There’s no confirmation! Dana White has not spoken, the UFC remains silent on the matter, Michael Chandler is no longer training in Florida and has joined his family back in Tennessee, Conor McGregor has yet to issue a statement, ESPN+ has stopped advertising McGregor‘s return, and the official page returns to “Page Not Found.” The lack of accountability in addressing the situation has seemingly confirmed that the UFC 303 headliner is off.
Moreoever, there’s word that UFC is already looking for a replacement, either for Michael Chandler or a fresh match-up for the top of the card. Kevin Holland and Alexander Volkanovski have already expressed their interest to step in on short notice. But what about the $20 million+ revenue Dana White had claimed not long ago while hyping up the “greatest return in combat sports history.”
“It’s already way over $20 million,” were the exact words of Dana White during the UFC St. Louis post-fight press conference. The record-breaking figures for UFC 303 is the first time UFC has breached the mark of $20 million when it comes to live gates. But how will the UFC manage the negative publicity it is bound to get from Conor McGregor pulling out of the upcoming PPV? Let’s take a look.
Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler might get canceled
This is not the first time that a fight on an event of such magnitude faces a threat of getting canceled. Back at UFC 200, in one of the most iconic nights in the history of mixed martial arts, Jon Jones earned the wrath of Dana White after he had to withdraw from his title fight against Daniel Cormier due to doping violation.
Back in 2022, an entire card was reshuffled after Khamzat Chimaev failed to make weight for his 5-round headliner against Nate Diaz. So situations like these are not new for the UFC; or Dana White, who has become so good at handling unforeseen circumstances. But none of these events even come close the kind of fan following and business that Conor McGregor brings to the UFC.
Moreover, this isn’t a stacked card or a symbolic card unlike UFC 200, UFC 300, or even UFC 299, where even if the headliner falls out, there’s room to replace it with a new main event backed with a solid main card. UFC 303 doesn’t boast the best of UFC fighters on the undercard. The next big fight on UFC 303 is Jamahal Hill vs Carlos Ulberg along with Joe Pyfer vs Marc Andre Barriault, Ian Garry vs Michael Page, and Bueno Silva vs Macy Chiasson.
UFC risks fan retaliation for their poor addressal of the situation
To put things into perspective, Islam Makhachev vs Dustin Poirier couldn’t break the $10 million mark in live gate, with fighters like Nate Diaz, Israel Adesanya, Sean O’Malley, and Jon Jones failing on several occasions to break the barrier, it’s safe to say UFC 303 without Conor McGregor, does little over $5 million mark in live gate, best case scenario.
In this case, UFC is not only liable to issue refund for the tickets that it had placed at the higher end owing to Conor McGregor’s name on the card, it will also lose a chunk of audience who might just decide to boycott the event. Not to forget the $15 million+ “loss” it will incure, UFC also risks losing the trust of fans who buy PPVs and tickets months in advance to watch their favourite fighter.
You can’t ignore the Irish fans either who might have already booked their flight and hotel tickets, as was the case with so many fans who were excited to watch the pre-fight press conference set for Dublin. The lack of clarity on this situation is certainly a black spot in UFC’s marketing and handling of situations. Be that as it may, it will be wrong to blame them entirely until we get a clear picture. As it stands right now, the fight is still on, and official confirmation remains.