Following Conor McGregor, Jamahal Hill, and Khamzat Chimaev, another UFC fight, Farid Basharat vs. Montel Jackson, reportedly needs replacement
Conor McGregor and Khamzat Chimaev have dealt the UFC a heavy blow with their withdrawals from UFC 303 and UFC Saudi Arabia, respectively. However, another matchup has become the subject of cancellation, following a recent string of poor luck for the promotion.
Freelance combat sports journalist Marcel Dorff has just taken to X to report that an undisclosed source has informed him of the bantamweight Farid Basharat vs. Montel Jackson clash no longer being featured on the UFC Saudi Arabia card due to the latter's withdrawal.
With the promotion apparently in search of a replacement for Jackson, it has led to yet another matchup-related incident. Earlier in the month, the scheduled promotional pre-fight press conference for UFC 303 was abruptly canceled, but no reason was given.
On Thursday, UFC CEO Dana White finally disclosed that the UFC 303 headliner has been scrapped due to McGregor suffering an injury. Thus, his bout with Michael Chandler has been postponed. However, many wonder if the Irishman will ever fight again.
Meanwhile, Jamahal Hill's quick turnaround against Carlos Ulberg has also been canceled. However, while the New Zealander was the one who had stepped in to replace Khalil Rountree Jr. after the latter's positive performance-enhancing drug test, it is now Hill who has been forced to withdraw from the bout.
The injury was cited as the reason behind his pullout, but the specifics of the injury have yet to be disclosed. However, this marks a run of poor luck for Hill, who only just returned from what could have been a career-ending Achilles heel injury.
Conor McGregor has never pulled out of a fight before
It is safe to say that the MMA world is in shock over Conor McGregor's withdrawal from his UFC 303 headliner. Not only is it because of the high anticipation for the Irishman's long-awaited return, but also due to the Irishman's history. He has never pulled out of a fight, having famously fought injured at various points in his career.
He faced Chad Mendes with a partially torn ACL, took on Khabib Nurmagomedov with a foot still recovering from a fracture, and fought Dustin Poirier in their trilogy bout with micro-fractures in his shin.
If the injury that has forced him to withdraw from his bout with Michael Chandler is, in any way, related to his shin, he may very well not fight for a long time, if ever.