Chael Sonnen: 'It's the same as announcing his retirement' if McGregor doesn't fight Chandler at UFC 303

The “Notorious” Conor McGregor is set to make his return to the octagon on June 29 in the UFC 303 main event against Michael Chandler after three years on the sidelines.  Whether the fight will actually happen is debatable depending on who you ask.  

McGregor last fought in July 2021 in a trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier in the UFC 264 main event.  In the final moments of the opening round, McGregor suffered a broken leg.  He’s now fully recovered, and when his return bout was announced, it set the record for the highest gate in UFC history. 

Former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen has felt a bit of anxiousness about the UFC 303 headlining matchup since a press conference to promote the event in Dublin was abruptly canceled earlier this month. Dublin is McGregor’s hometown.      

“Conor McGregor versus Chandler, is it on, or is it off?  I am very reserved at this point,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel.  “Canceling the press conference, for me, is not something I can just look the other way.  We know we don’t have to have a press conference to have the fight.  We know we don’t have to have the press conference to have a successful fight, or a big fight.”

“I have never been able to get around the fact that the press conference was canceled.  Why was it canceled,” Sonnen questioned.  “I get that Conor wasn’t going to be there, but why was it canceled?  I can’t get around that.  We’ve had press conferences in the past where guys have not shown up.  We’ve had Conor McGregor press conferences where he did not show up.”  

Citing reports that the fight promotion has allegedly been putting out ‘feelers’ to find a late replacement and potentially considering booking a new fight altogether, Sonnen’s anxiousness about the fight happening grew.  Drawing from his experience in the industry, Sonnen suggested if McGregor doesn’t fight Chandler in the UFC 303 main event on June 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas that we may never see the Irishman fight again.  

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“If Conor McGregor doesn’t show up for this, I’m here to let you know that any idea that 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 tell you know now, if you’re told that by anybody, you have been given bad information,” said Sonnen.

“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 this sport,” Sonnen continued.