Jon Anik (born July 3, 1978) is an American mixed martial arts commentator. He began his career as an anchor with ESPN for over five years before moving to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a play-by-play commentator in 2012. Anik's expertise in MMA has made him a highly sought-after commentator for high-profile events, and his passion for sports commentary has earned him a loyal following among sports fans worldwide.
Jon Anik | |
|---|---|
 Anik in 2023 | |
| Born | July 3, 1978 |
| Education | Gettysburg College |
| Occupation | Mixed martial arts commentator |
Early life and education
editAnik was born in Boston, Massachusetts and is a Jew.[1] He has an identical twin brother and two other siblings.[2] He graduated from The Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts.[3] In 1997 and enrolled at Gettysburg College, where he was a member of Theta Chi.[4] He graduated with a degree in political journalism.[5] Anik spent one semester at American University in Washington, D.C., working as an intern for the George Michael Sports Machine.[6] He has also worked in the sports department of The MetroWest Daily News in Framingham, Massachusetts.[3]
Career
edit
ESPN
editAnik is a former ESPN anchor and the host of MMA Live on ESPN2.[7] He has anchored several live events for ESPN, including MMA Live's coverage of UFC 91, UFC 94, UFC 98, UFC 100, UFC 101, UFC 113, UFC 114 and UFC 126. From 2006 to 2008, Anik worked for ESPN Radio, where he anchored SportsCenter updates and served as a fill-in host on Game Night.[7] He also did a weekly MMA chat every Wednesday for ESPN.com.[citation needed]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
editIn 2011, Dana White announced during a press conference that Jon Anik would be joining the UFC.[8] Anik made his commentary debut during the international broadcast of UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller.[9] He was the lead play-by-play announcer for some FX and FUEL TV fights with color commentator and former UFC fighter Kenny Florian. He is also the host of the UFC's flagship sports magazine show UFC Ultimate Insider. He filled in for Mike Goldberg to team with Joe Rogan at UFC 155. On September 22, 2014, Anik was a guest on Ariel Helwani's MMA Hour and announced that he had signed a new, longer-term contract with UFC.[10] After losing a bet related to the outcome of the Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor fight at UFC 196, Anik was obliged to have a tattoo of the number 209, representing the area code of Diaz's hometown Stockton, California.[11] Since Mike Goldberg's departure in 2017, Anik has assumed the role of the UFC's main play-by-play commentator for all pay-per-view events.
On October 22, 2018, Anik revealed that he had signed a four-year contract extension with the UFC.[12] Subsequently, he was re-signed by the organization in 2022.[13]
Other appearances
editAnik has made several radio and TV appearances, including ESPN programs SportsNation, The Scott Van Pelt Show, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, and The Doug Gottlieb Show. Other appearances include: ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas, ProMMA Radio, MMAjunkie Radio, MMA Weekly Radio, The MMA Hour, the Sherdog Radio Network, and also featured on the ESPN UFC podcast every week with his "Anik-dotes".
Anik was the play-by-play voice for Season 1 of Bellator Fighting Championships. Anik co-starred in the MMA feature film Warrior as he states "I was pleasantly surprised when I got the script that I had six wardrobe changes," Anik told MMAjunkie.com Radio. "I guess I was surprised I had that many lines. I don't know how many made the final cut, though.[14]
As of April 2015, Anik and former UFC commentator Kenny Florian started the Anik-Florian podcast. On the podcast mixed martial arts, sports and pop culture are discussed.[15]
Personal life
editAnik and his wife Chrissy have three children.[6]
References
edit- ^ "Most people have no idea I'm even Jewish". Twitter.
- ^ Jon Anik [@Jon_Anik] (April 10, 2020). "It's National Siblings Day, I heard. I'm 1 of 4 (love you, tracyrbarry!) but this right here is the guy who I share the most DNA with, my identical twin bro. Kid lives 2.6 miles away and man do I miss playing hoops… https://instagram.com/p/B-zgtFrhX_X/" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "Team — Anik & Florian podcast". anikflorianpodcast.com. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
- ^ "Delta Omicron Alumnus Provides UFC Commentary". Theta Chi. June 26, 2013.
- ^ IzzyGonzalezMMA (March 9, 2014). Interview With Jon Anik (3/7/14) – via YouTube.
- ^ a b Justin Barrasso (November 18, 2021). "From Abu Dhabi to New York, Jon Anik Is UFC's Distinguished Soundtrack". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ a b John Morgan (May 6, 2010). "From EliteXC to ESPN2, Jon Anik enjoying the wild ride of "MMA Live"". MMAjunkie.com.
- ^ Adam Guillen Jr. (October 27, 2011). "ESPN anchor and 'MMA Live' host Jon Anik signs deal with UFC". mmamania.com.
- ^ UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller
- ^ Luke Thomas (Sep 22, 2014). "Jon Anik signs extension with UFC". mmafighting.com.
- ^ "A man of his word: UFC commentator Jon Anik gets '209' tattoo". 11 March 2016.
- ^ John Morgan (October 22, 2018). "UFC commentator Jon Anik inks four-year contract extension with promotion". mmajunkie.com.
- ^ UFC News [@UFCNews] (October 27, 2022). "So incredibly thrilled to announce our colleague and friend @Jon_Anik has been re-signed by @UFC! Congrats, Jon! 🥳" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "ESPN's Jon Anik dishes on "Warrior" film role, UFC-ESPN relationship | MMAjunkie.com". mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-21.
- ^ "Anik and Florian". SoundCloud. Retrieved 2020-05-21.