Breaking | Rose Namajunas has been forced out of UFC 249

UFC 249 has taken a major hit as it is being reported that former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas has been forced off of the April 18 fight card.

Namajunas was slated to rematch Jessica Andrade in the co-headliner of UFC 249. However, according to a recent report from Combate, Rose has been forced to withdraw from the card due to undisclosed reasons.

BREAKING: Rose Namajunas is out of the UFC 249. By ⁦@raphamarinho⁩ and ⁦@vevyrodrigues⁩ https://t.co/IhUOZBOuiA

— Marcelo Russio (@MarceloRussio) April 8, 2020

Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade first collided at UFC 237, with the Brazilian challenging ‘Thug’ for her strawweight world title. After a solid opening six minutes from Namajunas, Andrade turned the tide in Round 2 and stopped the fight with a brutal slam.

No official announcement regarding Namajunas’ removal has come from the UFC as of this time, so it remains unclear if Jessica Andrade will remain on the fight card.

UFC 249 is headlined by a interim lightweight title bout featuring Justin Gaethje taking on Tony Ferguson.

The pay-per-view event is rumored to be taking place at Tachi Palace on April 18, however Dana White has refused to confirm the location to media.

If Rose Namajunas is in fact off of the UFC 249 lineup, there is a good chance that a key heavyweight bout between Francis Ngannou and Jared Rozenstruik could be bumped up to the co-main event slot.

What do you think of the news that Rose Namajunas will no longer be fighting at UFC 249 on April 18? Do you think the promotion will look to find a short-notice replacement to step in against Jessica Andrade? Share your thoughts in the comments section PENN Nation!

April 8, 2020