Conor McGregor was anticipated to make his long-awaited octagon return on July 29 in opposition to Michael Chandler within the UFC 303 principal occasion. When the tickets went on sale, a new live-gate document was established with over $20 million in ticket gross sales. Sadly, McGregor was compelled to withdraw from the occasion attributable to damage.
Former middleweight champion and commentator Michael Bisping reacted to the information of McGregor being out of the UFC 303 combat with Chandler and questioned whether or not McGregor will ever combat once more.
“I do not know why I used to be type of optimistic that this combat was nonetheless going to go forward,” Bisping stated on his YouTube channel. “I ought to have know, although. I used to be on a film set final week and I used to be working with ‘Massive’ John McCarthy. A person that’s an absolute authority on combined marital arts and he informed me in no unsure phrases, ‘This combat just isn’t occurring. He is injured. He is damage himself. His leg, the leg that he broke, that snapped in opposition to Dustin Poirier. His titanium pores and skin bone has failed.’ That is what ‘Massive’ John stated. I believed he was incorrect. I believed he was mistaken.”
McGregor hasn’t fought since struggling a damaged leg within the closing seconds of the opening spherical in his trilogy match in opposition to Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. McGregor turns 36 subsequent month and will probably be nicely over three years when he ultimately steps again contained in the octagon.
“The large query is, is that it? Will McGregor ever combat once more,” Bisping questioned. “He damage himself this time. What’s to say he will not damage himself subsequent time? What’s to say that he’ll ever be the identical fighter once more? Him competing in opposition to Dustin Poirier, when the leg snapped, may simply be the final time that Conor McGregor ever steps foot inside an octagon.
“Fighters aren’t the identical. Anderson Silva got here again from the leg break. He wasn’t the identical,” continued Bisping. “Chris Weidman, he wasn’t the identical. Chris Weidman nonetheless has issues now. So, it is likely to be the final time.”
UFC CEO Dana White introduced that McGregor was out of the July occasion through social media video however didn’t present any particulars about McGregor’s damage or its severity. With McGregor injured, White introduced a brand new UFC 303 principal occasion. Middleweight champion Alex Pereira takes on former titleholder Jiri Prochazka in a rematch within the new occasion headliner.
