Issue 088

May 2012

It’s great to be up and running now with the UFC and to have a couple of shows under my belt. There is so much that happens technically in television, from both a production and TV performance standpoint that maybe the viewers may not pick up. But we certainly do and we’ve had to clean that up, but we’ve got through a few now and the future looks great.  

Jon Anik

UFC presenter and commentator 

Kenny Florian and I have built up a good relationship already and I think the two of us were just excited to get this thing going. We were all a touch nervous before our first show, but it went well and, while it may not have been spectacular, I think we scored a solid draw or even edged a points victory. It certainly wasn’t any first-round knockout or anything like that, but that is definitely what we are aiming for. 

Working for the UFC is an opportunity I’ve been waiting for for a long time, and it’s a tremendous rush to call UFC fights cageside. It’s also a thrill to go into the Octagon for the first time and do the post-fight interviews. I’m just like all the fans out there that love the UFC. I realize I am in an enviable position and, as many of the fans can probably comprehend, I have to take a little step back every now and again and calm myself down.

 I’m going to have to learn to bottle my energy a little more so that when the bigger fights happen I have room in my register to go up further and get there. But I’m glad to have the first few shows done and I’m just really looking forward to the future. 

Things have changed somewhat, of course, from a journalistic standpoint. I work for the promoter now and a big part of my job is to execute their vision and help their product. And, for example, when I interview Dana White now, I do so as his employee and not as an ESPN journalist. 

So there have been some adjustments. But that said I’ve never once been told that we can’t be critical. We don’t get a long list of things not to say on the air or subjects that we can’t discuss. After all, that’s still my job as a broadcast journalist, to tell the right stories and tackle the big issues. We have to tell the truth out there and if sometimes that means shining the light on a subject that isn’t necessarily positive or referencing a losing streak for a fighter, it’s our job to do that.

We are serving the promoter but trumping that is our service to the UFC fans. And I’m sure there are going to be a few bumps along the way. In fact, after my first show, I talked to Dana and asked him a couple of things that they later relayed to me that they didn’t want me to do, but it’s a learning curve, and those are adjustments that I’m happy to make. 

After all, as I’ve said, this is the job that I’ve been hoping for for a long time. One thing I have been asked is whether I will be ditching the suit in the future, for live events, for when I step into the Octagon to conduct interviews. But I’ve got 85 ties in my closet at home so I’m keen to wear them as often as I can. I actually wanted to wear them in this new role, but I was told to dress down a little. I even do my own hair now which is, again, a little different, but it’s also saving me $80 a month, so that’s cool. But seriously I appreciate the new, relaxed approach the UFC encourages. 

I’ll have to work on my guns somewhat before you see me doing an interview in a TapouT shirt or anything though. 

For me, there is a certain professionalism that comes with wearing a suit and a tie on television, especially when you are sitting on a set. But I’ll be rocking the straight suit for now. Maybe someday, if I get on the Joe Rogan diet and workout and fill out a little more, that may change. But for now I’ll be in the full suit, ­just without my fresh ties!