Conor McGregor didn’t make an appearance, but another fighter made a surprise guest appearance at the UFC 300 press conference.
The Notorious recently hinted that his return match against Michael Chandler would be officially announced at a press event on Thursday night.
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MMA fans were hoping for a McGregor cameo ahead of UFC 300 Credit: @TheNotoriousMMA – Twitter
UFC CEO Dana White opened the show by dismissing rumors of an upcoming update for his biggest star, saying, “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.”
Still, fans thought McGregor would make some sort of cameo appearance ahead of Saturday’s UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but he didn’t.
It was a fairly uneventful press conference, other than White revealing that everyone on the card will be competing for a $300,000 bonus prize.
But things changed when the UFC boss asked for a final question from the audience and a familiar face took to the microphone to offer the request.
Joaquin Buckley, the welterweight contestant who scored one of the most famous knockouts of all time in October 2020, asked White to allow him to headline an upcoming show in his hometown.
he said: “You come back to St. Louis, and we all know the main event is Derrick Lewis.
“Hey, we love Derrick Lewis, but he doesn’t want to fight five rounds, Dana!
“Now, why don’t you change your mind and give your son the main event of his hometown, New Mansa? Let’s go!”
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“Notorious” was nowhere to be seen, but Joaquin Buckley made a cameo credit: UFC – X
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It didn’t work because White left the question completely blank Credit: Getty
White grinned at the request, followed by a chorus of cheers from the 26 fighters seated behind him and most of the fans in the venue.
He replied, “Thank you guys for coming today.”
MMA stars Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill meet for the first time ahead of their UFC 300 title fight
Buckley felt a little humiliated by White’s brutal sneer and let out a laugh before walking away from the microphone and running toward the exit door.
Buckley is fresh off a win over perennial title contender Vicente Luque.
The 29-year-old has won three straight fights since dropping from middleweight to 170 pounds and is currently ranked 11th in a division dominated by Leon Edwards.
It seems almost certain that Buckley will compete in the St. Louis tournament on May 11th, but he still has work to do before he chooses to headline a fan-favorite heavyweight like Lewis. There are many.
