UFC 303 faced one of its biggest setbacks after Conor McGregor pulled out from his clash at the last moment. The Dubliner suffered an injury during his preparation, which forced him to take severe action. Since the fight has been canceled, the UFC had to make a lot of adjustments to the event.

Not only did they have to find a new main event, but they also faced a loss of $20 Million(UFC 303 numbers). But why exactly did the UFC want him back at UFC 303? Former UFC champion Daniel Cormier pointed out the same on his YouTube channel.

Daniel Cormier feels Conor McGregor would have helped with the ESPN deal

The UFC’s deal with ESPN is coming to an end in 2025 after the promotion joined hands in 2019. Since then, the UFC pay-per-view fights have been solely available on Disney’s ESPN+ streaming platform. Cormier, who has been very concerned with the withdrawal of Conor McGregor, invited Ben Askren on his channel. While speaking to him, he pointed out how the UFC and the ESPN functions. ‘DC’ said, “Well, my understanding of the ESPN deal is they pay the UFC a number of buys. Yes I don’t know if that’s numbers 300 400 500 but every pay-per-view is priced at a certain.”

The former champion then pointed out why Conor McGregor was really important for UFC 303. There is no doubt that McGregor is one of the biggest names in the UFC. Most of the fans have been waiting desperately for his return, which would have helped bring in huge numbers. However, with him now gone, everything changes. Cormier said, “It was spoken like they’re paying UFC for a certain amount and then they get the buy, so when Conor comes it’s all systems go let’s blow this up because now we’re making money. If Conor doesn’t fight, it really changes everything.” With the UFC’s deal with ESPN coming to an end, the absence of McGregor is definitely a big deal.

‘Mystic Mac’ was on the news after he cancelled his press conference in Dublin on June 3. His absence raised a lot of questions about his fitness. Most fans and even experts started to speculate the reason as to why the press conference never happened. Amidst all the rumors, the Dubliner took out time to share a message for the fans on his Instagram account.

Conor McGregor points out the real reason for his UFC 303 withdrawal

Few months back fans were super excited with the news of McGregor making a comeback. The former-dual champion was forced to stay out of action for more than three years because of an injury. However, the 35-year-old did work his way towards fitness and was all set to return to UFC 303. But now the Dubliner is out of the action and the reason is injury. He took to his Instagram account to share a message for the fans and cited the reason for his absence. Just like most of the fans predicted, he indeed faced an injury during his preparation and could not recover in time.

‘The Notorious’ one wrote, “Very tough to be ruled out of my scheduled return bout. I picked up an injury prior to the press conference that required more time to heal than was available to me. The decision to postpone the fight was not made lightly, but one made in consultation with my doctors, the UFC, and my team. My fans and opponent deserve me at my best for this fight and we will get there! Thank you for the messages of support. I am in good spirits and confident I’ll be back!” . McGregor has promised the fans that he would make a comeback really soon. McGregor surprised everyone when he recovered from that devastating leg injury he suffered three years back. However, the biggest question is can he do this again at 35-years of age?

What do you think about Conor McGregor’s claims in his latest Instagram post? Let us know in the comments below.