UFC commentator Jon Anik said that he is “curious” about how Ronda Rousey would do if she made a return to the Octagon.
Rousey returned after a 10-year layoff to defeat Gina Carano in just 17 seconds in the main event of the MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano card on Netflix. It was an incredible comeback win for the UFC Hall of Famer, who is now 39 years old.
It was so impressive, in fact, that it got Anik thinking about how Rousey would perform if she ever returned to the UFC.
Jon Anik Wonders About Ronda Rousey’s UFC Return
Speaking on the “Anik and Florian Podcast,” the UFC lead commentator expressed interest in seeing Rousey return to the Octagon after 10 years away from it following her 17-second win over Carano.
Anik believes Rousey would be competitive with some of the top-10-ranked women’s bantamweights currently on the roster, though he stopped short of saying she would beat the champion, Kayla Harrison, or the woman who sent Rousey into retirement a decade ago, Amanda Nunes.
“Can’t Ronda Rousey get takedowns against a high-level, modern-day fighter and get to a place where she can grab an arm or a neck? I mean, am I crazy? Because a lot of people think they’d be favored to beat Ronda Rousey right now. I just would be curious to see how she would do against the UFC top 10,” Anik said (via Bloody Elbow).
“Not to suggest that she’d be ready for Kayla Harrison or Amanda Nunes, but I am wildly curious to see how she would do against some of those other fighters.”
The rest of the UFC women’s bantamweight top-10 rankings include Julianna Pena, Raquel Pennington, Joselyne Edwards, Norma Dumont, Ailin Perez, Irene Aldana, Yana Santos, Macy Chiasson, Jacqueline Cavalcanti, and the recently released Ketlen Vieira. While Rousey wouldn’t be favored in all of those fights, she would likely be favored to win at least a few of them.
Ronda Rousey Said She’s Done With MMA Again
After beating Carano in the main event of Netflix’s MVP MMA card, Rousey said that she plans to go back into retirement and have more children with her husband, former UFC heavyweight contender Travis Browne, with the two having plans to move to Browne’s native Hawaii.
That being said, Rousey made $2.2 million in disclosed pay for her fight with Carano, and she admitted she made much more than the California State Athletic Commission disclosed publicly, as she received extra money for promoting the fight with Carano and the event in general. Rousey is a prizefighter at the end of the day, so money talks, and if the UFC offered her enough money to return, perhaps she would reconsider it.
However, after Rousey talked plenty of smack towards UFC CBO Hunter Campbell in the lead-up to her fight with Carano, it does feel like the bridge is burned on her ever returning to the Octagon, even though it would certainly be interesting to see her fight some of the top-10-ranked women’s bantamweights, just as Anik suggested.
UFC Commentator ‘Curious’ About Ronda Rousey Back in Octagon