Concerns about the fight being canceled began when Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler were scheduled to attend their first press conference for their upcoming main event bout at the 3Arena in Dublin on Monday at noon ET. However, just hours before the press conference, the UFC announced a postponement due to a last-minute issue.
This unexpected delay sparked speculation that the fight might be in danger of being canceled. Recently, Ariel Helwani provided a troubling update on the status of McGregor vs. Chandler at UFC 303. Chael Sonnen joined in on the speculation. Let’s examine the details.
UFC 303: Doubt Looms Over Conor McGregor vs. Micheal Chandler as Chael Sonnen Joins Ariel Helwani in Speculation
Ariel Helwani revealed significant news about the future of UFC 303. The eagerly awaited June 29 fight card, headlined by Conor McGregor’s return against Michael Chandler, is now in question. Helwani updated fans on Twitter about the timeline and the current status of the highly anticipated McGregor-Chandler bout. Expressing concerns over its likelihood of taking place, saying:
“Around this time last week, all the anxiety surrounding the UFC 303 main event seemed to start to dissipate. By Wednesday, no more feelers about replacements were being sent out. All systems seemed to be a go (again). Later in the week, Chandler did an interview with The Pivot about it being all good, and on Saturday UFC was promoting it again on the ABC fight night telecast. There was a scare about the fight being off and the scare appeared to be no more.”
“But since this morning, mutiple sources are now saying feelers are being sent out again for June 29. For a replacement and/or new fight(s). In short, there seems to pessimism all over again regarding the status of the 303 main event. Actually even more pessimism – it seems – than on Monday last week after the presser was cancelled at the last minute.” You can check the full tweet below:
Chael Sonnen Weighs In with Ariel Helwani on Speculation
Initially, Chael Sonnen claimed the fight was still on, providing a different perspective. He expressed confidence that the fight would proceed as planned, attributing the press conference cancellation to Conor McGregor’s intense focus on his training. However, he is now uncertain. In a recent YouTube video, Sonnen said:
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral MMA stories via Google! Follow Us
“I’m telling you that cancelling the press conference for me it’s not just look the other way okay. We don’t have to have a press conference have the fight we know we don’t have to have to have the press conference to have successful fight or big fight we’ve already got the largest gate in the industry history not just company in industry history, sitting there and waiting so we realized what a huge fight this is going to be”
He also added, “I’ve asked this to very smart people and they will always tell me something like yeah, Conor said he couldn’t show up. I go, no, why was it canceled?”
UFC 303 and Conor McGregor’s potential participation remains uncertain, leaving the MMA community on edge and eager for more concrete information.
Given the swirling controversies, the event’s cancellation is a possibility that cannot be ruled out. However, it is also conceivable that McGregor could still appear in the Octagon on June 29th, despite the various issues that have clouded the lead-up to this highly anticipated UFC event. The fandom remains in anticipation, anxiously awaiting clarity on the final plans and lineup for UFC 303.
