Chael Sonnen gives ominous prediction for McGregor’s UFC 303 fight

Conor McGregor. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Chael Sonnen gives ominous prediction for Conor McGregor’s UFC 303 fight

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated Jun 13, 2024 4:00 PM ET

It hasn’t exactly been a banner two weeks for the UFC.

The company is still scrambling as it tries to sort out whether or not its UFC 303 main event fight between Conor McGregor (22-6) and Michael Chandler (23-8) will go forth as planned or if there needs to be a contingency plan in place.

While that card’s headlining fate is still unknown, former UFC title contender Chael Sonnen believes if the fight is canceled, there’s a good chance fans won’t see McGregor in a UFC Octagon again.

“If McGregor does not show up on June 29 and fight Michael Chandler at 170 pounds, it is the exact same as announcing Conor McGregor’s retirement from the sport,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel.

The latest update on the highly anticipated fight came from MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on “The MMA Hour” Wednesday afternoon. Helwani stated the McGregor-Chandler fight “is very much in limbo” and that the UFC was “working very, very hard right now to figure out a Plan B.”

Helwani alluded to the UFC possibly finding a replacement for McGregor to fight Chandler or potentially coming up with a new main event fight altogether.

Ariel Helwani: Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler is "very much in limbo" and the UFC is exploring options for plan B.

“The positivity that I talked about exactly one week ago today is nowhere to be found.”

▶️ https://t.co/u5qXo6ugo0 #TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/gYZQQfsuLl
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) June 12, 2024

It should be noted that McGregor has never pulled out of a fight that he’d been scheduled for during his 11-year UFC career, and there has been no confirmation that he’s injured or won’t be fighting on June 29.

“If Conor McGregor doesn’t show up for this, I’m here to let you know any idea you have that he’s still fighting, or he’s still in the business, or he wasn’t feeling good and they’re doing it another day, or he and Chandler are going to be somewhere down the road — I’m here to let you know now, if you’re told that by anybody, you have been given bad information,” Sonnen added.

McGregor hasn’t given any updates about his status for UFC 303, but he did issue a public apology via social media about a canceled news conference in Dublin, Ireland last week.

Michael Gallagher

Michael Gallagher is a longtime sports journalist based out of Nashville with a decade of experience covering college football, mixed martial arts and prep sports plus the NFL and NHL — specifically the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators. He’s covered several notable sporting events including an AFC Championship game, a Stanley Cup Final, an NHL All-Star Game and an NHL Stadium Series. Some of his past bylines can be found at the Nashville Scene, SB Nation, The Hockey News and Fox Sports Knoxville

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