A week after expressing “great positivity” that the clash between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler would go down as advertised, Ariel Helwani is once again questioning whether or not the fight will move forward.
After the sudden cancelation of a press event in Dublin to promote the UFC 303 headliner, rumors began running rampant that their long-awaited scrap could be in jeopardy with Helwani alluding to a possible injury on the Irishman’s side of things. However, Helwani was quick to quell those concerns, offering his utmost confidence that the bout would go down on June 29.
Another good sign was that the UFC resumed promoting McGregor’s return during its event in Louisville this past weekend. With fight night a mere two and a half weeks away, everything appeared to be all systems go.
Unfortunately, it’s rarely that simple in mixed martial arts.
So Is Conor McGregor Fighting or Not?
Taking to social media on Tuesday, Helwani once again suggested that UFC 303 is in danger of losing its main event, noting that the promotion recently sent out a second round of “feelers” to fighters who might be interested in competing at the event.
“Around this time last week, all the anxiety surrounding the UFC 303 main event seemed to start to dissipate,” Helwani wrote on X. “By Wednesday, no more feelers about replacements were being sent out. All systems seemed to be a go (again). Later in the week, Chandler did an interview with The Pivot about it being all good, and on Saturday UFC was promoting it again on the ABC fight night telecast. There was a scare about the fight being off and the scare appeared to be no more.
“But since this morning, mutiple sources are now saying feelers are being sent out again for June 29. For a replacement and/or new fight(s). In short, there seems to pessimism all over again regarding the status of the 303 main event. Actually even more pessimism – it seems – than on Monday last week after the presser was cancelled at the last minute.
“Is this insurance? Due diligence? Emergency replacement mode? Remains to be seen. It’s all developing (again). But it doesn’t appear as though we are out of the woods either way just yet. More to come, and hopefully a definitive answer one way or the other In short order.”
Latest on UFC 303:
Around this time last week, all the anxiety surrounding the UFC 303 main event seemed to start to dissipate. By Wednesday, no more feelers about replacements were being sent out. All systems seemed to be a go (again). Later in the week, Chandler did an…
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 11, 2024
At this rate, pundits don’t know what to believe. Is Ariel Helwani just trying to stir the pot and drum up some clicks? Is Dana White and Co. hiding a big bombshell till the last minute so it doesn’t affect their precious buyrate? Maybe the UFC is intentionally feeding the media false information to encourage a few more fight fans to throw down their hard-earned cash once they know McGregor is indeed showing up.
None of it would be surprising.
