Rose Namajunas Reportedly Withdraws from UFC 249 Fight vs. Jessica Andrade

UFC 249 is facing another setback after Rose Namajunas withdrew from her bout against Jessica Andrade due to undisclosed reasons, according to Marc Raimondi and Ariel Helwani of ESPN.

The bout was set to be a rematch after Andrade defeated Namajunas via a second-round knockout last May for the strawweight title.

The pay-per-view is set to take place on April 18, but there is no official location announced for the event after it was forced to move from the planned venue in Brooklyn, New York, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The initial headliner of Khabib Nurmagomedov versus Tony Ferguson was also altered after Nurmagomedov withdrew due to travel restrictions in Russia.

Justin Gaethje has replaced the lightweight champion in the main event and will face Ferguson for an interim title.

Former NFL player Greg Hardy will also compete on the card with a bout against Yorgan De Castro.

Namajunas was aiming to avenge her only loss since 2016. The 27-year-old defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk for her first UFC title in 2017 and then defended the belt in a rematch a few months later.

Andrade took the title at UFC 237 but lost in it her next bout against Zhang Weili. The winner of this bout would have had a good claim at a title match, but it seems as though the UFC will have to go in a new direction for the division.