Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesUFC star Michael Chandler doesn't want his fans' pity after a blockbuster fight with Conor McGregor fell through.
"Got the rug pulled out from underneath me at the last possible moment," he said in a video posted to Instagram (via Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie). "I just had got done with my last sparring session Thursday morning. Had been hearing rumblings since Monday, obviously, but really got the call about an hour after my last sparring session was completed. An hour after a celebration."
Chandler also had a clear message for those disappointed to see his UFC 303 main event scrapped: "Don't you dare disrespect me by feeling sorry for me. Don't you dare disrespect me by having any kind of sympathy."
MMA Junkie @MMAJunkieMichael Chandler opens up on Conor McGregor's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UFC303?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UFC303</a> pullout and admits there's "no guarantees" of what comes next. <a href="https://t.co/0gOfHguUKc">pic.twitter.com/0gOfHguUKc</a>
The stage was set for McGregor's long-awaited UFC comeback.
The former featherweight and lightweight champion opposed Chandler during a season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2023, and they finally cleared the necessary hurdles to set up a matchup at UFC 303 on June 29 in Las Vegas. Purely in commercial terms, this was going to be the biggest event of Chandler's career.
Then UFC president Dana White confirmed McGregor suffered an undisclosed injury that would preclude him from competing. McGregor finally addressed the situation, which had been lingering for weeks, but didn't provide any specifics about his injury or when he might be back.
Conor McGregor @TheNotoriousMMAVery 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,… <a href="https://t.co/ACNnbvr27p">pic.twitter.com/ACNnbvr27p</a>
Through it all, Chandler has remained reflective about how things unfolded.
In an Instagram post shortly after the official announcement, the 38-year-old said McGregor "was never the safe bet as an opponent, he was always the highest risk."
"Maybe the highest reward… but the biggest opportunity," he wrote. "There is no right or wrong in business… you only take risk to grow, or remain comfortable where you are."
Having once again been thrown into a state of limbo, Chandler isn't wasting any time lamenting what could've been.
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