Jon Anik weighs in on the possibility of Ronda Rousey getting an immediate title shot in UFC return: “I didn’t like that Henry Cejudo came back and cut the line”

UFC commentator Jon Anik is not a big fan of the idea of Ronda Rousey getting an immediate title shot should she return to the Octagon.

Rousey (12-2 MMA) has not competed in MMA since suffering a devastating beatdown at the hands of Amanda Nunes in December of 2016. That setback to ‘The Lioness’ marked Ronda’s second straight defeat, as she was previously knocked out cold by Holly Holm in November of 2015.

Despite her six-year plus hiatus from the sport of MMA, many fans have wondered if the new UFC-WWE merger could open the door for a ‘Rowdy’ return to the Octagon.

Ronda Rousey has of course been working with the WWE ever since leaving the UFC. The 36-year-old went on to capture the promotion’s coveted women’s championship in the summer of 2018, and currently holds the tag team championships with fellow MMA veteran Shayna Baszler.

During a recent interview with MMAFighting, UFC commentator Jon Anik was asked if he thinks Ronda Rousey should receive an immediate title shot should she decide to return to the Octagon.

“In a true meritocracy, that’s not gonna set well with me nor the athletes that have been donating blood, sweat, and tears to mixed martial arts over the last several years,” Anik replied (h/t MMANews). “If anyone is worthy of that opportunity, it’s probably Ronda Rousey, and I do believe that she would be competitive. She wouldn’t enter that setting without the guarantee that she would be competitive. But I didn’t like that Henry Cejudo came back and cut the line of a bunch of 35ers that have been active. So, it would be hypocritical of me to say ‘absolutely’… But if there were ever a time, it would be absolutely now.”

Do you think we could see Ronda Rousey return to the Octagon as a result of the UFC-WWE merger?