Looking back, longtime UFC play-by-play man Jon Anik believes he may have gone a little too hard hyping Canadian standout Mike Malott.
Returning to the Octagon at UFC 297 earlier this month, Malott was a significant favorite, closing at a -380 on multiple sportsbooks against welterweight gatekeeper Neil Magny. Through two rounds of action, it appeared that the oddsmakers were justified. However, the tables were turned in the third when Magny poured it on and punished an exhausted Malott. Magny scored a TKO with just 15 seconds left in the fight.
Victory from the jaws of defeat from Neil Magny.
Magny defeats Canadian home boy Mike Malott via 3rd round TKOpic.twitter.com/mMbpB2q9dr
— MMA_ENGINEERS (@mma_engineers) January 21, 2024
During a recent episode of The Anik & Florian Podcast, Jon Anik spoke about the immense praise he had given to Malott ahead of fight night.
“Yeah, I mean, I do think that perhaps I was guilty maybe of overstepping a little bit when it came to some of the hyperbolic stuff I was saying about Mike Malott,” Anik said. “I mean, I stopped at suggesting he’s overrated, right? But the guy never had a decision win, so experience has gotta count for something, I give Neil Magny a whole lot of credit.”
Malott’s hype was by no means misguided. Going into the bout, the Waterdown, Ontario native was 10-1-1 with all of his victories coming by way of finish, including six submissions and four knockouts. He was also riding a five-fight win streak that predated his 2021 appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series.
“I just think that sometimes we get ahead of ourselves, especially when it comes to certain guys in certain countries with all due respect to Canada,” Anik added. “We are dying to have a man take the torch, right? And we went into this fight thinking without a shadow of a doubt, the most talented Canadian mixed martial arts male right now is Mike Malott.”
Neil Magny got back into the win column following a lackluster performance against Ian Machado Garry in August. The ‘Haitian Sensation’ is now 22-10 inside the Octagon. His victory over Malott moved him up one spot to No. 12 in the welterweight rankings.