UFC 303 Reaction: McGregor-Chandler Cancellation, Pereira-Procházka Rematch and More


And just like that, we have a new main and co-main event at UFC 303.

Conor McGregor and Jamahal Hill are out, as both were ruled out of the June 29 card due to injuries. The new main event is a light heavyweight title rematch between current champion Alex Pereira and former champion Jiří Procházka. ESPN’s No. 4 ranked featherweight Brian Ortega will also be on hand for the co-main event, which faces rising star Diego Lopes. Hill’s opponent, Carlos Ulberg, isn’t leaving UFC 303 empty-handed, as Anthony Smith will step in for another light heavyweight bout on the main card.

Big questions loom after the massive International Fight Week card shakeup. How good is UFC 303 now? Will we ever see McGregor and Michael Chandler fight? Where are the bettors looking at the three new fights?

Andreas Hale, Brett Okamoto, Jeff Wagenheim and Ian Parker address these questions and more, including assessing what this means for the promotion and what’s next for Chandler.


Fill in the blank: The new UFC 303 main event card is __________.

Hale: A shocking performance, once again. The UFC’s ability to deal with disasters is perhaps one of the promotion’s most underrated qualities. And few things are more devastating than losing combat sports’ biggest star on short notice on what was supposed to be a blockbuster night for the UFC. Somehow he managed to deliver a quality main event with one of his budding stars (Pereira) facing a familiar foe who is never in a bad fight (Procházka) all surprising the fans with an Ortega vs. Lopes featherweight tilt that we didn’t do. I know we wanted it until we got it. Not to mention a solid light heavyweight fight added between Ulberg and Smith.

No, it’s not anywhere close to the mainstream attraction that McGregor’s return was supposed to be. Still, Dana White and Hunter Campbell’s options were extremely limited, with the UFC’s next two PPVs taking place overseas and most of their biggest names either tied to future fights or on the sidelines. They made lemonade out of lemons when other fight game promoters simply aren’t nimble enough to salvage a disaster of this magnitude and probably would have shut down the entire card.

If there’s a season two of “Fight Inc: Inside the UFC” that lifts the lid on how they handled UFC 303 and the UFC event in Saudi Arabia, sign me up.


Is this the best the UFC can do, given the circumstances?

Okamoto: One million percent. White is right when he says other fight leagues and promotions couldn’t pull this off. Every time something like this happens, it’s remarkable how the UFC finds a way to pull a rabbit out of its hat. Many phone calls were made to many different athletes, each with their own lives and obstacles to fighting on short notice. Other ideas and potential fights have been floated toward this end that the public might never even hear about.

Regardless of your opinion or level of interest in this new programming, it’s fascinating that the UFC can rebuild a PPV event so quickly.


At this point, will McGregor and Chandler ever fight?

Wagenheim: Is it even possible to speculate without knowing the extent of McGregor’s injury and the timetable for his return? Will he be cured in a month or two? Will it be a year? White, who prefers to distribute UFC news himself rather than let the media talk about it, barely mentioned McGregor in his X announcement before trumpeting the various replacement fights in detail. McGregor is the biggest star in sports history. His status is the story here.

Here’s what I can say: Chandler has already waited over a year and a half, so it stands to reason that he would wait a little longer for the biggest payday of his life. And McGregor is savvy enough to recognize that the walk-forward Chandler is the ideal opponent for his well-timed counter punch to shine on his comeback. Both of these factors suggest that yes, we will get McGregor vs. Chandler at some point.

But it’s too logical. He ignores the chaos that has accompanied McGregor for nearly a decade. This fight cancellation is the latest example, and I imagine it won’t be the last. So while I have no idea who McGregor would fight instead, or if he will ever fight again, I’m inclined to say no, Chandler’s road paved with gold will prove to be a dead end .


What should Chandler’s next move be?

Okamoto: First, Chandler should absolutely go after McGregor in interviews and on social media. Let him have it. Chandler has been waiting for this for a long time. He was ready to take it on any date and at any weight. And that’s normal, right? McGregor is the “A side”, I understand. But now that he’s pulled out, if I’m Chandler, I’m letting the world know that I think this injury has a lot to do with the beating McGregor knew I was going to give him. And after that, move on.

Chandler needs to fight again at this point, because I agree with Jeff that McGregor never fights again.


What do betting experts think about the three new UFC 303 fights?

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Why DC thinks the Makhachev-Poirier winner should face McGregor next

Daniel Cormier explains why the Islam Makhachev-Dustin Poirier winner should consider fighting Conor McGregor if he beats Michael Chandler.

Parker: Here’s a look at the three new fights on the UFC 303 card.

Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Walk: In his last fight, Procházka lost the first round to Aleksandar Rakic ​​and took a ton of kicks that would normally have knocked down any other human being. Yes, he weathered the storm and managed to earn a title rematch, but I don’t think Procházka returned to form before his injury. And in a fight against Pereira, where the fight will probably stay on foot, I will take the champion to win.

Diego Lopes vs. Brian Ortega: Lopes will have an opportunity against a top featherweight fighter, hoping to cross the finish line for a title shot. I love Lopes at this place. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with knockout power, Lopes has the tools to compete and finish Ortega. In Ortega’s last fight, where he was dropped early by Yair Rodriguez, he was able to mount a tremendous comeback to earn the victory. However, if he gets dropped by Lopes, I don’t think he will recover. Lopes wins by money-line.

Anthony Smith vs. Carlos Ulberg: This fight will go one of two ways, and I will play it as such. I’ll take Smith to win by submission or Ulberg to win by TKO/KO in a double chance bet.. Those are the only two reasonable outcomes to expect, and with Smith probably fighting as a decent underdog here, I expect his submission line to be useful. Meanwhile, Ulberg could get an attractive +110 for the TKO/KO victory.



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