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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC broadcaster Jon Anik has been a major part of the UFC's continued expansion with the Fox family of networks, taking on a number of roles from play by play man to Ultimate Insider host on Fuel TV and more, and he's settled in nicely over his more than year and a half with the organization. He's already gotten a chance to make a few memorable calls on the UFC's live events on FX and Fuel TV, perhaps the greatest of which came just last weekend in an excellent call on Vitor Belfort's spinning heel kick knock down over Luke Rockhold at UFC on FX 8.
Anik joined MMATorch Editor Jamie Penick and MMATorch Columnist Rich Hansen this week on a new MMATorch Livecast at BlogTalkRadio.com to discuss Saturday's event and a number of other topics. In part two of that interview, Anik drops some notes on Fox Sports 1, Fuel TV's future, why he was the "laughingstock" of his fraternity, and more.
On the UFC's Fox Sports 1 debut show in Boston
I can tell you that I am doing the show in Boston, and it being my hometown I'm very excited. As far as the broadcast team, I don't know exactly; I guess my assumption is a lot of the shows that were on FX are now going to be on FS1 so I would assume I'll be working a bunch with Kenny. But I don't know with certainty what's happening on August 17 other than the fact that I can tell you I will be there and doing the play-by-play.
As you guys know [it's] just such a huge night for that network, and it really I think is pretty cool for the mixed martial arts fans to have this fight card as sort of the lead-in to FS1's Sportscenter type show that hopefully they think will compete with ESPN. This is a huge night for Fox as a network, as an entity, and to have the UFC as sort of the signature live sporting event is pretty cool.
On whether there will still be live events on Fuel TV
Yes there will be shows on Fuel TV and I believe eventually that will be the network that will become Fox Sports 2. But yes there will be shows on Fuel TV after August 17 here in 2013.
On why the flyweight division has been largely relegated to Facebook
It's a good question, and I don't know all of the ins and outs. I do know in terms of when a fight card is looked at, whether it's going to be 11, 12, or 13 fights, there are a certain number that go to Sean Shelby and his divisions. But in terms of the placement of those bouts, I think that there's a lot of factors that go into that. I do think that if there's 25, 30, 50 flyweights you're talking about a different story, but there's certainly less than 20 signed flyweights right now. I think the division needs to sort of ease its way in.
You're talking about a promotion that for years was six or seven divisions; now I believe we're at nine including the women. I think they sort of have to bide their time maybe not unlike some of the women will. I would also argue even the bantamweights and featherweights haven't always been prominently featured. So I think it's really just a part of the curve and the adjustment to welcoming these divisions in the UFC.
I have faith that you're going to start to see the flyweights trickle onto some main cards. We have headliners involving flyweights when I guess the fighters are worthy of that distinction. But I don't know that there's anything really underlying to it other than the fact that the division's only been in the UFC here a short time.
On featherweight Nik Lentz after UFC on FX 8
He's so fond of saying that you can't break him, and if he was going to be broke, I think Hacran Dias in that third round might have broken him. To see him respond to that adversity and still hold on for that unanimous decision win was really telling, whereas in his last fight against Diego Nunes he really dominated from the outset. But he knows what he needs to do to win. He can get an early lead with his wrestling, he can win a dirty fight, he can beat bigger, stronger opponents at their own game, his striking continues to evolve, so he's a force at 145 lbs. And not a guy that people I think are lining up to fight because he can win ugly; maybe at times that Dias fight was a little bit ugly.
I would also credit the guy in the red corner, Hacran Dias, for coming back the way he did. But that's what Nik Lentz really does. He can neutralize you. Obviously he's been in some "Fight of the Nights" in his UFC career. But when he's winning oftentimes it's not necessarily in a "Fight of the Night" type 15-minute bout; he's winning in a type of grinding affair.
He derives pleasure going into Brazil and doing this, whereas I think [for] a lot of guys it's a very much a nuisance and a pain in the ass more than it is an exciting thing to go into Brazil. As much as they love maybe going into enemy territory and trying to do this with all the variables that go into it, I don't know that they embrace the grind, so to speak, as Nik Lentz does.
On whether or not he'll take part in the EA Sports UFC video game
It is my expectation that I will be in the game. Nothing's signed or sealed yet, but I have had some talks with some of the people in the UFC, and certainly that would be an honor to be a part of that game. I know a lot of these things that happen for it are out in Vancouver, and you can be sure if I get the nod to go to Vancouver for four to five days to be a voice part of this thing I will make my way out there and be very happy about it. I'm very hopeful to be a part of the game. As any gamer knows it's just exciting to have this match between EA Sports and the UFC. It's overdue. They do sports games like nobody, and it's going to be exciting.
On why he enjoys MMA broadcasting, and what other sports he'd like to announce
Yeah, I did have some opportunities at ESPN to do some college football; I did some boxing, I did the Vitali Klitschko-Shannon Briggs Heavyweight Title fight. It was in Germany, we were actually in Bristol, Conn. calling that fight on ESPN. I just love the live event, and obviously if I could choose any sport it would be the UFC, and I think that's why I'm doing what I'm doing.
I would love to call NFL football or even get back to doing some college football; and basketball as well, I think those two sports - basketball and football - are probably most in my wheelhouse. And part of that is why I sort of got away from that a little bit because mixed martial arts and calling UFC fights is a huge challenge for me. It takes a lot of mental agility for me. I don't know this sport as well as I know the other sports. And I've been on a learning curve since 2007 when I first attended my first show, but I would love to do some of those other sports at some point in time.
But truthfully, I took this job hoping I would do it for life, and if that means I'm exclusive, like I am now, I'm certainly happy to keep calling UFC fights. I was just looking to get out of the studio a little bit and experience more live events. Because I really feel like, for sports broadcasters, that's where it's at; that gets my blood boiling, that gets my nerves going, and that's what I hope to be doing for a long time.
On a potential Manchester UFC event in October
I don't know that that's confirmed. If the recent trends are any indication with a lot of these FX and Fuel TV and Fox Sports 1 shows starting to make their way outside the United States, I've got a good feeling I'll be making my way to Manchester if that show materializes. I feel like what at least the calendar would tell you right now is that a lot of the pay-per-views and the big Fox shows are happening in North America, and Florian and I are getting on a plane. I love the fans in the UK, and I didn't mean to leave them out of that discussion earlier with the Canadians and the Brazilians, they're some of the best too. I've been there twice, hope to be there many times over the next couple of years.
On the Boston Bruins-Toronto Maple Leafs epic game 7 in the NHL playoffs this month, and admitting his worst sports fandom moment
I was [watching as a fan], but I've got to tell you, when it was 4-1 in that third period I was quick to switch it over to baby-first TV with my two daughters here. I was frustrated, and then got a text from a buddy at 4-2, then at 4-3 I threw it back on. But I'm going to admit something to you guys that you're not going to like. If you remember Tom Brady against the Raiders, "Tuck Rule" game back in 2000 or 2001, I believe; I'm a Patriots fan, I'm a die hard, I was in the building that night. I thought it was a fumble, and I left Gillette Stadium, and I missed [that]. I sat in a parking lot as Tom Brady registered that comeback. I'm a guy who has left early in the past, and I was very happy to see the Bruins come back and obviously off to a good start against the Rangers.
But yeah, you know honestly, I was the laughing stock of my fraternity in college as a Boston sports fan. None of the teams had done anything and then I graduate from college and there have been seven championship parades involving all the major teams since I graduated from college. So we very much feel spoiled; and actually I felt kind of bad for the Toronto fans, if you can believe that, because the Leafs are a huge passion for that region, and they've been pretty bad for a while here. We've been pretty spoiled, needless to say...
[Back to leaving the Patriots game], I don't admit that publicly, although I did tonight with you guys here on MMATorch, but I honestly felt like that was a fumble. I still feel like it should be a fumble, and obviously I was probably lathered, I was POd, and I couldn't get out of that building fast enough, but once we heard the roar of the crowd we knew that it had somehow been reversed, and we tried to get back into the building to no avail. I will tell you, the guy I was with was in the building for game 7 Bruins-Maple Leafs, he did not make the same mistake, and he was rewarded just a few weeks ago.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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