Amanda Nunes withdraws from UFC 256 title fight against Megan Anderson

The final UFC pay-per-view of 2020 has officially lost its main event, as the fight between reigning UFC women's featherweight champion Amanda Nunes and challenger Megan Anderson is reportedly off the cards. According to a report from ESPN, the women's featherweight title bout that was set for next month will have to wait a little longer.

ESPN's Brett Okamoto broke the news via Twitter:

Per sources, Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson title fight at UFC 256 next month is off. More info to @ESPN shortly.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 9, 2020

While the exact reason for the fight being called-off seemed unknown, reports from Okamoto have stated that Amanda Nunes was forced to withdraw from the fight due to undisclosed reasons. While this would've been The Lioness' second fight for 2020, Nunes' second featherweight title defense is now likely to be postponed for 2021.

Her scheduled opponent Megan Anderson also took to social media and sent her well-wishes to Amanda Nunes.

Anderson wrote that despite the cancellation of the fight, the UFC is working to re-book the title bout for a date in early 2021. Despite the fight being called-off, Anderson says goal remains the same, as she promises to be ready.

Wishing Amanda a speedy recovery 🙏🏻UFC are rescheduling the bout for a date early next year.

The goal remains the same 👊🏻 We'll be ready.. https://t.co/APZt4zUkS0
— Megan Anderson (@MeganA_mma) November 9, 2020

Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson's respective runs in the UFC

Amanda Nunes has been on a tear in the UFC ever since winning the UFC bantamweight championship. In 2019, at UFC 245, Nunes added another title to her collection, as she beat Germaine de Randamie to win the UFC women's featherweight title. To date, Amanda Nunes has defended the 145 title once when she put away Felicia Spencer at UFC 250.

Megan Anderson on the other hand, earned herself a shot at the UFC women's featherweight title after back-to-back wins in the division. At UFC 243, Anderson put away Zarah Fairn Dos Santos via first round submission, and then followed up with yet another round one finish, this time knocking out Norma Dumont Vian at UFC Fight Night 169 in early February 2020.

It remains to be seen on when the UFC re-books the fight between Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson. However, chances are that the fight will be rescheduled for UFC 257. As things stand, a new main event is yet to be confirmed for UFC 256, but with Petr Yan set to defend the UFC bantamweight title against Aljamain Sterling, the 135-pound title fight could headline the card.