The UFC may be switching network soon, but Jon Anik isn’t going anywhere.
When the UFC let go of longtime commentator Mike Goldberg at the end of 2016, that opened the door for Jon Anik to assume the role as the main man behind the microphone for the promotion’s pay-per-view and FOX events. With the promotion changing scenery in 2019 and heading to the ESPN family of networks in 2019, Anik will still be calling the action in the long-term, having confirmed to MMAjunkie that he had signed a new four-year deal.
“It’s a multi-year extension, and it’s very exciting for me to be able to be a part of this new era with ESPN,” Anik said. “I think, as a lot of people know, that’s where I sort of cut my teeth in television and radio, and that’s where I really starting covering mixed martial arts back in 2007 and 2008, so it sort of feels like we’re coming full-circle a little bit. Now, 10 years later, the UFC and ESPN have the whole domestic package aligned, so it’s a good time, you know, and I didn’t make it a secret – I mean, this is where I wanted to be.
“This has become the foremost passion in my life, and I just couldn’t imagine my life without UFC being a big part of it. I’m thankful that it got done and just excited to continue to hit the ground running.”
Anik had joined the UFC at the beginning of the FOX deal in 2012, working on Fight Night cards on FX, FUEL TV, and eventually FS1, FS2, and Fight Pass cards. His first pay-per-view appearance was at UFC 155 in December 2012, after Mike Goldberg was unable to attend the card due to a health issue.
With the UFC increasing its number of events to at least 42 in 2019, the 40-year-old says he expects to call about half of them. Anik expressed his gratitude towards the UFC after another contract extension.
“I know people sometimes balk when I say, ‘You’re only as good as your last show,’ or, ‘It is show by show,’ but that’s really the way you have to treat it as a broadcaster,” Anik said. “On any given Saturday night, if you don’t have a good show, maybe that opportunity doesn’t come your way the next time around. I think that helps keep me focused, but it’s just been so much fun for me to be at these live events and get a chance to work with 12 different analysts, all of whom I hold in such high regard. I’m just thankful that the UFC was willing to make a longer-term commitment to me, and that we’re still going to go strong here with the network change.
“They call me number, wherever it is, I just show up and try to do the best I can.”
You’ll hear Anik next on November 3rd at UFC 230 in New York. The UFC still maintains production control under the ESPN deal, although it’s unknown how much of their current on-air talent such as Brendan Fitzgerald, John Gooden, Karyn Bryant, and others will be a part of their ESPN broadcasts.