Rose Namajunas is cleared to train again after the eye injury she suffered in her last fight, and her update came with a direct proposal for how MMA should punish eye pokes.
The former two-time UFC strawweight champion posted on Instagram three months after her decision loss to Natalia Silva at UFC 324 on Jan. 24 in Las Vegas. Namajunas said her thumb and eye are healed, that she is back on track to resume full training, and that fighters should face an immediate financial penalty for eye pokes even when the foul is accidental.
Namajunas wrote, “So you wanna be a fighter? Three months, and now I’m healthy, finally. Thumb and eye are all fixed up. I’m a bit out of shape, but I’m cleared to train now. I really hope eye pokes will be taken more seriously in the future. I propose instant purse deduction even for an accident. An accident that could seriously affect a fighter’s health long-term. Anyways, I’m just grateful that it was not more serious.”
According to the source report, Namajunas underwent surgery a few days after the fight and had a canalicular tube implanted, which is a small flexible tube used in the eyelid’s tear drainage system after this kind of injury. Her Instagram video appeared to show that tube being removed. The source also noted that Silva was not deducted a point in the bout despite the damage to Namajunas’ eye.
Rose Namajunas said she's finally been cleared to return to training after suffering a brutal eye poke in her fight with Natalia Silva.
She proposes "instant purse deduction" for any eye pokes happening in fights moving forward #UFC pic.twitter.com/xPfevpCVY8
— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) April 20, 2026
Rose Namajunas is trying to resume her flyweight climb after another setback
Namajunas is 14-8 in MMA and 12-7 in the UFC. She is a former two-time UFC strawweight champion who beat Joanna Jedrzejczyk twice, including the first-round knockout at UFC 217 that ended Joanna’s title reign, then regained the belt with a head-kick knockout of Zhang Weili at UFC 261. She also holds UFC wins over Jessica Andrade, Michelle Waterson, Paige VanZant, and Angela Hill.
She moved to flyweight in 2023, and the Silva fight was a key chance to build momentum in that division. Instead, the result left her with a decision loss, eye surgery, and three months away from training. Namajunas is currently listed at No. 6 in the UFC women’s flyweight rankings, which gives the update real weight as she tries to get moving again.
Watch Namajunas’ full post below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DXXfCcWD0tx/
The injury update also comes after Namajunas previously revealed that she needed canalicular eye surgery after UFC 324, which underlines how much time this foul took out of her 2026 schedule.
