Conor McGregor finally broke his silence.
After being ruled out of his scheduled UFC 303 headline fight against Michael Chandler on June 29 in Las Vegas due to injury, McGregor addressed his fans in a heartfelt message.
“Very tough to be ruled out of my scheduled return bout,” McGregor captioned an Instagram post. “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, 35, has not fought in UFC since his July 10, 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier, and he has not won a bout with the promotion since a Jan. 18, 2020 win over Donald Cerrone.
His loss to Poirier was his second in a row to him, and McGregor lost three of his last four fights.
But his planned return drew ample intrigue, and when an introductory press conference for UFC 303 was cancelled without explanation, panic arose.
Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka’s bout for the light heavyweight title will now become the card’s main event.
“My fans and opponent deserve me at my best for this fight and we will get there!” McGregor wrote. “Thank you for the messages of support, I am in good spirits and confident I’ll be back!”