UFC legend Jon Anik has suggested he is tempted to call time on his spell with the company due to recent social media backlash.
The 45-year-old anchor was recently heard commentating on UFC 297's main-event bout between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland.
Following a back-and-forth contest in Toronto, du Plessis emerged victorious in front of a sold out crowd at the Scotiabank Arena, claiming the UFC middleweight title in the process.
The aftermath of the bout caused people to quickly turn on the ESPN commentator, insisting Anik was too harsh on Strickland following his defeat.
Having been with the UFC since 2011, he has since opened up on why sections of the MMA community are forcing him to reconsider his career.
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“I am growing tired of this MMA space a little bit, and just the morass of negativity when there is a close fight, because even if you and I both thought Dricus du Plessis won the fight, we try to present that information respectfully,” Anik recently told the Anik and Florian Podcast.
“When I go on to X, or when I go to our YouTube comments, it seems like a lot of these fans are just in attack mode.
"I don’t know if these fans are casual fans or not, but I appreciate the passion, but I’m getting to a point where at 45 years of age where I don’t know how much time I have left in this MMA space, because if I go do pro football, like, I’m not necessarily going to be dealing with this lowest common denominator all the time.
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“I don’t know, I just feel like there’s a lot of malice and disrespect from the fan base. We can disagree, 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 in this space, honestly.”
Topics: UFC, Dana White
Matthew Holt