UFC took the unprecedented step of canceling its UFC 303 press conference with less than 12 hours to go.
The event, which was due to take place in Dublin, Ireland, was cancelled with no rescheduled date announced in a post that caused a stir on social media.
Admission to the press conference was free, but as it was a ticketed event, all allocated tickets were sold out within minutes of opening to the public.
Fans flocked to the gates to get a glimpse of Conor McGregor ahead of his return fight against Michael Chandler.
“UFC Fans, the #UFC303 press conference scheduled for Monday, June 3 at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland has been postponed until further notice,” UFC posted on X. “We sincerely apologize to the fans who planned to attend. We will provide more information on a new date and time as soon as we have it. Thank you.”
UFC 303 is scheduled to take place on June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
UFC president Dana White did not address any issues when he spoke to reporters in Newark following UFC 302 on Saturday, but said he planned to attend Monday’s event.
Speculation behind the cancellation quickly circulated on social media, with many blaming McGregor.
The former two-weight UFC champion was spotted partying just weeks before his return to the Octagon.
The Irish native took to Instagram, where he has 45 million followers, to share footage of himself dancing the night away at the event.
In one clip, the UFC icon can be seen dancing in front of glamorous Forged Irish Stout employees, who also appeared to be enjoying the event.
Another photo shows him dancing and flirting with his fiancée, Dee Devlin.
The fight was called off just days after the social media footage was released, and fans were quick to blame the UFC for the move on the MMA icon.
Writer Nick Lombardi wrote, “This statement is unlike anything we’ve seen from UFC before. It leads me to speculate that there will be major changes to the card, especially the McGregor vs. Chandler fight, which is the only fight that warrants this kind of reaction.”
One user wrote: “Oh my gosh what did Conor McGregor do just a few hours ago? Irish fans who knew this was going to happen are going to wake up pretty angry.”
A second added: “Connor’s at it again.”
If the fight goes according to plan, it will be McGregor’s first fight since breaking his left leg in a trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier nearly three years ago.
But he insisted he had no qualms about hurling his once shattered shin at the forehead of his rival Ultimate Fighter 31 coach.
“I’m the Terminator now. I’ve got titanium rods going from my knees all the way down to my bones and all the way down to my ankles. They don’t break,” McGregor said in a recent interview with James Corden.
“I want to stick a bar in my leg and kick my opponent and get him out of there, and that’s what I’m going to work for.”
As he makes his bold quips, UFC fans will be eagerly waiting to find out why the fight was cancelled just a few weeks before the main event.
