Conor McGregor’s UFC comeback against Micheal Chandler has been officially cancelled by the promotion.

The pair were due to square off at UFC 303 in Las Vegas at the end of the month, but an injury has ruled the Irishman out of competition. He had been out of action for three years after suffering a broken leg in his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier, and he will now have to wait even longer.

Chandler has been out for the best part of two years in his own right, opting to wait for the McGregor fight since losing to Poirier in November of 2022. Now, the UFC are set to promote Alex Pereira‘s rematch with Jiri Prochazka for the light-heavyweight title.

Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler officially cancelled as new UFC 303 main event booked

Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler have been on a collision course since the beginning of last year when it was announced that the pair were set to coach opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter. The plan was to fight last year, but a number of factors pushed it back to this summer.

It has already been around a year since the reality show aired, and now both men are set to wait another few months for the super-fight after the Irishman suffered yet another injury. McGregor is famous for his ability to fight through the pain, and is pulling out for the first time in his 11-year UFC career.

Chandler had tweeted as recently as Thursday afternoon, defending both of their records for never avoiding a fight. He wrote: “#mmafactoftheday – Amount of times these fighters have pulled out of fights in their entire careers. Conor McGregor – 0 Michael Chandler – 0.”

The pair were due to face off earlier this month at a press conference in Dublin, but with less than 12 hours until doors were due to open it was mysteriously cancelled. McGregor has yet to comment on the bout being pulled, but did yesterday post a cryptic Instagram message regarding injuries.

Dana White announces new main and co-main events for UFC 303 as disaster strikes International Fight Week

Speaking in an announcement video this evening, Dana White confirmed his plans to rearrange the card, telling fans that McGregor was forced to be removed from the fight due to injury. “Guys, here I am again,” he said, just hours after announcing Khamzat Chimaev’s pulling out of UFC Saudi Arabia next week.

“Conor McGregor is out of UFC 303 v Michael Chandler with an injury. The new main event is Alex Pereira; former not only UFC middleweight champion but the first and only fighter to win both middleweight and light-heavyweight titles in UFC history.

“He did it in the shortest amount of time, he did in 736 days and seven fights. He finished seven of nine wins by knockout which is a 78 per cent finish rate, and won 10 of his last 11 fights. He is facing former UFC light-heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka who has an unbelievable 23 first round wins.”

White also announced a new co-main event to replace Jamahal Hill’s battle with Carlos Ulberg. “The co-main event will be number three ranked Brian Ortega who has the second most finishes in featherweight history and the second most submissions, he has won performance of the night eight times.

“He is taking on rising superstar Diego Lopes. He has 22 of his 24 wins coming by finish with 10 knockouts and two submissions, that’s a 92 per cent finish rate. Also, Jamahal Hill is out with a knee injury so Carlos Ulberg will now be taking on Anthony Smith.”

Smith is coming off the back of a stunning upset win against Vitor Petrino at UFC 301 and has emerged as one of Pereira’s big rivals. He fought Jon Jones for the light-heavyweight title previously, and is now looking for another route back to the belt.