Rose Namajunas has been forced to withdraw from her UFC 249 clash with Jessica Andrade after the death of two family members, thought to be related to the coronavirus outbreak, her manager has confirmed.
Reports on Thursday claimed the former strawweight champion Namajunas had pulled out of her co-main event fight on April 18 with her manager now confirming the tragic circumstances behind that decision.
“Rose Namajunas withdrew from UFC 249 due to 2 deaths in the family related to the Coronavirus,” manager Brian Butler announced wrote on Twitter. “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.”
Despite the Covid-19 effectively shutting down sport across the globe, UFC president Dana White remains determined to stage the event that has already lost its main event due to the pandemic.
Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was scheduled to defend his title against Tony Ferguson but has been unable to travel back to the US due to strict travel restrictions in his homeland of Russia.
Justin Gaethje has been drafted in as a replacement but the card does still not have a confirmed venue with widespread federal and state guidelines against holding large gatherings forcing White to get creative.
The UFC president revealed this week he is ‘a day or two away from securing a private island’ to host a stacked card. Reports have also claimed the show could be held on tribal land in California in an effort to bypass restrictions.
