Rose Namajunas withdrew from UFC 249 due to two coronavirus related deaths in her family.
The former strawweight champion was scheduled to meet Jessica Andrade in a rematch next weekend, but was reported out of the card last night. Today, her management released a brief statement to reveal the tragic reason behind that withdrawal.
“Rose Namajunas withdrew from UFC 249 due to 2 deaths in the family related to the Coronavirus,” wrote her manager Brian Butler. “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.”
It’s a sobering reminder to fans that, just because the UFC plans to forge on with their event next Saturday, there are very real consequences from Covid-19 happening all around the globe.
There have been over 1.5 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus worldwide. Over 93,000 have died from the disease.
