Rose Namajunas is out of UFC 249. According to Combate and ESPN, the Strawweight fighter gave no reason for her withdrawal. Her fight against Jessica Andrade was set to co-headline the event, to be held at an undisclosed location.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Latest Setback for UFC 249
Rose Namajunas is out of her scheduled bout with Jessica Andrade at #UFC249 for undisclosed reasons, first reported by Combate and confirmed with sources by ESPN on Wednesday.
No replacement has been set yet to fight Andrade. (via @marc_raimondi, @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/mrfUsSJHC6
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 8, 2020
‘Thug Rose’ was set to make her return to the Octagon for the first time since UFC 237. She lost her Strawweight title to ‘Bate Estaca’ via KO in that instance. ‘Bate Estaca’ dropped the title to Zhang Weili on her first defense in August 2019. This was her latest fight in the UFC.
As per ESPN, the Brazilian had traveled to the United States well in advance to avoid any travel issues due to the pandemic. She took to Instagram and said, “We already have for Revanche.“
It appears that ‘Bate Estaca’ will have to wait just a little longer for the rematch to materialize. The main question is, will she still be on the card for next Saturday’s event? This marks yet another setback for the troubled event.
UFC 249 originally featured a main event between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov for the Lightweight Championship. Unfortunately, ‘The Eagle’ had to pull out, as he cannot leave Russia because of the coronavirus pandemic.
UFC rescued that fight by getting Justin Gaethje to fill in at short notice. They will fight for the Interim Lightweight Championship, with the winner facing ‘The Eagle’.
Can the UFC pull off yet another coup and save the fight?
The UFC certainly has a huge task on their hands as they have to find a replacement to fight ‘Bate Estaca’. The organization does not have much time, with the event merely 9 days away.
The card is a packed one and fans speculate that one of the many matches that could be elevated to the co-headline spot if they find no replacement. One of the prime candidates is the Francis Ngannou vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik Heavyweight fight. It was to headline UFC Fight Night: Columbus before CDC guidelines forced Dana White to cancel the event.
What is your take on the predicament? Who can potentially step in and replace ‘Thug Rose?
