Heartbreaking Reason Rose Namajunas Pulled Out of UFC 249

UFC 249 suffered another setback on Wednesday when it was revealed that former women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas was withdrawing from her co-main event rematch against Jessica Andrade.

On Thursday, Namajunas’ manager revealed why the 27-year-old would not be competing at UFC 249.

Brian Butler-Au, founder and CEO of SuckerPunch Entertainment and Namajunas’ manager, shared via Instagram:

Immediate release: @rosenamajunas withdrew from UFC 249 due to 2 deaths in the family related to the Coronavirus. Her hopes are to return to the Octagon as soon as possible but for now we ask for people to respect their privacy during this time.

Additional details from Namajunas or her camp have not been released at this time.

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Multiple Setbacks Keep Hindering UFC 249

UFC president Dana White and other top officials have dealt with multiple setbacks as they continue to move forward with their plans to make the upcoming UFC 249 PPV on ESPN+ happen during the COVID-19 outbreak.

UFC 249 is scheduled for April 18. The event will be televised in the U.S. exclusively on ESPN+ PPV. The main event features Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje, though Gaethje was a late-replacement switch from Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The UFC has yet to announce a replacement opponent for Andrade, though MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin suggested Wednesday that Andrade could still be on the card if the UFC can find her a suitable replacement opponent:

With Namajunas out, Andrade will now wait to find out if the UFC can secure her a last-minute opponent for the card. Andrade and her team had already traveled from Brazil to the United States to avoid any possible restrictions that could come as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Andrade vs. Namajunas 2 was supposed to be the rematch from their first meeting when Andrade defeated Namajunas for the women’s strawweight championship at UFC 237 in May 2019. Her surprising second-round stoppage of Namajunas shocked the MMA world and earned her the stunning victory.

But Andrade subsequently lost her title Zhang Weili three months later. In facing Namajunas again, she was probably hoping to get back on track. Now, she’ll have to hope for a worthy replacement opponent.

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UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje Full Card Line-up

With Namajunas out of UFC 249, the updated full card lineup for the UFC’s next big PPV event would be as follows.

Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje
Jessica Andrade vs. TBD
Greg Hardy vs. Yorgan De Castro
Vincente Luque vs. Niko Price
Jeremy Stephens vs. Calvin Kattar
Francis Ngannou vs. Jairinho Rozenstruik
Uriah Hall vs. Jacare Souza
Alexander Hernandez vs. Omar Morales
Marlon Vera vs. Ray Borg
Michael Johnson vs. Khama Worthy
Sijara Eubanks vs. Sarah Moras
Ryan Spann vs. Sam Alvey

Despite the many setbacks to UFC 249, the card is still shaping up to be a fan-friendly affair. White and company seem to be pulling off quite the event amid a global crisis. Whether it goes off without a hitch remains to be seen because a lot can happen between now and April 18.

Heck, a lot has already happened.

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Twitter: @Kelsey_McCarson

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