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via Getty

via Getty

Fans are worried and even MMA analysts, journalists, and known personalities in this sport are worried. Why? Because we could be disappointed once again by Conor McGregor. He’s already postponed his Octagon return from last summer to this summer, and now the press event’s cancelation gave rise to all kinds of rumors suggesting that the plan’s getting scrapped. Well, for UFC legend and MMA analyst Chael Sonnen, we may not need to go that far into believing these unconfirmed narratives.

After the rumors regarding this fight’s jeopardizing situation surfaced, Michael Chandler also informed that he was leaving his training camp in South Floria. He was moving back home to Nashville, Tennessee. This news added to the fans’ horror about the UFC 303 main event situation. However, Chael Sonnen has spoken about it and claims there are a few positive signs that indicate the return of ‘The Notorious’ could still come to fruition.

Chael Sonnen is not giving up hope on Conor McGregor returning at UFC 303

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Former UFC champion and ESPN analyst Daniel Cormier sensed a “worrisome” feeling about the UFC 303 Conor McGregor headliner. Meanwhile, Chael Sonnen begs to differ because he thinks he’s observed a few positive signals, and the first one was the fact that the Dublin presser was claimed to have been ‘postponed’. That, to the UFC legend, is an important piece of detail.

“In the world of refunds and what you have to do if you sold a ticket to an event, and the event does not take place, like in the world of that, the word you use really matters, and this word was called ‘postponed,” said Chael Sonnen on his YouTube channel. Hence, that for him, is a seriously positive sign. That has him believing that Conor McGregor’s fight against Michael Chandler is going to happen on June 29.

“So in the light, it was postponed and not canceled… I think the fight’s still on,” Sonnen would further state. But that may not be enough to think that the UFC 303 main event in still on. ESPN+ pulling the PPV from sale, UFC privatizing the McGregor fight videos they had released, etc. all point in the wrong direction, and that’s not all.

via Imago

The UFC took down their pinned post about the fight from their Instagram. Ariel Helwani confirmed that the UFC were indeed looking for replacements and alternate fight options. But Sonnen has a “couple of reasons” why he thinks it’s going to happen.

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Is Conor McGregor still fighting at UFC 303?

Chael Sonnen reverted back to the moment when Conor McGregor tweeted about the event’s cancelation, which he believes weren’t the former double champion’s words. He might have delegated that all-important task to someone else but did break his silence nonetheless and there was nothing negative written about the fight with Michael Chandler. Sonnen further stated, “Conor came out, and he put out a statement… It wasn’t Conor. There were words in there that McGregor never used… That’s okay… he got a team, and they put it out, that’s okay.”

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What this means is that if the Irishman had to announce that he wasn’t going to fight, he would have done it then and there. But guess what? Conor McGregor has been promising his fans to make his comeback on the scheduled date ever since New Year’s Eve of 2024. “The fact that he’s already made a statement strengthens the idea that the fight is a go… This [the statement] would have been where you revealed the fake illness or the fake injury and that wasn’t done,” Chael Sonnen added.

It’s interesting that the three-time UFC title challenger used the word ‘fake’; it goes on to show his conviction that the fight is still on. But then what is the reason behind all this hubbub? What do you think about Chael Sonnen’s comments? Are you convinced that Conor McGregor will return at UFC 303? Drop your comments below.