Conor McGregor releases first statement after injury-related withdrawal from UFC 303

Former two-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor has broken his silence after being forced to withdraw from the highly anticipated main event of UFC 303.

UFC general manager Dana White officially announced the postponement of McGregor's comeback fight against Michael Chandler late Thursday night, revealing that McGregor sustained an unspecified injury ahead of the fight scheduled for June 29.

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Conor McGregor talks about the injury that forced him to withdraw from UFC 303

This is the first time the Irish star has pulled out of a fight

On Saturday, McGregor confirmed the injury on Instagram, but did not provide any specific details.

“It's very hard to be ruled out of my planned return fight. I sustained an injury before the press conference that took more time to heal than I had available. The decision to postpone the fight was not an easy one, but was made in consultation with my doctors, the UFC and my team. My fans and my opponent deserve me to do my best for this fight and we will get it done! Thank you for the supportive messages, I'm in good spirits and confident that I will come back!”

McGregor has not competed since his injury-related TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. “The Notorious,” who became the UFC's first simultaneous two-division titleholder by knocking out Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in November 2016, has fought rarely since then.

Over the past eight years, the 35-year-old has only one win – a 40-second knockout of Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 in January 2020 – along with two TKO losses to Poirier, a submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov and a stoppage loss to Floyd Mayweather in his professional boxing debut.

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UFC 303: Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka

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Subsequently, a light heavyweight championship rematch between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka was named the new headliner. A light heavyweight bout between former champion Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr. was originally scheduled to co-headline the event.

However, Rountree withdrew after inadvertently ingesting DHEA. He immediately informed Senior Vice President of Anti-Doping Compliance Jeff Novitzky and UFC Vice President of Anti-Doping Compliance Donna Marcolini.

Since it was confirmed that Rountree had taken a contaminated supplement, he was only suspended for two months. Carlos Ulberg was named as his replacement. Hill subsequently withdrew due to injury and was replaced by former title challenger Anthony Smith.

The official lineup of the main card of UFC 303 is as follows:

• Alex Pereira vs Jiri Prochazka
• Diego Lopes vs Brian Ortega
• Anthony Smith vs Carlos Ulberg
• Mayra Bueno Silva vs Macy Chiasson
• Ian Machado Garry vs Michael Page