Dominick Cruz and Paul Felder will join Jon Anik for UFC Vegas 16 commentary
ESPN's UFC commentator Jon Anik hinted on his social media that he will be joined by Paul Felder and Dominick Cruz for the transmission of UFC Vegas 16. Tomorrow's event will have Jack Hermansson vs. Marvin Vettori as the main bout of the night.
Anik has recently completed eight years as the lead UFC voice on PPV and ESPN transmissions and is the man typically partnering Joe Rogan on the mic.
"Eight years ago, I got a call from my boss on Christmas Eve to step in on short notice for my first pay-per-view call at UFC 155. And here we are, 100 PPVs later. Hope you'll join us for the two title fights tonight."
However, the fans are not too sure about Cruz having another chance behind the microphone. Since Anik announced he and Felder would be joined by Cruz's presence, social media is having different reactions regarding the former UFC bantamweight champion.
On Reddit, it is not hard to find threads criticizing Cruz's comments. Even Khabib Nurmagomedov already expressed his doubts concerning Cruz performance on the other side of the octagon. Check some of the fan's reactions to Cruz commentaries:
On the other hand, Felder has become a common sight at Anik's side in the commentary booth. The American UFC lightweight fighter had an unusual moment in November this year when he was called as a last-minute replacement for the event he was originally going to work as a commentator.
UFC Vegas 14 main event was under threat after contender Islam Makhachev tested positive for COVID-19. Nevertheless, Felder accepted the UFC challenge and stepped into the fight with only five days' notice. He was defeated by the former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos via split decision.
UFC Vegas 16 most-awaited fights
UFC Vegas 16 had its initial main event scrapped when Kevin Holland tested positive for COVID-19. The UFC has replaced Holland with 'Italian Dream' Marvin Vettori for the bout against Jack Hermansson. The fight has been gaining a lot of unexpected attention since the two fighters are determined to be considered the 'best European UFC middleweight.'
Vettori sees the fight as an opportunity to finally have his long dreamed rematch against the division's champion Israel Adesanya. Hermansson, in opposition, thinks it is his turn to have a title shot since he is the current UFC middleweight fourth-ranked, way ahead of Vettori, thirteenth.
Another highly-anticipated bout is the women's UFC flyweight Montana de La Rosa vs. Taila Santos, where the Brazilian will have her first ranked opponent and plans to upset de La Rosa's plans to climb even higher.