By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Former UFC champion Conor McGregor finally released a statement following his controversial withdrawal in the main event of UFC 303 against Michael Chandler which was supposed to kick off this coming June 29, 2024.

Several days ago, UFC president Dana White announced a major development that the McGregor-Chandler mega bout will no longer push through, stating that the Irish superstar suffered an undisclosed injury that forced his doctors to rule him out in his comeback fight.

Although McGregor didn’t explain how he he got injured, he finally put out his first official statement regarding the cancelation of the fight.

“Very tough to be ruled out of my scheduled return bout. I picked up an injury prior to the press conference that required more time to heal than was available to me. The decision to postpone the fight was not made lightly, but one made in consultation with my doctors, the UFC, and my team,” McGregor posted on his social media account.

Hours after his post, his opponent, Chandler, sent a reply and commented: “No hard feelings. Heal up. My heart is full. See you soon.”

Despite the unfortunate turn of events leading to McGregor’s attempt to return to the UFC, he ended his statement by saying that he would still come back to fight if the injury healed up in time.

“My fans and opponent deserve me at my best for this fight and we will get there! Thank you for the messages of support, I am in good spirits and confident I’ll be back!”

McGregor has been out in the UFC since July 10, 2021, after suffering a devastating leg injury in his rematch against Dustin Poirier.

Before exiting the MMA organization, McGregor had been in a slump and ended his last UFC ride with back-to-back losses at the hands of Poirier.