The UFC in trouble: after McGregor, which top fighter has pulled out of a main event?
June, one of the most important months in the company’s history, is becoming a nightmare for president Dana White, with two of the biggest stars pulling out of two main events.
It was expected to be an exciting summer of action for UFC fans, and while there will be plenty of good clashes, the world’s biggest MMA company suffered two big mishaps in the last hours.
UFC superstar Conor Mcgregor won’t fight Michael Chandler, a battle that had been more than a year in the making between the two The Ultimate Fighter 31 coaches.
The American had been waiting without fighting for a long time to face The Notorious, but the UFC 303 main event won’t happen, not as everyone expected, as UFC president Dana White announced the new headliner will be a fight between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka for the light heavyweight title.
The Irishman got injured before last week’s press conference cancelation in Dublin and the bout will be rescheduled for a later date this year.
White also said that Brian Ortega will take on Diego Lopes in the UFC 303 co-main event after Jamahal Hill, who was scheduled to face Carlos Ulberg, had to withdraw due to an injury.
After Conor McGregor... Khamzat Chimaev pulls out of UFC main event
It was a tough moment for White, as he had more bad news. Besides McGregor pulling out of one of UFC’s main events, he announced that another of the organization’s main stars, Khamzat Chimaev, won’t fight Robert Whittaker due to health issues.
“Unfortunately, Khamzat Chimaev is out of the fight next weekend in Saudi Arabia. Violently, and I mean violently, ill. So he’s going back home and hopefully, he gets well soon”, White said on his X account.
Middleweight contender Ikram Aliskerov will replace Borz and face the former middleweight champion, Whittaker. Although fans wanted to see Chimaev and the Australian warrior in the cage, White told fans this is another great matchup due to the Russian’s record.
“This guy is 15-1. His only loss in a 16-fight pro career is to Khamzat Chimaev. So this dude is a legit contender in only his third UFC fight. If he gets a knockout against Robert Whittaker, he’ll go into a tie for the longest active UFC knockout streak...”, he explained.
Aliskerov earned a UFC contract after winning the Dana White Contender Series against Mario Sousa in 2022.