Two division UFC champion Amanda Nunes was expected to defend the women’s featherweight title against Felicia Spencer at UFC 249, but Nunes would withdrawal from the championship encounter.
Coach Conan Silveira says that the reason behind Nunes’ withdraw was due to the fact that the champion suffered an ankle injury.
“Amanda had a small ankle injury, she preferred to stop and treat, rather than running, because we were at that stage where we didn’t know what would happen. We didn’t know if it would be May 9, where it was going to be, we had several questions and few answers,” Silveira said to Combate (via Lewis Mckeever of Bloody Elbow).
There is no word yet on the extent of the ankle injury or how long Nunes is expected to be out of action for.
Silveira says Nunes tried training with the injury, but didn’t want to force things with her ankle in the long run.
“In the training we were doing before we stopped, she got hurt and we didn’t want to force it. We prefer to stop and treat, for her to be ready, as she always has been, to return as soon as possible,” says Silveira.
UFC 249 takes place on Saturday, May 9 from the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida with Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on ESPN+.
