Jon Anik is not only brilliant at his job as the UFC's play-by-play man, but he's one of the most respectful people you will ever meet. He goes well out of his way to treat the athletes he covers with respect, dignity and class and he makes it a point to engage with the fan base.
Apparently, though, that's not good enough for a large swath of the UFC fan base, which has been raining hate down upon Anik recently for his score in favor of new middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis over Sean Strickland on Jan. 20 in the main event of UFC 297 in Toronto.
Anik, as did two of the three judges, many fans, fighters and media members, had it 48-47 for Du Plessis. There has been a debate about whether Du Plessis "did enough to take it from the champion," but that is an old wive's tale that isn't in the rules and doesn't exist.
A champion's advantage -- And it is a huge one -- is that he or she keeps the title in event of a draw. But it is blatantly unfair to a challenger to have to do more in a title fight than the champion in order to win a round. If a round is so close that a judge can't pick a winner, he/she has the option to score it 10-10. That's not encouraged, but it is an option.
But if a judge thinks a fighter won the round 50.01 percent to 49.99 percent, then that person should get a 10-9, whether that fighter is champion or not.
There is a strong argument to be made in favor of Strickland winning. Strickkland out-landed Du Plessis in significant strikes in Rounds 1 and 5 by a solid margin, relatively speaking. In the first, Strickland was 34 of 75 in significant strikes and Du Plessis was 18 of 51. Strickland won the first on all three judges' cards. In the fifth, Strickland landed 53 of 99 significant strikes and Du Plessis hit on 35 of 86. Strickland won the fifth on all three cards.
The second, third and fourth were much closer. Strickland had edges in Rounds 3 (31 of 87 compared to 29 of 84) and Round 4 (33 of 85 compared to 29 of 73). Du Plessis was 26 of 60 in the second while Strickland was 22 of 62. Du Plessis swept all three rounds.
MMA is not scored on significant strikes alone and Du Plessis did take Strickland down six times on 11 attempts. The power of the punches are considered and numerous other variables.
.@jon_anik is growing tired of the negativity after a close fight. https://t.co/r7p3y7cY8P pic.twitter.com/dTDSooaBZo
— Anik & Florian Podcast (@AnikFlorianPod) January 25, 2024
The bottom line, though, is that the fight was close and a 48-47 score either way is appropriate. Strickland fans have outrageously attacked Anik to the point that he is considering walking away from the sport.
"I am growing tired of this MMA space and the morass of negativity when there is a close fight," Anik said to co-host Kenny Florian on their podcast. "Because even if you and I both thought Dricus Du Plessis won the fight, we try to present that information respectfully. When I go on X or I go to our YouTube comments, it just seems like a lot of these fans are in attack mode. I don't know if these fans are casual fans or not. I appreciate the passion, but I am getting to a point at 45 years of age where I don't know how much time I have left in this MMA space. If I go and do pro football, I'm not necessarily going to be 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.
"We can disagree, but don't take it from me. [ONE Championship champion] Demtrious Johnson and [ex-UFC fighter] Kenny Florian thought DDP won the fight, too. I've just been very off-put with the negativity that has permeated my feed since Saturday night. I'm just not sure how much longer I have in this space, honestly."
That would be a tragedy if Anik were to leave his job.
This is sports and sports are meant to be fun. Social media is awful because it allows cowards to hide behind the cloak of anonymity and take cheap shots at someone without fear of retribution.
There is a way to disagree that doesn't involve belittling someone or accusing them of unethical behavior. Anik doesn't have a vendetta against Strickland. He didn't score the bout against Strickland to settle some score, and, quite frankly, his score, like yours and mine, didn't matter a bit.
It's an opinion.
We should at this point be able to disagree without hating on each other, but that's apparently too difficult for the small-minded people who are attacking Anik.
We know that Anik called the fight and scored it how he saw it, not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol, without a bet on either of the fighters, or eating and talking during the fight. The same can't be said of fans, who like to enjoy a beer or six while watching the fights while also talking to your friends about what you see. As a reporter who scores fights from Octagonside while trying to post to social media, it's easy to miss a key moment in the fight if you look at your computer screen (as a reporter) or if you talk to your buddy you're watching the fight with (as a fan).
Anik is infinitely more qualified to score the bout than 99.999999999999 percent of those who are criticizing him, not only because he has a better seat and because he's not doing anything other than watching the bout unfold in front of him, he knows more about the sport and the scoring criteria than the majority of fans do.
The sport is vastly better for having a classy, dignified and humble person like Anik in it. He's the best play-by-play man in MMA history by far and he deserves vastly better than to be treated the way he has been in the aftermath of this fight.