"Doesn’t deserve to be made to feel this way" - Jon Anik receives words of support from Megan Olivi in wake of negativity from MMA fans
Megan Olivi voiced her support for Jon Anik after the UFC commentator teased an early retirement from covering MMA.
In January 2012, Anik made his UFC commentating debut during UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller. Since then, the Boston native has become a fan favorite in the combat sports community due to his professionalism and passion for MMA.
Unfortunately, Anik has recently struggled with the dark side of the MMA fanbase that focuses on negativity and trolling. As a result, the 45-year-old commentator had this to say during an episode of the Anik & Florian Podcast:
“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?”
Anik continued:
“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…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.”
Jon Anik’s comments have gone viral, with support piling in from fans, fighters, and colleagues. UFC reporter Megan Olivi offered the following words of encouragement to the beloved commentator:
“+ when you put so much into each day at the office, with so much care and concern for the athlete, the comments are even harder to take. We all struggle with it more and more. Jon is the best in sports and doesn’t deserve to be made to feel this way. Our community must do better.”
Jon Anik questions the theory that UFC champions must be beaten convincingly
On January 20, Dricus du Plessis stripped Sean Strickland of the UFC middleweight title with a split decision win in the UFC 297 main event. The result has been controversial among the MMA community, as some fans believe Strickland deserved to have his hand raised.
During a Twitter interaction, one fan had this to say about the situation to Jon Anik:
“Hey @Jon_Anik Dana white mentioned at the post fight presser that he thinks you have to beat the champ to be the champ.”
Anik responded by saying:
“So should judges just score all close/borderline rounds for the champion? I don’t understand.”
Jon Anik’s comments have been the vocal point of the Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis controversy. It’s long been said that a UFC champion must be defeated convincingly to be dethroned, but the judging criteria doesn't back this claim.