Rose Namajunas was scheduled to fight Nina Ansaroff in a catchweight bout of 120 pounds at UFC 187 on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
However, the fight was canceled two hours before the event was scheduled to begin when the Nevada Athletic Commission doctors deemed that Ansaroff was not medically fit to compete.
This was following Ansaroff missing weight by four pounds yesterday and Namajunas accepted the fight at a catchweight. While UFC 187 was taking place, Namajunas talked to the media and stated how it was devastating to not be competing on the fight card.
“It was just one thing after another,” Namajunas said. “It was devastating that she was not able to make weight. Then once we found out that we were not going to have the fight all together, I find of pulled it all together. It was just devastating because I worked really hard for this and the fact that we really do not know what is wrong with her. It’s upsetting and I hope she feels better. I hope it’s nothing too serious. I was working really hard for this and it’s kind of upsetting for the fans, my sponsors, and for everybody that helped me to this point.”
She would go on to admit that she was feeling great physically heading into this fight. The UFC did pay Namajunas her show and win money even though she did not fight on Saturday night. A time frame for her next fight has not been announced by the UFC at this time and Namajunas plans to talk to her team about when is the right time for her to step back into the octagon.
“That is something we will have to talk to our coaches and teammates,” she said. “My grandmother is kind of sick and she might be having surgery. I want to go see her Lithuania and there are other things I want to take care of. Then, mentally decompress. My body is physically ready right now, but mentally we will have to figured everything out and talk to our team.”