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‘MMA fans as a whole suck’: Fighters defend, support Jon Anik after concerns about UFC future

Jon Anik MMA UFC Cub Swanson Jay Perrin Jimi Manuwa Kenny Florian Matt Brown Muhammad Mokaev Nazim Sadykhov

UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik isn’t sure how much longer he’ll be cageside as his resentment toward a portion of the MMA fanbase continues to grow.

Anik caught the attention of the MMA community Thursday when he stated on his podcast that he’s “growing tired” of the negative and very loud portion of the audience who seem unable or unwilling to have mature discourse about the sport.

Anik, who started working for the UFC in 2011, was promoted to lead play-by-play commentator for pay-per-views, as well as select UFC Fight Night shows, after Mike Goldberg departed in 2017. He was maligned for scoring this past weekend’s UFC 297 main event in favor of Dricus Du Plessis over Sean Strickland, which unearthed a bevy of backlash in his social media comments.

Although Anik is far from the only person in the MMA space who has felt the wrath of fans online, he is in the minority in terms of speaking openly about the toll it can take mentally. What that ultimately means for his long-term future with the UFC remains to be seen, but if the reaction to his comments show anything, it’s that he has widespread support from the athletes he calls the action for.

Multiple fighters spoke out to support Anik and added to his feelings about the degree to which fans can be toxic. Check out those reactions below.

* * * *

MMA Junkie

Matt Brown

Jimi Manuwa

John Kavanagh

Muhammad Mokaev

Jon Fitch

Cub Swanson

Nazim Sadykhov

Sodiq Yusuff

Ramsey Nijem

Paulo Costa

Gilbert Burns

Jay Perrin

Terrance McKinney

Kenny Florian

Sean O'Connell

Sean Strickland

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