Just as quickly as UFC 249 was coming together, it is now falling apart.
As originally reported Wednesday by Combate (article in Portuguese) and later confirmed by ESPN, former UFC women's strawweight champion Rose Namajunas has pulled out of her co-main event rematch April 18 against fellow former champion Jessica Andrade, for undisclosed reasons.
Namajunas was set to return after nearly a year away from the sport, and against the woman who ended her run as strawweight champion. Last May, Andrade stopped Namajuanas via a brutal slam TKO at UFC 237. Andrade was then stopped by Zhang Weili in August in her first title defense. The two were set to meet in a showdown that would likely determine who would get the next crack at Zhang's title.
The news came hot on the heels of the UFC announcing a new card for UFC 249 amid the turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The main event was announced Monday as an interim lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje after UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was forced to pull out because of a travel ban preventing him from leaving his native Dagestan.
The pay-per-view card still does not have a location, although it is rumored to be taking place at a Native American reservation in California.
There has been a great deal of uncertainty about UFC 249 since last month when organizations began postponing or canceling live events because of the spread of COVID-19. Just 48 hours after the revised card was announced, Namajunas became the first fighter to pull out, although it is unknown whether her withdrawal had anything to do with concerns over the pandemic.