Months After $21B UFC-WWE Merger, Ronda Rousey’s Dreams of an MMA Return Backed by Veteran UFC Commentator – “If Anyone Is Worthy…”

UFC lost one of the strongest women fighters in the promotion recently, Amanda Nunes. Now that the entire bantamweight division looks dull after her retirement, UFC commentator Jon Anik recently discussed the reentry of Ronda Rousey. In UFC 157, ‘Rowdy’ became the company’s first-ever women’s bantamweight champion. After winning the title, she reigned in the division as an absolute queen. She defended her title a whopping six times. However, she chose to retire from the sport in 2016. In 2018, she became the first female to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Even though Rousey left the promotion, she dreamt of coming back one day, and now Anik is supporting her dream.

After Rousey left, it was Amanda Nunes who was the strongest pillar of UFC women’s MMA. ‘Lioness’ announced her UFC retirement after her bout against Irene Aldana at UFC 289. Now, the UFC commentator has opened up about his thoughts on ‘Rowdy’s return to the UFC octagon after seven long years.

Jon Anik says it’s the best time for Ronda Rousey

 The UFC commentator feels that there is no better time for Rousey to return to the UFC octagon than now. The 36-year-old is currently signed to WWE. After the $21 billion UFC-WWE merger, it would be easy for Ronda to reenter the UFC octagon. According to Anik, the fact that Nunes is no longer a part of the sport and the merger that took place in April makes it the best time for ‘Rowdy’s return.

As reported by Bloody Elbow, Anik said, If anyone is worthy of that time of opportunity, it’s probably Ronda Rousey. And I do believe she would be competitive because she would not enter that setting without the guarantee that she would be competitive. If ever there was a time, you’re right. It would be absolutely now, and I’m not gonna sit here and suggest she’d be a betting favorite against Julianna Peña or Raquel Pennington, but I can understand why people would be excited at the possibility, but in a true meritocracy, I do think that’s a little bit of a tough sell.” From the words of Anik, it is clear that he completely supports the return of Rousey.

‘Rowdy’s retirement and comeback

Rousey left the MMA scene after she suffered two consecutive losses against Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. She faced Holm at UFC 193 on November 14, 2015. ‘Rowdy’ lost the bout via knockout in the second round. The loss shattered her confidence and resulted in Rousey staying out of the octagon for nearly a year.

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Finally, she came back to face Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight title. However, to Rousey’s greatest disappointment, she once again lost the bout against Nunes just 48 seconds into the first round. Anik believes that Ronda Rousey should make a comeback to the UFC. However, the commentator suggests that Rousey should not immediately compete for a title shot. According to him, there are other deserving candidates who should get a shot at the vacant title. However, like most of her MMA fans, even Anik believes that it would be great if Rousey could make a comeback now.

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