FILE PHOTO: Boxing - Anthony Joshua v Robert Helenius - O2 Arena, London, Britain - August 12, 2023 Conor McGregor is seen before the fight between Anthony Joshua and Robert Helenius Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
Conor McGregor will not fight in UFC 303 due to an injury, UFC chief executive officer Dana White announced Thursday.
The exit of the Irish superstar also leaves his scheduled welterweight opponent, Michael Chandler, off the card for the June 29 event in Las Vegas.
It is unclear when or if the non-title bout between McGregor (22-6) and Chandler (23-8) will occur. The nature of the injury has not been made public.
The new UFC 303 headline fight will be the light heavyweight title clash between Jiri Prochazka and champion Alex Pereira.
In another schedule change, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill is out of his slated fight against Carlos Ulberg. Instead, Anthony Smith will oppose Ulberg. Hill's original foe was due to be Khalil Rountree Jr., but the latter is serving a two-month doping ban.
Added to the card as a new co-main event will be a matchup of featherweights Diego Lopes and Brian Ortega.
McGregor, 35, was preparing for his first fight since July 2021, when he lost for his second straight matchup with Dustin Poirier. McGregor last won when he beat Donald Cerrone in January 2020, following up a defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018.
Chandler, a 38-year-old Missouri native who fights out of Florida, has also lost three of his past four bouts. His most recent action was a defeat against Poirier in November 2022.
--Field Level Media
