UFC 303: 4 Replacement Fights for Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler Main Event

UFC 303 was supposed to be one of the promotion’s biggest shows of the year, but with Conor McGregor seemingly out of the main event, it’s unclear what kind of card we’ll end up with.

The Irishman was set to return from a three-year absence in the June 29 card’s headliner, taking on former Bellator champion Michael Chandler in a fight we’ve been waiting to see since the pair served as opposing coaches of The Ultimate Fighter last year.

Yet when a Dublin press conference involving McGregor and Chandler was canceled at the last minute, fans quickly began to speculate that one of the two men was out of the fight.

Despite providing some reason for optimism about the contest last week, renowned combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani is reporting that McGregor is most likely out of the fight and the UFC is scrambling to find a replacement main event for the card.

Helwani noted that there are not many viable options for a short-notice main event, but thankfully, there are a few possibilities that would get fans excited—even if they fall short of any fight involving McGregor, who remains the biggest star in MMA history.

Here are four fights that could end up headlining UFC 303 on June 29.

Just because McGregor is seemingly out of the UFC 303 main event doesn’t mean Chandler won’t still be involved. Of course, he is not nearly as big a star as the Irishman and would need a high-profile opponent to keep his headlining spot.

Enter Max Holloway.

The former UFC featherweight champion is one of the greatest fighters of this generation. He is riding one of the biggest wins of his career, a last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, and as luck would have it, the fight was contested at lightweight.

With a major win over a top lightweight contender behind him, Holloway is a definite lightweight contender himself, which would make him a justifiable opponent for Chandler. In fact, given he just beat Gaethje, he could be considered a step down for the former featherweight champion.

Since beating Gaethje, Holloway has stated repeatedly that he intends to drop back down to featherweight to challenge champion Ilia Topuria for the belt. He also seems to be vacationing in Japan with his family at the moment.

However, money talks, and the UFC would undoubtedly put the Hawaiian and his loved ones on a private jet back to Las Vegas if it meant saving UFC 303.

One of the most widely discussed possibilities for a replacement UFC 303 main event is a rematch between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka.

They first met last November in New York City, with the promotion’s vacant light heavyweight title on the line. The pair are, arguably, the most popular light heavyweights on the roster, due to their enigmatic personalities and shared propensity for highlight-reel knockouts.

And in the end, their fight delivered, as Pereira won the belt by second-round TKO.

It was a great performance from the Brazilian, who previously held the middleweight belt, but there was some suggestion that the fight was stopped early and Prochazka should have been given more of a chance to recover from being rocked.

That immediately gave the 31-year-old a strong argument for a rematch, and the Czech only strengthened his claim when he knocked out Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 300.

Pereira was also in action at UFC 300, knocking out another former champ in Jamahal Hill in the main event, but took almost no damage in that fight and could be convinced to run it back with Prochazka at UFC 303 with the right offer.

While he’s still no Conor McGregor, bantamweight champ Sean O’Malley has quickly become one of the biggest stars in the UFC and could help salvage UFC 303 if the Irishman is out of action.

O’Malley last fought at UFC 299 in March, when he battered Marlon “Chito” Vera in a one-sided decision victory. He’s had plenty of time to recover from the minimal damage he received in that fight, and interestingly, recently offered to step up and save UFC 303 by fighting influencer and boxer Jake Paul.

Paul, of course, outweighs O’Malley by at least 50 pounds and is also bound by an exclusive contract with the Professional Fighters League when it comes to competing in MMA, so that clearly isn’t happening.

However, O’Malley’s offer to fight Paul at UFC 303 implies he could be available to compete at the event if the promotion calls, and there is no shortage of viable opponents for him.

The most deserving contender is Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili, who has won straight fights, including wins over Jose Aldo, Petr Yan and Henry Cejudo. However, if he isn’t available for UFC 303 or simply prefers to fight O’Malley with a full camp, then the promotion could call upon other contenders like Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov, who are set to meet in Abu Dhabi in August.

That would force matchmakers to find a new main event for the Abu Dhabi card, but they’ve got plenty of time to make that happen.

UFC 303 was supposed to be the McGregor show, but the Irish superstar’s comeback fight with Chandler was not the only alluring item on the bill.

Earlier on the card, English knockout artist Michael Page will collide with undefeated Irishman Ian Garry in a fight that could produce the next title contender at welterweight.

If all else fails, the UFC could push this fight into the main event spot. Garry has already stated that he would like the fight to be upgraded from three to five rounds, which would seemingly be a requirement if it was moved to the main event slot.

Page, meanwhile, is a showman through and through, and he would surely relish the opportunity to headline the event.

People won’t be happy if this is the main event we end up with—neither Page nor Garry has headlined a UFC card before—but it’s a good fight with major implications, and the promotion may ultimately decide it’s the best option available.

It’s certainly one of the most affordable options, as the promotion wouldn’t have to shell out a pile of money to convince the likes of Holloway or O’Malley to take a fight on short notice.