Conor McGregor out of UFC 303 with injury, Dana White announces new main event

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Dana White announced Thursday night that Conor McGregor's return to the octagon will not happen at UFC 303, as he is out of his fight against Michael Chandler following an injury. 

A report from MMA journalist Ariel Helwani earlier Thursday said all signs were pointing to McGregor being out of the main event to the point where it was just a "formality."

"It’s not 100% off but I’d be extremely surprised at this point if it remains and they are actively negotiating with multiple camps to find a replacement," Helwani posted on X. "It’s all up in the air still but they are proceeding at this time like they need a replacement."

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(L-R) Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler face off during the filming of The Ultimate Fighter at UFC APEX on March 3, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

McGregor hinted on his Instagram story on Wednesday night that he may be injured. 

There was also a news conference in Dublin, Ireland, on June 3 that was canceled just 12 hours before it was set to start.

It's unclear what injury McGregor is dealing with. 

With McGregor and Chandler no longer headlining the competition, White announced there will be a co-main event, starting with Alex Pereira facing off against Jiri Prochazka. 

CONOR MCGREGOR'S UFC RETURN APPEARS TO BE GETTING CANCELED: ‘JUST A FORMALITY AT THIS POINT’

As White said, Pereira is the only fighter in UFC history to win both the middleweight and light heavyweight title belts, and he did it in 736 days over seven fights, which is the shortest amount of time in history as well. 

Pereira has won 10 of his last 11 fights. 

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