"Been very off put with the negativity" - Jon Anik hints at retirement from MMA commentary over "malice and disrespect" from fans for UFC 297 opinion
Jon Anik is contemplating a departure from the MMA space after a section of fans gave harsh reactions to his take on UFC 297 results.
Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis fought a very close fight in the UFC 297 main event on Jan. 20. Du Plessis won the fight by split decision and became the new UFC middleweight champion.
Anik, the lead play-by-play commentator of the UFC, said that he felt the South African fighter deserved the judges' nod. Some MMA fans seem to have heavily criticized the 45-year-old for stating his opinion.
While discussing the UFC 297 results in a recent episode of The Anik and Florian Podcast, the UFC commentator expressed his disappointment in fans and hinted at potentially stepping away from MMA commentary:
“We tried to present that information respectfully. When I go to X or I go to our YouTube comments, it seems like a lot of these fans are just in attack mode. I don’t know if these fans are casual fans or not, right? I appreciate the passion but I’m getting to a point at 45 years of age where I don’t know how much time I have left in this MMA space.”
Elaborating further on his thoughts, Anik said:
“Because if I go do pro football [NFL], I’m not necessarily dealing with this lowest common denominator all the time. I don’t know, man. I just feel like there is a lot of malice and disrespect from the fan base and we can disagree! Don’t take it from me, Demetrious Johnson and Kenny Florian thought DDP won the fight. I don’t know. I’ve been very off put with the negativity that has permeated my feet since Saturday night and I just don’t know how much longer I have in this space, honestly.”
Watch the full podcast episode below (35:04):
Jon Anik draws attention to MMA judges' scoring pattern after Sean Strickland’s UFC 297 loss
Dricus du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland via split decision to win the UFC middleweight title. This was the third split decision in Strickland’s recent fights, and Jon Anik drew attention to judge Sal D’Amato’s scoring pattern in light of his recent loss.
Anik shared his thoughts in a post on his X account:
"In Sean Strickland's last three split decisions vs. [Jack] Hermansson, [Jared] Cannonier, & du Plessis, Sal D'Amato has been the dissenting judge in all three! His Hermansson card was forgettable. [The] other two are certainly defensible. But judges are human. He was vilified for that Hermansson card and has been on the Strickland side in two close fights since. Food for thought."