Toxic UFC Fans May Force Anik To Retire

Jon Anik is sick of your s—t.

The longtime UFC play-by-play man, who took over for Mike Goldberg more than a decade ago, has been inundated with “malice and disrespect” from toxic MMA fans in the wake of the UFC 297 pay-per-view (PPV) event, which took place last weekend at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Dricus Du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland by way of split decision in a super close middleweight title fight that could have been scored in either direction, depending on who you ask. Some had it in favor of “Stillknocks,” while others insist “Tarzan” was the rightful winner.

“I am growing tired of this MMA space a little bit, and just the morass of negativity when there is a close fight,” Anik said on his latest podcast with Kenny Florian (transcribed by theScore). “Because even if you and I both thought Dricus Du Plessis won the fight, we try to present that information respectfully. And when I go onto X or I go to our YouTube comments, it seems like a lot of these fans are just in attack mode. And I don’t know if these fans are casual fans or not.”

Probably the same idiots who keep sending death threats to interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.

“I appreciate the passion, but I’m getting to a point at 45 years of age where I don’t know how much time I have left in this MMA space,” Anik continued. “If I go do pro football, I’m not necessarily gonna be dealing with this lowest common denominator all the time. I don’t know, man. I just feel like there’s a lot of malice and disrespect from the fan base.”

Having covered a Cowboys-Eagles game, I am sad to report that Anik will, in fact, be facing an equal amount of toxicity from football fans.

“We can disagree,” Anik said. “Don’t take it from me. Demetrious Johnson and Kenny Florian thought ‘DDP’ won the fight. I’ve just been very off-put with the negativity that has permeated my feed since Saturday night, and I’m just not sure how much longer I have left in this space — honestly. Those of you suggesting that there’s any bias or you don’t like me, well, you’ll probably get your f—–g wish come 2026, because honestly, at this point, I’ve had it.”

Anik retiring from UFC will likely come as devastating news to everyone except this longtime hater.