountree, who had been pulled from the fight after testing positive for an illegal substance.
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