Rose Namajunas forced to undergo serious eye surgery after Natalia Silva’s eye pokes at UFC 324

Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas suffered more than merely a loss at UFC 324 last weekend against Natalia Silva.

UFC 324 delivered plenty of high-octane action last Saturday in Las Vegas. On the UFC 324 main card, top women’s flyweight contender Natalia Silva and former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas battled it out for a shot at UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.

In a closely-contested fight, Silva defeated Namajunas by unanimous decision to secure a likely title shot. It was a disappointing setback for Namajunas after an impressive win in her last fight against Miranda Maverick at UFC Atlanta last summer.

Namajunas was poked in the eyes a few times by Silva during their three-round bout. In the hours after UFC 324, Namajunas was rushed to a local hospital to undergo a serious procedure to fix her ailments.

Rose Namajunas asks for prayers after undergoing serious eye injury after UFC 324

Namajunas updated fans on her health in a recent Instagram post.

 

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A post shared by Rose Namajunas (@rosenamajunas)

“Alright, guys. I’m headed into surgery, canalicular tube eye surgery,” Namajunas said.

“Yeah, I got poked in the eye a few times in the eye, so yeah. My tube is torn, so it’s going to be repaired right now, and I might have a silicone tube in the eye for three months, so pray for me, guys. I’m just glad we can get it fixed.” (h/t MMA Junkie)

Namajunas’ surgery comes as UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall continues to recover from eye injuries suffered against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321. Aspinall’s return timeline remains unclear after undergoing multiple operations.

Hopefully, Namajunas won’t need long to return to the Octagon as she looks to get back into the flyweight title mix. Fans can expect her to return to the cage by the end of the year.

How should the UFC prevent eye pokes? Let us know in the comments!