It’s been a wild few days for MMA fans, which is the norm if you’re a Conor McGregor fan. The “Notorious” has engaged in a game of “will he, won’t he” when it comes to fighting Michael Chandler at UFC 303.
Now, the latter has won the game, with McGregor eliminated from International Fight Week on June 29.
The event continues as planned, but with a new main event: Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka for the light heavyweight championship. UFC 303 airs ESPN+PPV In the USA
Rumors began to circulate that the fight would not happen after almost two years of build-up and an entire season of The Ultimate Fighter. Those rumors only grew when an announced UFC 303 press conference in Dublin was canceled that day, with no reason given. McGregor cited “a series of obstacles beyond our control” that led to the postponement.
From there, things got worse.
Ariel Helwani received constant updates about the fight. He initially claimed there were no injuries to report, and a few days later, there was “great positivity” that “all systems go” for the fight. However, less than a week later, he said, “probes are being sent for a replacement and/or a new main event.” Things finally came to a head when McGregor suffered an injury just before the press conference at Dublin..
McGregor was the main reason for a new live record of over $20 million in ticket sales without UFC 303 even selling out. The event may still be on and the fights may still be taking place, but McGregor’s withdrawal is a blow.
Here’s a breakdown of withdrawals in McGregor fights, whether done by McGregor or an opponent.
Conor McGregor postponed fight history
McGregor’s absence at UFC 303 is not the first time that fights in which the Irish fighter participates have been affected by a withdrawal. Surprisingly, McGregor himself has only pulled out of one fight before this one.
Andy Ogle withdrew from a 2013 fight against McGregor, who fought and beat Max Holloway. While recovering from a torn ACL, his next fight against Cole Miller in 2014 was scrapped due to Miller’s thumb injury, and McGregor faced and defeated Diego Brandao.
McGregor was initially supposed to fight Jose Aldo at UFC 189 in 2015 for the UFC featherweight title. Aldo had to withdraw after suffering a rib fracture, and McGregor faced Chad Mendes for the interim belt. McGregor won and eventually beat Aldo for the undisputed featherweight title in December, needing just 13 seconds to do so.
The withdrawal everyone is talking about was McGregor missing his rematch against Nate Diaz at UFC 200. Diaz beat McGregor (who was supposed to fight Rafael dos Anjou, who retired) at UFC 196, and the two were supposed to fight in July 2016. However, McGregor announced his retirement (one of many), and the UFC pulled McGregor from UFC 200 after White said he refused to film marketing ads for the event.
I have decided to retire young.
Thanks for the cheese.
See you later.– Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 19, 2016
“It’s not just three stops, it’s 30 stops within each stop.” McGregor told ESPN regarding the entire ordeal. “To me, the reasonable means was New York, where the sport just became legal. Go out there, do all the talk shows, all the morning shows, and blow it out of the water where it just became legal.
“I wanted to isolate myself, focus, get that win back. That’s all I gave a damn about, because essentially everything else means nothing. If I lose again, then this whole ship falls apart. I’m the one running the ship. This will all fall apart if I leave.
McGregor also hinted that he was affected by the death of Portuguese Joao Carvalho, who died after a fight against his SBG Ireland teammate Charlie Ward. He finally fought Diaz at UFC 202, beating Diaz after an epic affair.
