Former UFC champion Conor McGregor confirmed he withdrew from UFC 303 due to an injury, leading to a rescheduled main event between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka, and expressed his determination to return at full strength.
Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has broken his silence. He’s spoken out after being forced to withdraw from the main event of UFC 303.
The postponement of McGregor’s highly anticipated return was confirmed by UFC CEO Dana White. Thursday night, White revealed that McGregor suffered an undisclosed injury ahead of the June 29 bout against Michael Chandler.
White also announced a new headliner for the event. A light heavyweight championship rematch between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka will now take center stage.
On Saturday, McGregor took to Instagram to address the situation. He confirmed he did suffer an injury but didn’t provide specifics.
“Very tough to be ruled out of my scheduled return bout,” McGregor said. “I picked up an injury prior to the press conference that required more time to heal than was available to me.”
He continued, “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!”
McGregor added, “Thank you for the messages of support, I am in good spirits and confident I’ll be back!”
McGregor hasn’t competed since UFC 264 in July 2021. That night, he suffered a brutal leg break in an injury TKO loss to Dustin Poirier.
Since becoming the UFC’s first-ever simultaneous two-division titleholder with a knockout of Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in November 2016, McGregor has only competed five times. Four of those were inside the octagon, with one being a boxing match against Floyd Mayweather.
During this period, the 35-year-old has secured just one victory. A 40-second knockout of Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in January 2020.
However, he’s also suffered multiple losses. Two TKO losses to Poirier, a submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, and a stoppage loss to Mayweather in his pro boxing debut.