UFC 249 has another big fight attached to it, and it’s a promising strawweight battle between two former champs meeting for the second time.
Rose Namajunas appears ready to return to the octagon. When she does, it will come in a rematch against the woman who dethroned her, Jessica Andrade.
ESPN was first to report that Namajunas vs. Andrade 2 is being targeted for April’s UFC 249. That’s the same card that features Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson in the main event.
Namajunas (8-4) shocked the world when she dethroned Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217, then beat the Polish strawweight again roughly five months later at UFC 223. However, ‘Thug Rose’ ran up against a wall in the form of Jessica Andrade in her next title defense. Despite starting the fight strong, she wound up knocked out from a slam in Andrade’s native Brazil at UFC 237 last May.
The 27-year old, seemingly just hitting her prime, has not fought since. Jessica Andrade (20-7) went on to face Weili Zhang last August at UFC Shenzen, in her first title defense. She came up short, as Zhang stopped her within the first round.
With Zhang now facing Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248 in March, the winner of Namajunas vs. Andrade 2 sets themselves up for a potential quick return to title contention.
UFC 249 takes place April 18, 2020 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
