Michael Chandler won't be fighting Conor McGregor at UFC 303, but he will still be in the building on the night.
UFC 303 is set for June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Chandler, a former Bellator lightweight champ, was set to meet McGregor in the main event, in what would have been the biggest and most lucrative fight of his career to date.
Regrettably, the fight fell through when McGregor suffered an injury in training, but that won't stop Chandler from boarding his flight to Vegas.
"[I'm] still going to UFC 303, much to surprise of the UFC and everyone behind the scenes," Chandler said in a video posted to his Instagram account.
When McGregor was pulled from UFC 303, the promotion's staff began a desperate scramble to find a new main event for the card, and ultimately settled on a light heavyweight title rematch between reigning champ Alex Pereira and former champ Jiri Prochazka.
While Chandler's name will no longer be on the marquee, he still feels an obligation to show up.
"It’s UFC 303: Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka, and just six days ago it was McGregor vs. Chandler," he said. "It’s my card. It was my card whenever I signed the bout agreement, signed my name to a piece of paper that said I would be at UFC 303. I made a promise. I made a commitment, and that commitment still stands, because your word is your bond. Without your word, you are no good.
"The definition of integrity is doing what you say you’re going to do, without fail. So yes, I will be at UFC 303. No, I will not be fighting at UFC 303, but I’m going to see through to my commitment."
Speaking on a recent episode of The Jim Rome Show, UFC CEO Dana White speculated that Chandler will hold out for a rescheduled fight with McGregor, but vowed to give the former Bellator champ another matchup if he desired one.
Chandler has not fought since he was submitted by Dustin Poirier in November of 2022. He has spent most of the time since waiting to fight McGregor, who has been recovering from a serious leg injury sustained in a 2021 stoppage loss to Poirier.
