Megan Olivi breaks down Jon Anik's emotional outburst at fans after "malicious, gross attacks"
UFC lead reporter and presenter Megan Olivi discussed the recent outburst from her colleague, Jon Anik, and the attacks he faced.
Anik has been a play-by-play commentator for the UFC since 2012 and is widely regarded as the voice of the promotion. However, he received harsh criticism for his views on the UFC 297 main event, which saw Dricus du Plessis narrowly defeat Sean Strickland.
The backlash prompted him to speculate about his future in the company and call out the disrespect from fans. In a recent interview with FanSided MMA, Olivi was asked to compare her experience working in MMA and the NFL.
“I think it’s amplified [toxicity] in the MMA space because it is that particular set of fights or fighters on one Saturday where there is a multitude of games, and players... You could be calling one particular game but not everybody’s watching said game [in the NFL]. But for us, everybody’s watching this set of fights and so I fully understood where he [Anik] came from. I love our fanbase and it’s probably the best thing about our sport, secondary to our athletes. But it can be a rough space to navigate and some days it’s easier to tolerate..."
Olivi continued:
"And then some days you’re just like, I can’t. And I think it was one of those days... We give so much and Jon himself is the most well-prepared person I’ve ever worked with in all of sports. I believe he could step into an NFL commentating role right now and absolutely kill it. We put in so much blood, sweat, and tears and love, and care into everything that we do, so when people attack you and it turns into these really malicious, gross attacks, it is hard to handle."
Check out Megan Olivi's comments on Jon Anik below (3:45):
Jon Anik apologizes to fans for his "regrettable comments" in Instagram post
Two days after he made his comments on his podcast, Jon Anik issued a statement on his Instagram account reflecting on the impact of his words.
Anik admitted that he may have gotten emotional about the negativity he faced and apologized to fans. He also assured fans that he will continue in his role after 12 proud years at the UFC.
Anik wrote:
"Last week on my podcast, I was in a heightened emotional state following myriad allegations of bias at UFC 297 and I made some regrettable comments... While I was surprised at the extent to which my comments were re-purposed and sensationalized, I need to be more responsible on an open microphone... It can be tough when my integrity on broadcast is called into question. For 12 years, I've prided myself on being accessible to the fan base and that will continue."
Check out Jon Anik's post below: