Jon Anik Opens On Emotional Tribute To Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Father: ‘The Only Thing That Even Comes Close…’
There was a point in time where MMA fans questioned the UFC’s decision to have Jon Anik take over as the lead play-by-play commentator on the broadcasts, only for him to become an integral part of the promotion.
Anik has been a part of so many incredible moments in the history of the sport but for “Big” John McCarthy, there’s one memory that stands out.
McCarthy and Josh Thomson were joined by the modern-day voice of the UFC on the latest episode of their Weighing In podcast.
During their conversation, the veteran referee wanted to highlight how one piece of work from Anik has always stuck with him since he first heard it.
Anik delivered a tribute to the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov following his passing in 2020 which led to his son, Khabib Nurmagomedov, retiring on top of the sport.
Jon Anik Reflects On Tribute For Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, Reveals Whether Anything Tops It
After McCarthy spoke about the level of emotion and heart that the commentator was able to put into this tribute as one of his finest moments on the mic, Anik spoke about the backstory of putting this together.
When asked if there was anything in his career that tops this, he gave another example of a powerful piece of work like the tribute for Nurmagomedov, that he also gives a lot of credit to his producer at the time to.
“Yes, I mean the only thing that even comes close and same producer no longer with the UFC, Mike Ricci now actually working for chess.com, and my daughters along with Daniel Cormier’s daughter got to do an Amanda Nunes essay. So it was those three girls doing it so it had nothing to do with me. I don’t know that anything could top that but man, yes, you’re giving me chills when you reference that poem, ‘a father to his son.’
“I wish I remember what it was but oftentimes when we do an essay for a fighter, I might write it, I might have a ghost writer and then I might edit that script. In this case, it was this poem that was actually picked and I really had to find, and I appreciate you acknowledging the work because I am proud of it. I had to find, sort of a dulcet, melancholy, sad tone that was very, and it was voiced on this exact headset that you’re looking at right now in a hotel room probably like this so finding the right tone and sending that off, hoping that they would put it together in the right way, yes it was special and obviously it was to him [Khabib Nurmagomedov] but Mike Ricci really deserves all the credit.”
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