Rose Namajunas the lone UFC fighter to have issues with fighting during COVID-19, says Dana White

UFC president Dana White said that as far as he’s aware Rose Namajunas is the lone UFC fighter to not want to fight during the coronavirus pandemic.

Namajunas was set to fight Jessica Andrade at the original UFC 249 card but understandably withdrew from the event after several members of her family passed away from COVID-19. The promotion told fighters on the roster during a conference call that no one is forced to fight during the coronavirus pandemic and it wouldn’t be held against any fighter if they choose not to fight.

Speaking to reporters following UFC Florida, White was asked if it’s difficult to get fighters to compete right now, but the UFC bossman said Namajunas is the only fighter who withdrew due to COVID-19. According to White, Namajunas is the only fighter on the UFC roster that he is aware of who has chosen not to fight during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Guys are training, people are training right now. People want to fight. So I don’t see an issue making a fight with anybody right now. Other than Rose — there might be others, I don’t know if this is a fact — but I don’t think there is anybody else who has brought up issues about fighting right now,” White told reporters at the post-fight presser.

Namajunas withdrawing from the Andrade fight at the original UFC 249 card for the reasons she did are totally understandable, and it seems like she will not be negatively docked points by the UFC for not wanting to fight right now considering her reasons. Ultimately, most fighters have to choose between the risk and reward of competing, and for most fighters on the roster, the lure of pulling in a paycheck is too much to ignore.

What do you make of these comments from Dana White about Rose Namajunas?