Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade 2 in the works for UFC 249
A pair of former strawweight champions will go to battle again in April as Rose Namajunas is expected to face Jessica Andrade at UFC 249 in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Multiple sources confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Thursday with verbal agreements in place for the upcoming showdown. The bout was initially reported by ESPN.
It will be Namajunas’ first appearance in the UFC since she lost her title to Andrade last May in a shocking second-round knockout. After a dominant opening to the fight, Namajunas looked for a submission but Andrade countered by lifting her off the ground and then slamming her back down to the mat.
Namajunas went unconscious and the fight was stopped with Andrade being declared the new champion. Now she will seek to avenge that defeat while facing Andrade for the second time in April.
As for the Brazilian, she moved forward from the win over Namajunas to a title defense against Zhang Weili. Unfortunately, Andrade suffered a first-round knockout loss with Zhang being crowned the first Chinese champion in UFC history.
With both fighters looking to get back on a winning track, Namajunas will clash with Andrade at UFC 249 as part of the card also featuring lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov taking on Tony Ferguson in the main event.