Michael Chandler, for better or worse, isn’t going anywhere.
The long-awaited UFC 303 bout featuring Chandler and the return of Conor McGregor will have to wait even longer with the Irish superstar suffering an injury, which will sideline him through the June 29 fight date.
Chandler posted an “official statement” on the fight’s cancellation via his X account.
“I’m here, just as in 2009 when I started. The most reliable man in MMA. See you when I see you,” he wrote.
McGregor broke his silence on the fight getting scrapped on Saturday.
“Very tough to be ruled out of my scheduled return bout. I picked up an injury prior to the press conference that required more time to heal than was available to me. The decision to postpone the fight was not made lightly, but one made in consultation with my doctors, the UFC, and my team. My fans and opponent deserve me at my best for this fight and we will get there! Thank you for the messages of support, I am in good spirits and confident I’ll be back!” he wrote on X.
Chandler replied to McGregor’s post, saying, “No hard feelings. Heal up. My heart is full. See you soon.”
The hype for McGregor vs. Chandler had been building for well over a year.
The two were expected to meet in the octagon in 2023 after coaching against one another in “The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Chandler,” which took place from May through August of 2023.
The fight is still expected to move forward at a later date, and the MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani has reported that August or September looms as a possibility.
McGregor has been out of the octagon since UFC 264 in July 2021, where he lost a second straight fight to Dustin Poirier via TKO, though it was a doctor stoppage at the end of Round 1 after breaking his leg.
McGregor has lost three of his last four fights, and has only fought four times since November 2016, where he knocked out Eddie Alvarez at Madison Square Garden to become the UFC Lightweight Champion.
Chandler has been out of the octagon since losing to Poirier by submission at UFC 281 in November 2022.
Chandler, a former Bellator Lightweight Champion, is 2-3 in the UFC since his debut from January 2021.
