Rose Namajunas Withdrew From UFC 249 Due To Coronavirus-Related Deaths In Her Family

Former UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Rose Namajunas and former UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Jessica Andrade were set to meet in the co-main event of UFC 249, but then Namajunas withdrew from the card earlier this week.

No reason was given for Namajunas’ withdrawal from the card at the time, but now her management in Sucker Punch Entertainment has taken to Instagram to reveal that two members of Namajunas’ family died due to the coronavirus:

Related Article

UFC 300 Results and Highlights: Alex Pereira Starches Jamahal Hill

View this post on 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.

A post shared by Brian Butler-Au (@suckerpunchent) on Apr 9, 2020 at 12:14pm PDT

There is no word yet on when Namajunas will return to action, as the fighter hasn’t competed since meeting Andrade for the first time in the main event of UFC 237.

Andrade is still expected to compete on the UFC 249 card at this time, as UFC officials are still seeking a replacement for her to fight.

UFC 249 takes place on Saturday, April 18 from the Tachi Palace Resort Casino in Lemoore, California with Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.