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Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and Goze is here.
On Episode 3,479, the fellas talk to UFC on ESPN 59 headliner [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] and lead play-by-play voice [autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag]. They also previewed Saturday’s event in Denver, discussed PFL Africa and Frans Ngannou, talked Nate Diaz and much more. Tune in!
Jon Anik thinks he’s “underqualified” for the position, but would give up his UFC commentary gig in an instant to become matchmaker.
[autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag] is comfortable and proud to be in his position as UFC’s lead play-by-play commentator, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t alternate ambitions.
After starting with the company in 2011, Anik has been at the helm of UFC’s biggest event broadcasts since taking over pay-per-view calls from longtime staple Mike Goldberg in early 2018. During that run, he has become a crucial part of the live event experience for viewers.
Anik has openly discussed that running play-by-play might not be a lifetime position, and one potential role he dreams of landing down the line is that of a UFC matchmaker. Anik admits he doesn’t have all the qualifications needed to do the job at the highest level right now, but that type of job is one he confessed to fantasizing about.
“For me, as a diehard professional sports fan, it is the absolute dream to be in operations, or to be a general manager,” Anik told MMA Junkie. “I would love nothing more than to be offered a matchmaker job and to put the microphone down. I just think I’m a little bit underqualified, while also trying to stay in my lane.
“I don’t think I wouldn’t be able to do it. I would want to invest myself in that world and learn from Mick (Maynard) and Sean (Shelby). Certainly, I’ve gained invaluable insight, having called as many UFC fights and having been through as many fighter meetings. It’s not to suggest I don’t have credentials that I don’t think could help that process. But I have not necessarily watched MMA from a scouting perspective. I haven’t negotiated contracts. There’s just certain things that I think in a broad sense go into the job that I’m underqualified for, but yeah, if they want to change my job title and bring in somebody else to crack a mic – I’m listening.”
FULL INTERVIEW
Anik, 46, said he doesn’t know what his future holds. The promotion announced in October 2022 that he’d signed a new four-year contract for his lead play-by-play position and other duties, so a move behind the scenes as matchmaker would be a dramatic shift.
The passion for the sport that beams out of Anik when he’s on camera, doing interviews, hosting his “Anik & Florian Podcast,” or any other endeavor is undeniable, though, and he is confident that passion would translate into an executive position.
“Only God knows (what happens in the future),” Anik said. “I have the job that I want. Who knows what my relative happiness would be if I was in a different capacity? I’m just speaking in broad terms. Being an executive or somebody in operations and talent relations for a major sports organization or promotion or team, is tremendously appealing to me.”
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Jon Anik would like to see Nate Diaz handle some unfinished business if he comes back to the UFC.
[autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag] would like to see [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] handle some unfinished business if he comes back to the UFC.
Diaz called out welterweight champion Leon Edwards after defeating Jorge Masvidal by majority decision in their boxing match this past Saturday at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Anik isn’t sure if Diaz should be fighting the upper echelon in the UFC, but sees multiple entertaining options for him. He likes what he saw out of the Stockton superstar against Masvidal.
“Nate Diaz back in the UFC, I don’t know to what extent that is possible in short order, but it’s very encouraging that that is one of the first things sort of on the tip of his tongue,” Anik said on his “Anik & Florian Podcast.”
“Far be it for anyone to bet against this guy in a high-profile setting against an elite fighter. Yeah, there’s certain matchups, right? Maybe you don’t like him against Sean Brady, but there are plenty of matchups that are good for Nate Diaz. Conor McGregor is another fight, and I think he’s got a lot of fight left.”
Anik suggested [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC), who contemplated retirement after his submission loss to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302. However since then, “The Diamond” has teased his itch to compete again.
Poirier and Diaz have history. Their November 2018 fight booking fell through, and the pair have since tried numerous times to get their fight rescheduled. Poirier mentioned in July 2023 that he’d be willing to welcome Diaz back to the UFC.
“Dustin Poirier and I were talking at UFC 303 as he was there doing the television work,” Anik said. “There just aren’t that many fights right now for Dustin. It seems like he has the appetite to go out on a win. … Right now, Dustin Poirier’s last fight was an undisputed championship loss to Islam Makhachev.
“Dustin has intimated that he wants to fight one more time, and on the very short list of opponents that actually makes some fiscal and competitive sense is Nate Diaz. So, we’ll see if that is something that actually materializes.”
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Lead UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik still has high hopes for Conor McGregor’s future in the octagon.
Lead UFC play-by-play commentator [autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag] still has high hopes for [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s future in the octagon.
Despite the uncertainty around a new date for McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) to make his highly-anticipated return from injury following his withdrawal from the UFC 303 main event vs. Michael Chandler this past month, Anik is not among those who don’t see “The Notorious” ever fighting again.
In fact, Anik thinks that once McGregor, 35, has his next fight scheduled, it will kick off a window where the world gets to witness him compete multiple times. It might seem unrealistic, but Anik maintains a high degree of hope about what’s on the horizon for the brash Irishman.
“I’ve been waxing optimistic on Conor for a long time,” Anik told MMA Junkie and other reporters in a recent interview on the 2024 UFC Hall of Fame red carpet. “I fully expect him to compete in 2024, to come back at a high level. Fight twice in eight months. I know it sounds ridiculous and super ambitious to some people, but I just know the mixed martial arts athlete is in there, and I just remain hopeful that he’s going to come back and make more of an impact than anyone expects that he will.”
The UFC brass managed to salvage the UFC 303 card in the aftermath of McGregor’s injury pullout for a broken pinkie toe. It put together Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka for the light heavyweight title as a replacement headliner, among other additions.
Ultimately, Anik would’ve preferred to call a McGregor fight on June 29. However, he is pleased with how the promotion responded.
“I messaged Conor after UFC 300 and I said, ‘Only thing bigger than 300 is McGregor vs. anybody,'” Anik said. “So the biggest thing we can do is have a Conor McGregor-led pay-per-view. That’s not our reality at (UFC 303), but this company obviously comes to the rescue and is able to present a deeper pay-per-view.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.
Jon Anik thinks referee Jason Herzog saved Jared Cannonier from taking unnecessary extra damage at UFC on ESPN 57.
[autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag] thinks referee Jason Herzog saved [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] from taking unnecessary extra damage at UFC on ESPN 57.
[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) scored a fourth-round TKO of Cannonier (17-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) in Saturday’s headliner at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. – a controversial stoppage which infuriated Cannonier.
Imavov had Cannonier on skates when he tagged him with a right hook. Imavov sprinted after Cannonier, who eventually tried to swing back while backed up against the cage. However, with Cannonier off balance and stumbling across the octagon, Herzog saw enough and waved the fight off at the 1:34 mark of Round 4.
While Anik agrees that the stoppage was premature, he thinks Cannonier was en route to getting put out.
“If you were to ask me, ‘Do you believe in 20 seconds that Jared Cannonier would’ve been knocked out cold or concussed further?,’ the answer would be yes,” Anik said on his Anik & Florian podcast. “I believe referees are universally praised when they allow a fight to go long, and then something sensational happens. Either we get a 25-minute war because they didn’t stop the fight, or you get a knockout that has some virality.
“I was a little bit surprised to see Jason Herzog intervene here, but referees are always going to be criticized when they stop fights early on the front end of the potentially concussive damage. … Jason, if any referee deserves the benefit of the doubt, it is him. If you’re asking me, do I think the stoppage was premature, I do, but I think the result would’ve been a concussion for Jared Cannonier, who had been drunk driving 30 seconds previously, and I just feel like he would’ve been knocked out.”
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Herzog acknowledged the criticism, and indicated he planned to reassess the fight-ending sequence.
“I get it. I know what I was seeing in the moment, but I’ve gotten enough feedback telling me I need to reevaluate, so I will,” Herzog wrote on X after the fight.
I get it. I know what I was seeing in the moment, but I've gotten enough feedback telling me I need to reevaluate, so I will. https://t.co/YwbIg9Mbdh
— Jason Herzog (@JasonHerzogMMA) June 9, 2024
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 57.
Jon Anik campaigns for a Sean Strickland title shot after UFC 302.
[autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag] campaigns for a [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] title shot after UFC 302.
After losing his middleweight title to Dricus Du Plessis in January, Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) rebounded by defeating Paulo Costa in this past Saturday’s UFC 302 co-main event. He demanded a title shot after the win.
Anik agrees with Strickland. He thinks the former UFC middleweight champion has stepped up for the company on numerous occasions before.
“I thought he fought great,” Anik told MMA on Sirius XM. “I thought he could have waited for a championship opportunity and didn’t. I mean, has anyone stepped up for the UFC more than Sean Strickland?
“The main event against Nassourdine Imavov, the main event against Abus Magomedov – both of those had circumstances in which he was stepping up for the UFC, and those came on the back end of him putting his No. 4 ranking on the line against Alex Pereira when no one in the top 10 would’ve fought him at UFC 276. So if anyone deserves to sit right now for 12 months after essentially dominating Paulo Costa, it’s Sean Strickland.”
Strickland’s fight with Costa drew boos from the crowd, and prompted UFC CEO Dana White to say it wasn’t the fight he expected. Anik thinks it’s unfair for Strickland’s performance to be criticized.
“In no other sport do you have to win and entertain. Even in a 1-0 baseball game – and I said this on my podcast this week – everybody’s giving the pitcher credit,” Anik said. “Sean Strickland essentially just pitched a shutout against a very dangerous man in the top seven. I’m not sure what he was supposed to do.
“I know Eric Nicksick came over and apologized to Hunter (Campbell) and Dana a little bit. I knew it wasn’t the fight we expected. I thought it was going to be the Fight of the Night. But Sean Strickland – his skills never lead the conversation because of his personality, and I think his skills need to lead the conversation and his next fight should definitely be for the championship.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.
Jon Anik sees Dustin Poirier as a live underdog but understands why oddsmakers sway heavily in favor of Islam Makhachev at UFC 302.
[autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag] sees [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] as a live underdog, but he understands why oddsmakers sway heavily in favor of UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag].
According to BetMGM, Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) is a -600 favorite in his upcoming title defense against Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 302 (pay-per-view/ESPN2/ESPN+) main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Poirier is a +425 underdog.
“I’m glad I’m not an oddsmaker because I would find it exceedingly hard to price Islam Makhachev right now because he really is that good,” Anik said in an interview with Odds Shark. “I can understand why a lot of the fanbase and a lot of the fighters like Dustin Poirier in this spot. I like the quick turnaround having faced Benoit Saint Denis in a really big pressure spot.
“Not a title fight of course, but at UFC 299 in Miami, he was a betting underdog in that setting. I like that this fight is happening in New Jersey, it’s in his time zone, it’s close to home, I like the competition cycle. He was largely unscratched even though it wasn’t a perfect performance against Benoit Saint Denis, and he does have a lot more experience accrued over the last several years.”
Anik also admires the way Poirier has bounced back from prior losses. “The Diamond” has never lost two straight in his career.
“When you look back at the fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov and we could spend 10 minutes on how that experience might play into this fight against Islam Makhachev, but then so responsive thereafter against Dan Hooker, then two wins against Conor McGregor,” Anik said. “I think that Poirier is going to perform well. I think the problem might just be the guy that is in the red corner.”
Anik sees one major advantage that stands out for Poirier, but points to his previous two title losses, which came by submission as concerning points. He thinks Poirier has to capitalize on the feet early.
“I think natural power and I say that with all due respect to Islam Makhachev,” Anik said of Poirier’s advantage. “Makhachev is a five-tool striker, certainly his head kick of Alexander Volkanovski speaks to just how many different ways he could get you out of there. He’s certainly not just a grappler. But Dustin Poirier out of that southpaw stance has a lot of power, certainly in that right hand but also in the left hand, as well. And I just think it’s about risk mitigation for him. When are you going to go for it, pick your spots, try to avoid the ground.
“Those grappling situations against Khabib Nurmagomedov were not ideal, and I think when a lot of people handicap this fight, they worry about Dustin Poirier getting put in those similar situations and time ripping off of the clock. It’s advantage striker when it comes to MMA and Joe Rogan talked about this recently, they allow you to stand up at the beginning of every round, so I do think that it stands to reason that if Dustin Poirier can gain respect with that power early on and present some sort of adversity.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.
Here’s what you need to know to watch UFC 301 on pay-per-view, ESPN and ESPN+.
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Here’s how to watch UFC 301 with the flyweight title on the line at the top of the lineup.
Shaquille O’Neal had Jon Anik starstruck right before he was about to go on the air.
NBA legend [autotag]Shaquille O’Neal[/autotag] had [autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag] starstruck right before he was about to go on the air.
The UFC’s lead play-by-play commentator was unexpectedly greeted by O’Neal as he was getting ready to deliver an intro during a UFC event – a moment that remains memorable for him to this day.
“I’ve had one moment like that, and I will never forget it because he’s one of my all-time favorite athletes,” Anik told MMA Junkie Radio. “So I wasn’t doing the standard pay-per-view open, but you may have noticed over the last two years or so, I’ll have certain situations during the broadcast where I do like a standup on camera where I’m sort of close to the crowd, and I’ll memorize something, and then I’ll deliver it and throw to a feature.
“So I’m getting ready in my standup position to do one of these, and I look down, and there’s a big hand reaching out to, like, give me a fist bump. It’s Shaquille O’Neal. If that doesn’t fire you up to fist bump that dude and then deliver to camera, right? I’m not sure how I delivered. It was probably one of the greatest deliveries of my life, right? It gave me a lot of confidence, the good kind of nerves. …Only one real instance where a celebrity was, you know, in sort of my frame of mind as I was just about to deliver something, and that would be the great Shaquille O’Neal.”
You can watch Anik’s full interview in the video below.
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Jon Anik isn’t sure if he wants to hang around long enough to be able to call UFC 400, but won’t rule it out.
UFC play-by-play commentator [autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag] isn’t quite sure if he wants to be the man on the call by time the next big milestone event rolls around.
Anik debuted as a UFC commentator in 2012 at UFC on FX 1. Ever since, he has firmly planted his flag as one of the best on the mic, continuing to improve over time. He will be on the call for the upcoming milestone UFC 300 event on April 13, and although he doesn’t see an end to his run as a commentator in sight, he isn’t ready to say for certain he will be around for UFC 400.
“As trite as it sounds, nothing is guaranteed,” Anik told MMA Junkie Radio. “So, I have to have that mentality, I have to have that approach. And as I’ve said repeatedly, I’m trying to create a gap between me and all the guys trying to come get my jobs. So, that’s really my focus.
“Gosh, I mean, to think about being in year 23 of doing this, eight years from now, I mean, I don’t know. I think that’s a tremendous run. I still think there are a lot of sports broadcasters, even Brad Nessler this weekend in his late 60s, still crushing it on the NCAA tournament. I just don’t know if I want to be that 55, 60-year-old guy sticking around getting the way of the young guys. At least right now, and for the indefinite future, my focus is on my craft. It is on mixed martial arts play-by-play, and trying to get better in terms of my preparation, my process and my performance for every show. … Hopefully, I can call UFC 400, but we’re just trying to make it to UFC 300 right now.”
If the UFC keeps up its current pace of events, UFC 400 will likely take place around eight years down the road. Anik, who recently re-signed with the UFC in 2022 for an undisclosed period, says his availability will depend on several factors. However, he certainly won’t need to be dragged off the mic if his performance slips.
“I feel like my inner circle is honest enough and tight enough that if I started to lose a step a little bit – and I’d probably notice it watching it back – but verbally, as soon as I start to lose some of the orating skills, I’m not going to be a corpse up there just cashing a check, trying to be up there for legacy or nostalgia,” Anik said. “I’ll be long gone.”
