Conor McGregor, who pulled out of UFC 303 because of injury, vows to return to the octagon after he recovers

LAS VEGAS — In his first public comments since pulling out of UFC 303 on Thursday because of an undisclosed injury, Conor McGregor called it a postponement rather than a cancellation of his fight with Michael Chandler that had been scheduled for later this month.

McGregor said Saturday that he was injured shortly before his scheduled June 3 news conference in Dublin. The news conference was abruptly canceled, creating speculation that McGregor might not fight in the June 29 bout in Las Vegas.

“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 X. “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!”

Light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will face top-ranked challenger Jiri Prochazka in the main event in place of the McGregor-Chandler match.

There also was a change with the co-main event. An injury forced light heavyweight contender Jamahal Hill to drop out, and Carlos Ulberg will face replacement Anthony Smith.