Anyone who’s watched the UFC in the last decade knows the face — or at least the voice — of Jon Anik. He’s been the soundtrack of virtually every major moment in the octagon since lead play-by-play duties fell to him seven years ago.
Anik has the best seat in the house for nearly every big fight on the MMA calendar, and his takes on the recent UFC 297, February’s UFC 298 and the looming milestone UFC 300 seemed as valuable as any, with his employer in a rare one-week scheduling lull.
And last Wednesday, Anik agreed to speak with The Post about those events and their storylines.
By Thursday, Anik had found himself in the unlikely, uncomfortable position of being the center of the off-week MMA news cycle. A moment of venting on Wednesday’s episode of “The Anik & Florian Podcast” turned into a viral social media moment of concern that the well-liked broadcaster was at the end of his rope with the snowballing of online MMA discourse into one of perpetual negativity.
“I appreciate the passion,” said Anik, with regard to aggressively negative fans online, on the show he hosts with PFL color commentator and former UFC title contender Kenny Florian, “but I’m getting to a point at 45 years of age where I don’t know how much time I have left in this MMA space because, if I go do pro football, I’m not necessarily gonna be dealing with this lowest common denominator all the time.
“I’m just not sure how much longer I have in this space, honestly.”
The notion that online fan vitriol could chase off one of the most beloved figures in the sport was the horn of war that united hordes of sensible fans, media members and fighters to express both support for their guy and fear they might lose have his trademark mix of professionalism and exuberance sooner than expected.
Imagine Anik’s discomfort with becoming the story instead of enhancing someone else’s, throwing a monkey wrench into our conversation.
“I’m just not looking to be a headline, right?” Anik told The Post on Friday. “I devote my entire professional life — and really, I’ve devoted my personal life to this in a lot of respects — to do right by these athletes. And I think, when something like this happens, I’ve established enough goodwill with the roster that allows me to navigate these situations. Certainly not trying to register on the radar of my agent or my bosses. So, it is what it is.”
Since speaking with The Post, Anik on Saturday issued a statement through his podcast’s X account. Citing “a heightened emotional state following myriad allegations of bias at UFC 297.”
He expressed regret over what he said and, echoing sentiments he shared with The Post, surprise that what he had initially written off as “a throwaway” in the middle of his second podcast episode of the week had taken on a life of its own.
Anik added that he was sorry “[t]o those MMA fans whom I’ve offended,” that the whole ordeal had taught him a great deal, and that he would continue to be accessible to fans the way to which they had grown accustomed.
And Anik should apologize to the same folks Conor McGregor once famously did: Absolutely nobody.
The UFC of 2024 leans heavily into the principle of freedom of speech. Just ask CEO Dana White, who relishes every chance to remind reporters who broach the subject of, say, UFC 297 headliner Sean Strickland’s aggressively anti-gay rant or unsolicited sexist remarks that they don’t tell any of their fighters what they can or cannot say.
(Never mind that, on many occasions, the UFC has done just that. Ask Nate Diaz or Miguel Torres, for starters.)
What, exactly, was Anik’s offense that necessitated an apology? Under a minute of non-specific, G-rated griping about a legitimate problem with the current state of modern MMA social media discourse?
What prompted the apology, only Anik could say. Given the UFC’s modern stance of unapologetically daring those offended by even the most vile remarks to back down, this reads like a move by the classy Anik to both acknowledge and move past the overblown worries that a bunch of online trolls — “lowest common denominator” connects flush to the chin — dissatisfied with his presentation of Strickland’s narrow loss to Dricus du Plessis could chase him into an NFL broadcast booth in two years.
And make no mistake, the passionate Boston sports fan sure seems like he could handle himself calling games on fall Sundays — if that’s something he desires. If he does, he walked back that element of the equation to some degree.
“My contract is up in 2026, and I have the job I want,” Anik assured The Post. “So, hopefully, this doesn’t prevent me from keeping it.”
It should not. It better not.
Anik said that, while he appreciated the outpouring of support that blew up his phone and social media accounts at the end of the week, he wasn’t soliciting sympathy when he briefly aired his grievances with online agitators.
“I appreciate everybody coming to my defense,” Anik told The Post. “And even those people who thoughtfully don’t want to come to my defense, I’ve sort of tried to tune out some of that noise.”
That noise, without question, has gotten louder in recent years, particularly on X, formerly Twitter. The ever-interactive Anik couldn’t put his finger on why that might be.
But he does see a difference these days in the tenor of responses to his social media engagement.
“I have just noticed that it’s harder for me to interact with a lot of the fans that really have questions or comments on the broadcast that are fruitful or constructive,” Anik said. “I’m having a harder time getting to those conversations because the percentage of negative stuff is just heightened. I think the tone to it is just a little bit different and maybe a little bit angry.
“I don’t know if it speaks to a younger generation [or] a sports-betting generation. I really don’t know. And I really don’t care with total respect — like, that flies in the face of maybe me going on my podcast and sounding emotional — but I don’t really know exactly what lies at the heart of it.”
Who can say for sure? Anik would be the first to admit he’s no expert; his area of expertise is adding the proper doses of ancillary information and excitement to the sport of face-punching and carotid-clamping.
And Anik does so with aplomb and professionalism. Fans know it, fighters know it, and reporters know it. So what if a bunch of anonymous losers haven’t figured that out yet?
Once the elephant in the Zoom room had been addressed, Anik slipped back into a role he’s more comfortable with: talking about the best fighters on the planet. He shared plenty of unique insights into the UFC’s recent surprise signing of former two-time PFL champion and Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison, whether the already-stacked UFC 300 bout lineup needs a megastar à la Brock Lesnar or McGregor, and the intriguing featherweight title clash between Alexander Volkanovski and burgeoning star Ilia Topuria that’s coming next month at UFC 298. All those insights and more are worth your time in the full video version of The Post’s chat with Anik.
Anik may not be the only man who can offer such informed perspectives into the world of mixed martial arts, but he’s gotta be the most professional there is who’s capable of doing so.
Don’t worry about what happens when he’s gone — and that day will come, be it in 2026 or well beyond. Best to enjoy what he brings to the table dozens of Saturday nights per year, and all the days between on the internet.