The June 29 bout between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler at UFC 303 has been canceled.
The 35-year-old Irishman was scheduled to compete for the first time since breaking his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021.
UFC president Dana White said on X that the welterweight bout was canceled due to McGregor’s injury.
This marks the first time the former two-division champion has been forced to miss a UFC fight due to injury.
The original co-main event between light heavyweights Jamahal Hill and Carlos Ulberg was also called off due to Hill’s knee injury.
White announced two more bouts, including the new main event, in which light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira of Brazil will defend his title against Jiri Prochazka of the Czech Republic.
The new co-main event will be a featherweight bout between American Brian Ortega and Brazil’s Diego Lopez.
Fight week in Las Vegas is traditionally the biggest event on the UFC calendar.
The McGregor vs. Chandler fight was announced on May 24th and tickets sold out in less than 10 minutes.
UFC “postponed” a press conference in Dublin this month but American Chandler, 36, continued to train and UFC’s broadcast partners continued to promote the fight.
A highly anticipated welterweight bout between Irishman Ian Garry and Britain’s Michael “Venom” Page remains on the schedule.