Jon Anik has a friendship with Belal Muhammad that extends far beyond the Octagon.
The longtime play-by-play man, who once had a “meltdown” over toxic UFC fans (blame his heightened emotional state), is not losing any sleep after lending his voice to the UFC 304 pay-per-view (PPV) event in Manchester, where Muhammad upset Leon Edwards to capture the welterweight crown.
Probably because Anik does his homework, unlike this embattled commentator.
“I have interpersonal relationships on both sides of this,” Anik told MMA Fighting. “I actually go further back with Leon than I do with Belal. Tim Simpson, [Leon’s] manager, is a good friend of mine, and historically, for me, the call that has, I think, helped my career the most was something that relates to Leon Edwards. If you listen to the Anik & Florian Podcast, our show open ends with Leon Edwards saying, ‘Head shot dead,’ right? So there’s a lot of connective tissue and interpersonal stuff for me on both sides of all of these fights.”
Anik has previously stumped for Edwards across multiple fronts.
“I felt like the call was down the line,” Anik continued. “Now, you can imagine all the different things that commentators hear from fans and fighters and coaches and bosses over the years. But I sleep well at night, I stand by that call, and I stand by Belal Muhammad as a friend. When we launched his podcast with my twin brother, four or five years ago, whatever it was, he had 18,000 Instagram followers. He was unranked. We believed in him in terms of him having a social media presence, and that he could maybe become a contender, if not championship athlete. And you know what? We bet on the right f*cking guy, and if I got married a second time, he might be a f*cking groomsman.”
UFC welterweight Colby Covington, however, is unlikely receive an invitation.
“I can’t help that I have friendships that I have developed in this sport, but you can be sure I’m not as close with Belal as I am with Dominick Cruz, and once any of these guys hit the tunnel or hit the inspection zone, last thing I’m thinking about is their mothers and their brothers and the interpersonal stuff,” Anik revealed. “So, it is what it is, it comes with the territory and people who don’t want to credit this win in this historically great division by Belal Muhammad? Cry. Cry.”
Anik appears to have the support of UFC fighters when it matters most.
“I didn’t like [Muhammad] in the fight,” Anik said. “Can I say that now? Does that sound objective? I still believe Leon Edwards is the toughest matchup for him in the welterweight division, and Shavkat Rakhmonov, and Ian Machado Garry, and Sean Brady and others are right there — [and] this was a big result for Sean Brady, who I think is a cannonball coming in his own if he can get past Gilbert ‘Durinho’ Burns — but I still think Leon is the toughest matchup for Belal. And even though promotionally, they don’t want to go in the direction of a trilogy and an immediate run back of that title fight between Belal Muhammed and Leon Edwards, I have an appetite for it, and I actually believe Leon, if not, some long-reigning champion probably deserves it.”
Kamaru Usman, Shavkat Rakhmonov, and Jack Della Maddalena have all been rumored for a potential title shot against Muhammad; however, the promotion has yet to make a decision on the champ’s next challenger, or the date in which they are planning to make them fight.
Regardless, expect Anik to call it right down the middle.