Conor McGregor’s return is hanging in the balance yet again! The UFC 303 press conference scheduled in Ireland for June 3 was postponed just twelve hours prior, leaving fans very upset. Ever since the cancelation, the dominos have been falling one after the other. Among the speculations of the fight against Michael Chandler being canceled, there were talks of McGregor being injured and even failing a drug test!

Even though UFC and ‘The Notorious’ gave out written apologies on social media, there is an eerily quiet stance about the reasons for the cancellation. Wild theories are already afloat, and this made Chael Sonnen comment on the matter, and address one of those concerns in particular. Sonnen commented on the idea of the drug test and said that there was no malicious intent from the Irishman.

The UFC announced the postponement of the Dublin presser, causing a frenzy. Later, however, reports emerged that it was McGregor who called it. Speaking of this, Sonnen said, “We then later got informed that it wasn’t the UFC that canceled it at all, that it was Conor. Now what that does is it allows us to eliminate such suggestions as a negative assay on a drug test. And things in this vein all of a sudden start to get eliminated. Then we hear from Conor himself now; that brought a little bit of pause. And I was very clear when I was speaking to you guys that I believe the fight’s on.”

The West Lynn, Oregon native, pointed out that if the fight was canceled, they would have announced a replacement and made more excitement and buzz around that. The fact of canceling a presser would be at the very bottom of the announcement. He also said that since McGregor himself addressed the issue, there was no case of failed drug tests. McGregor is the most tested athlete under the new testing regime at the UFC. 

As of now, the UFC anti-doping website shows that the Irishman has been tested 10 times in 2024 alone. This number also favors McGregor against allegations of a failed drug test. So, the ‘American Gangster’ assumed the fight was on but was confused about the cancellation of the presser. For McGregor, he kept his apology simple.

“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,” he wrote on X.

However, the injury factor can not be ruled out entirely. After all, it is the injury sustained in 2021 that kept McGregor away from the octagon for so long. McGregor himself had confessed last year that he feared the end of his UFC career after that.

• 2021: McGregor was up against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 on July 10. While throwing a punch at Poirier, McGregor’s left leg buckled underneath him, leaving him grounded. Poirier was declared the winner via TKO. Later, he was diagnosed with a fractured tibia, which required surgery. In a video posted on Instagram, McGregor said he had “multiple stress fractures in the shinbone above the ankle.” Since then, his return has been highly-anticipated.
• 2022: As McGregor remained resolute to come back, talks about his potential opponent added a new dimension to the scenario. Names like Nate Diaz and Michael Chandler came to the fore. Amid this, Chandler expressed his desire to face McGregor in the former’s comeback fight. “I do think that’s the fight to make,” Chandler told ESPN in November.
• 2023: In season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter reality show on May 30, McGregor and Chandler coached against each other. That was supposed to lead to the two facing off each other sometime toward the end of 2023. In an announcement on New Year’s Eve, McGregor announced that he would take on Chandler. But the high-profile fight seemed to elude the enthusiasts, as no definite date was set for the same.
• 2024: The uncertainty continued and is still continuing. McGregor was apparently frustrated with the back-and-forth with his comeback. In February, he lashed out at UFC in his Instagram story for failing to set up a date. Meanwhile, McGregor also tried his luck on the silver screen. He played the co-star in the remake of Road House, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video in March. In April, the much-awaited date for McGregor vs. Chandler was finally set to be on June 29.

Not just Sonnen, now, ex-UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub thinks that there is a rift between UFC and ‘The Notorious’ which caused this backtracking of UFC 303 plans.

Schaub gives his verdict on Conor McGregor canceling the press conference

While discussing the fiasco with the UFC 303 presser on his podcast, comedians Bryan Callen and Brendan Schaub thought that the reason was not a failed drug test, which has been a point of speculation for the fans. They said that it does not make sense and Schaub pointed out that Dana White would have been the first person to know in case McGregor failed a drug test.

He said, “That one [a failed drug test] doesn’t make sense because remember if it was a drug testing failure or an injury, the UFC would come out and say that off the top. Dana’s not going to fly there, ‘cuz trust me, when you fail a drug test, the very first person who finds out at that magnitude of a fight is Dana White; he wouldn’t get on a plane.”

Schaub has a point since White has handled similar situations before. Days away from UFC 200, Jon Jones tested positive ahead of his grudge match against Daniel Cormier. The promotion came clean on the issue and canceled the bout. So, if that were the case, would they not have done the same already for UFC 303? Well, Schaub has a different argument here.

According to ‘Bapa,’ the reason why the press conference was canceled was because there might have been something more personal between the former double-weight champion and the UFC and might have something to do with contract negotiations. The Irishman has two fights left in his contract but wants to fight a third time this year. He also announced that contract negotiations were ongoing in a respectful environment. Now, by chance, if the discussion is not amicable anymore, then ‘Mac’ might have called off the press conference to send a message.

What do you think is the real reason? Is it an injury or a rift with the UFC or a drug test situation?