A UFC 303 press conference scheduled for today in Dublin was abruptly postponed by the UFC. The promotion did not indicate as to why it did so and only promised fans to update them with a new date and time as soon as it was decided upon.

This has led to some speculation that the reason may have something to do with Conor McGregor, who is scheduled to face Michael Chandler in the main event of UFC 303 on June 29. Because of the lack of reasons given by the Las Vegas-based promotion, fans speculated on some wild theories, ranging from ‘Notorious’ being too hungover to him having suffered an injury. Many were also worried about what it meant for the Irishman’s upcoming bout and if that would go ahead as originally planned.

And veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani assured fans that the press conference was not canceled because of any mishap like this and also assured them that the fight was still on for June 29, as originally planned. However, he reminded viewers that it was still a developing story and nothing could be said for certain. But he was confident in asserting that, as of today, McGregor-Chandler was still on for UFC 303.

“And of of course, on everyone’s mind is: Will this [postponement of UFC 303 press conference in Dublin] affect June 29? As of right this second, me sitting in my chair talking about it, June 29 is still on. But you know let’s see what happens, it’s 26 days away, so it’s all kinda developing as we speak. But as of right now June 29th is still on and hopefully, we get more information with regards to all of it,” the journalist said on his ‘MMA Hour Show’ on YouTube.

While the cancellation of the press conference is nothing to panic about, according to Helwani, and will not lead to anyone losing their sleep over it, the bout itself is very important for ‘Notorious’ as it may determine the course of the rest of his professional fighting career.

UFC 303 is do-or-die for Conor McGregor’s professional reputation

Conor McGregor faces a decisive moment in his upcoming fight. Out of three years since breaking his leg at UFC 264, the Irishman’s fighting career has been trending downwards for the past half a decade. The clear evidence for it is his recent performances (or lack thereof). The UFC’s first two-division champion has fought just four times in the past six years and has lost all but one of them.

All of this has raised questions about whether the Irishman even has it in him to compete with the top guys in the lightweight division or if he should just read the writing on the wall and hang up his gloves. This is why his UFC 303 clash against Chandler is so important.

‘Iron’, who does not like McGregor much after their contentious and at times even violent stint on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ last year, has promised that so comprehensively will he defeat MMA’s biggest star that people will write him off completely as a fighter and will not be interested in even watching him fight anymore.

Which, given all of the disadvantages we have listed above, does not seem out of the question. A win for ‘Mac’, on the other hand, will raise his stocks even more and lead to even more fan interest and hype. This is why some think that the bout will be a very consequential, do-or-die affair for MMA’s biggest showman.

What are your thoughts on the whole affair?