Another wrench seems to have been thrown into Conor McGregor‘s grand plans for ‘the biggest comeback in combat sports history.’ The much-awaited UFC 303 press conference that was supposed to drop on June 3rd finds itself delayed as per the latest announcement from the promotion. This event would have marked the return of the UFC’s world tour for a Conor McGregor fight. The last time they did this for the Irishman was for the Jose Aldo fight, leaving fans with iconic moments from press conferences in Ireland and Brazil. So, what went wrong this time?
The postponement announcement from the UFC read, “The #UFC303 press conference scheduled for Monday, June 3rd in Dublin, Ireland at 3Arena has been postponed until further notice. We sincerely apologize to all the fans who were planning to attend. When we have further information on a new date and time, we will share it immediately. – Thank you.” This announcement comes after the free tickets to the event were sold out in record time. The 3Arena has a reported seating capacity of 8,000. Further, the promotion capped ticket sales at 2 per person. Even then, the entire event was sold out in five minutes!
This left many fans frustrated, with McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh asking Dana White on X to open up more seats for the fans. However, the recent announcement comes as a huge blow to everyone, including those with tickets. In no time, speculations were flying under the UFC’s apology post on social media. Despite being late for some press conferences throughout his storied career, Conor McGregor has never missed one before. So what emerges as the reason for the press conference’s postponement?
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As of now, we do not have any information about why ͏the press conference was ͏postponed. However, it could be due to security reasons. As mentioned earlier, there were a lot of dissatisfied fans who could not secure a ticket. If the promotion was sensing even a hint of a rowdy atmosphere outside the venue, the logical solution would be to put things on hold until they sorted it out. As UFC fans may know, White is a stickler for production quality and wants things running smoothly.
Now, on the more unflattering side of things, some are blaming McGregor’s incessant party antics that surfaced earlier this week for this postponement. Conor McGregor was partying hard just weeks away from his comeback, while in fight camp, and this raised doubts among the MMA community about McGregor’s seriousness about the event. Dana White was asked about it during the UFC 302 post-fight press conference. However, the UFC CEO watered down it by comparing McGregor’s behavior to Jon Jones.
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“I don’t know what’s real on the internet and what’s not real on the internet. I don’t know timing wise; in one of them he’s got a beard, he doesn’t have a beard, I have no idea, I don’t know if any of that is real or true or whatever,” he said. White also said that he was not sure of when the clips were from, stating McGregor’s facial hairstyle was different in different clips.
He further added, “But Conor is not a dumb guy and this is obviously a big fight for him. He’s calling it the best comeback in the history of sports and all of that stuff. So we’ll see what happens.” When White made the statement, he would clearly not have thought that they would have to postpone the press conference. In fact, he was about to jump on a place to Dublin for the same. Well, this sudden postponement announcement has forced the MMA community to think that Conor McGregor has abandoned the event:-
Fans believe Conor McGregor will not make it to UFC 303
Well, What did Conor McGregor say on this? The former dual-weight champion took to X to add a statement that said, “In consultation with the UFC, todays press conference was cancelled due to a series of obstacles outside of our control. I apologize to my Irish fans, and fans around the world, for the inconvenience and appreciate all your passion and support. I can’t wait to put on the greatest all-time show in the Octagon.
The MMA world has seen Conor McGregor partying twice within a week: first with his wife, and then with ring girls ahead of the press conference. There’s a possibility that McGregor is just hungover (as many accuse him) or he simply has his hands full with other commitments. The Irishman juggles several businesses, including promoting BKFC who he recently partnered with. As such, one comment read, “Sounds like mcgregor couldn’t fit it in the schedule”
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Some started speculating on an alternate main event for UFC 303. Charl͏es O͏liveira͏ ͏had asked Dana White͏ if he could ͏b͏e͏ the backup for the McGregor vs. Michael Chandler bout. Some believe the Brazilian might end up re-matching Chandler on June 29 – “Looks like we’re getting Chandler vs Oliveira.”
The press conference was supposed to happen in Dublin where McGregor resides and the fact that he wasn’t able to make it to the event has raised some concerns among the fans. With all the doubts over his commitment to the sport, a fan wrote, “Mcgregor can’t even make it to a Dublin press conference??? We in trouble,” while another said, “Connor McNever gonna fight again.”
One fan couldn’t believe that the press conference was canceled and just wanted to know the reason for the same. He asked, “why is the UFC 303 press conference cancelled?”
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Some just had their fun in the comments, even going so far as to speculate a Hasabulla vs. Jon Jones fight for International Fight Week – “Rumor has it , that hasbulla vs Jon Jones is in the works.”
The cancelation has definitely raised eyebrows among the community and no official explanations have followed. What are your thoughts on this? What could be the reason behind this postponement? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.