Report: Rose Namajunas vs Jessica Andrade 2 targeted for UFC 249
Two former UFC strawweight champions will reportedly rematch later this Spring. According to Ariel Helwani of ESPN, a fight between Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade is being targeted for UFC 249 on April 18, in Brooklyn, New York.
Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade 2 is close to being finalized for UFC 249 on April 18 in Brooklyn, according to multiple sources.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 9, 2020
The fight between Namajunas and Andrade could be a potential title eliminator in the strawweight division as the current champion Zhang Weili will defend her title against former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March at UFC 248. The timeline of both fights could mean the winner between Namajunas and Andrade would be next in line for a strawweight title fight.
In their first fight, Andrade defeated Namajunas with a slam-KO back at UFC 237 in May of 2019 as she won the belt from Namajunas in her home country of Brazil. Following her loss to Andrade, Namajunas told ESPN that she was considering retirement from fighting but instead she took time away from the sport.
After defeating Rose Namajunas at UFC 237, Andrade would lose her belt to Zhang Weili in just 42 seconds back in August of 2019. Before losing her title to Zhang Weili, Andrade was on a four-fight winning streak with wins over the likes of Namajunas, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Tecia Torres, and Claudia Gadelha.
Prior to her loss to Andrade, Namajunas was on a three-fight winning streak with back-to-back wins over Joanna Jedrzejczyk including when she won the title from Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217 and when she defended the title at UFC 223. While there have been other top contenders rising through the strawweight division, Namajunas has had her sights set on a rematch with Andrade, which was confirmed by her manager shortly after their first fight.
UFC 249 is scheduled to take place on April 18, 2020 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and a lightweight title fight between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson is slated to be the main event. Also confirmed for UFC 249 is a middleweight fight between Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Uriah Hall.
