It’s code red, folks. The UFC is scrambling hard to find a replacement fight worthy enough to fill in for Conor McGregor should he be unable to fight at UFC 303.
In a new update on X (formerly Twitter), MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani explained why the fight promotion has been silent for nearly two weeks since McGregor pulled out of a Dublin press conference on June 3rd. The outlook has gone from bad to good to bad again, all with the UFC refusing to comment on the situation.
“UFC is not intentionally trying to drag out this 303 saga,” Helwani wrote. “They are burning the midnight oil trying to find a replacement solution. The issue is there aren’t a ton of options available right now. If there was they would have announced it all already and moved on.”
UFC is not intentionally trying to drag out this 303 saga.
They are burning the midnight oil trying to find a replacement solution. The issue is there aren’t a ton of options available right now. If there was they would have announced it all already and moved on.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 13, 2024
“It’s not 100% off but I’d be extremely surprised at this point if it remains,” Helwani added. “And they are actively negotiating with multiple camps to find a replacement. It’s all up in the air still but they are proceeding at this time like they need a replacement.”
“Like I said last week, they’ve done everything in their power to try and salvage this. Hence the up, down, up, down nature of it all. I know it’s driving everyone crazy … but it’s really how it’s all gone down.”
Helwani added that McGregor vs. Chandler being cancelled was “just a formality at this point.”
UFC 303 was being touted by Dana White as pulling a $20 million gate, and some analysts estimated the final number could be somewhere between $30 and $40 million. A lot of that money may be lost if Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler doesn’t go down. Nevada Athletic Commission regulations are clear: promoters must offer a refund if the main event falls through.
Simply announcing McGregor is off would cause a run on refunds. Put together a good enough replacement fight (or fights) and maybe you don’t have to refund a huge percentage of the gate. But with tickets for Conor’s return selling for thousands of dollars, there’s few fights that can live up to that price.
For those who haven’t bought tickets and just want to know if McGregor is fighting: nothing is 100% for sure, but it’s extremely bad that we’re now reportedly waiting on replacement fight plans rather than news of McGregor’s condition. Stay tuned as this story continues to develop.
