Rose Namajunas Pauses UFC Return While She Reassesses Purpose

Cleared to resume training after eye surgery, she says she will only return to competition if she finds a clear, meaningful reason to fight.

Overview

Namajunas said Friday on the Weighing In podcast that she still wants to fight but is taking time to rediscover her motivation and will only return when she has a clear purpose.
She underwent surgery after her January loss at UFC 324 to repair damage from an eye poke, had a temporary silicone tube placed, and was kept out of contact training for about three months.
During recovery she reported tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in her thumb, and while she has been cleared to resume training she has not booked a next bout.
Three recent losses—to Natalia Silva, Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot—have derailed immediate title paths and left her 3-3 since moving up to flyweight.
Her public pause removes an expected contender from near-term title calculations in both the flyweight and strawweight divisions and fans urging a drop back to strawweight say Namajunas is not actively pursuing that move.