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The UFC‘s lead play-by-play commentator Jon Anik has given his pick for the promotion’s biggest storyline of 2022.
This year has witnessed a host of exciting pay-per-view headliners, a number of which reached the Octagon with intriguing narratives driving fan interest. One man who had a front-row seat to watch and call them play out was Anik.
The 44-year-old Boston native has been the leading voice for UFC PPVs since 2017, providing narration to some of the biggest results in the sport’s history. With that, he’s certainly well placed to assess the grandest moments that the Octagon has played host to in 2022.
And during the latest episode of ESPN MMA’s DC & RC show, Anik gave his pick for the UFC’s biggest storyline of the year.
“The crowning of Alex Pereira — and if you know the depth of this story, if you know that even though there are financial gains to be had, Alex Pereira set out on this pursuit because he wanted to beat (Israel) Adesanya in an MMA setting,” Anik said. “That was the goal. Now, Izzy was the undisputed middleweight champion, and one of the greatest middleweights of all time when Alex Pereira finally realized that fight.
“But this was a methodical plan by Alex Pereira and his team to get back to that fight. Obviously, they go 3-0 in 2022. I thought the Bruno Silva fight was great in terms of laying the foundation for what he could accomplish,” Anik continued. “Look what he’s done to Sean Strickland… To me, Alex Pereira for sure.”
Pereira added UFC gold to his combat sports trophy collection at this year’s penultimate PPV event, held at Madison Square Garden last month. At the same location where he stopped Andreas Michailidis on debut in 2021, “Poatan” finished Adesanya to win the title.
More than just a quick ascent to the top on MMA’s biggest stage, though, the background to Pereira’s championship triumph features a story of a historical rivalry. Prior to transitioning to mixed martial arts, the Brazilian recorded two victories over Adesanya in the kickboxing ring, with one coming via KO.
Having created a legacy as one of the best middleweights of all time in the years that followed his own UFC signing, it was a figure of Adesanya’s past who arrived to spoil his reign.
Anik Gives Honorable Mentions For Two Other New Champs
While Pereira’s memorable fifth-round TKO victory over Adesanya is certainly an apt choice for the category, it wasn’t the only contender. Anik acknowledged as much with a pair of honorable mentions, first for reigning UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards.
“I think most people, if they have a decade removed, are gonna say that Leon Edwards was the story of 2022, and not Alex Pereira,” Anik commented.
The Englishman culminated his journey from troubled youth to world champion this past August at UFC 278, ending the dominant rule of Kamaru Usman in dramatic fashion with a late head-kick KO.
The UFC’s lead play-by-play commentator also added a third crowning to the mix by mentioning lightweight king Islam Makhachev.
“Then an honorable mention to DC’s guy, Islam Makhachev, because even though these Russians seemingly are immune to pressure, ice water in their veins, you still gotta do it,” Anik noted. “I’m not sure any non-champion has had as much pressure in UFC history to become a champion as Islam Makhachev. And you know what? He did it with flying colors.”
At UFC 280 in October, the Dagestani completed a path long laid out for him by Khabib and Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov by dominating and submitting Charles Oliviera.
Do you agree with Jon Anik’s selection for the biggest UFC storyline of 2022?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
The UFC‘s lead play-by-play commentator Jon Anik has given his pick for the promotion’s biggest storyline of 2022.
This year has witnessed a host of exciting pay-per-view headliners, a number of which reached the Octagon with intriguing narratives driving fan interest. One man who had a front-row seat to watch and call them play out was Anik.
The 44-year-old Boston native has been the leading voice for UFC PPVs since 2017, providing narration to some of the biggest results in the sport’s history. With that, he’s certainly well placed to assess the grandest moments that the Octagon has played host to in 2022.
And during the latest episode of ESPN MMA’s DC & RC show, Anik gave his pick for the UFC’s biggest storyline of the year.
“The crowning of Alex Pereira — and if you know the depth of this story, if you know that even though there are financial gains to be had, Alex Pereira set out on this pursuit because he wanted to beat (Israel) Adesanya in an MMA setting,” Anik said. “That was the goal. Now, Izzy was the undisputed middleweight champion, and one of the greatest middleweights of all time when Alex Pereira finally realized that fight.
“But this was a methodical plan by Alex Pereira and his team to get back to that fight. Obviously, they go 3-0 in 2022. I thought the Bruno Silva fight was great in terms of laying the foundation for what he could accomplish,” Anik continued. “Look what he’s done to Sean Strickland… To me, Alex Pereira for sure.”
Pereira added UFC gold to his combat sports trophy collection at this year’s penultimate PPV event, held at Madison Square Garden last month. At the same location where he stopped Andreas Michailidis on debut in 2021, “Poatan” finished Adesanya to win the title.
More than just a quick ascent to the top on MMA’s biggest stage, though, the background to Pereira’s championship triumph features a story of a historical rivalry. Prior to transitioning to mixed martial arts, the Brazilian recorded two victories over Adesanya in the kickboxing ring, with one coming via KO.
Having created a legacy as one of the best middleweights of all time in the years that followed his own UFC signing, it was a figure of Adesanya’s past who arrived to spoil his reign.
Anik Gives Honorable Mentions For Two Other New Champs
While Pereira’s memorable fifth-round TKO victory over Adesanya is certainly an apt choice for the category, it wasn’t the only contender. Anik acknowledged as much with a pair of honorable mentions, first for reigning UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards.
“I think most people, if they have a decade removed, are gonna say that Leon Edwards was the story of 2022, and not Alex Pereira,” Anik commented.
The Englishman culminated his journey from troubled youth to world champion this past August at UFC 278, ending the dominant rule of Kamaru Usman in dramatic fashion with a late head-kick KO.
The UFC’s lead play-by-play commentator also added a third crowning to the mix by mentioning lightweight king Islam Makhachev.
“Then an honorable mention to DC’s guy, Islam Makhachev, because even though these Russians seemingly are immune to pressure, ice water in their veins, you still gotta do it,” Anik noted. “I’m not sure any non-champion has had as much pressure in UFC history to become a champion as Islam Makhachev. And you know what? He did it with flying colors.”
At UFC 280 in October, the Dagestani completed a path long laid out for him by Khabib and Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov by dominating and submitting Charles Oliviera.
Do you agree with Jon Anik’s selection for the biggest UFC storyline of 2022?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
This year has witnessed a host of exciting pay-per-view headliners, a number of which reached the Octagon with intriguing narratives driving fan interest. One man who had a front-row seat to watch and call them play out was Anik.
The 44-year-old Boston native has been the leading voice for UFC PPVs since 2017, providing narration to some of the biggest results in the sport’s history. With that, he’s certainly well placed to assess the grandest moments that the Octagon has played host to in 2022.
And during the latest episode of ESPN MMA’s DC & RC show, Anik gave his pick for the UFC’s biggest storyline of the year.
“The crowning of Alex Pereira — and if you know the depth of this story, if you know that even though there are financial gains to be had, Alex Pereira set out on this pursuit because he wanted to beat (Israel) Adesanya in an MMA setting,” Anik said. “That was the goal. Now, Izzy was the undisputed middleweight champion, and one of the greatest middleweights of all time when Alex Pereira finally realized that fight.
“But this was a methodical plan by Alex Pereira and his team to get back to that fight. Obviously, they go 3-0 in 2022. I thought the Bruno Silva fight was great in terms of laying the foundation for what he could accomplish,” Anik continued. “Look what he’s done to Sean Strickland… To me, Alex Pereira for sure.”
Pereira added UFC gold to his combat sports trophy collection at this year’s penultimate PPV event, held at Madison Square Garden last month. At the same location where he stopped Andreas Michailidis on debut in 2021, “Poatan” finished Adesanya to win the title.
More than just a quick ascent to the top on MMA’s biggest stage, though, the background to Pereira’s championship triumph features a story of a historical rivalry. Prior to transitioning to mixed martial arts, the Brazilian recorded two victories over Adesanya in the kickboxing ring, with one coming via KO.
Having created a legacy as one of the best middleweights of all time in the years that followed his own UFC signing, it was a figure of Adesanya’s past who arrived to spoil his reign.
Anik Gives Honorable Mentions For Two Other New Champs
While Pereira’s memorable fifth-round TKO victory over Adesanya is certainly an apt choice for the category, it wasn’t the only contender. Anik acknowledged as much with a pair of honorable mentions, first for reigning UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards.
“I think most people, if they have a decade removed, are gonna say that Leon Edwards was the story of 2022, and not Alex Pereira,” Anik commented.
The Englishman culminated his journey from troubled youth to world champion this past August at UFC 278, ending the dominant rule of Kamaru Usman in dramatic fashion with a late head-kick KO.
The UFC’s lead play-by-play commentator also added a third crowning to the mix by mentioning lightweight king Islam Makhachev.
“Then an honorable mention to DC’s guy, Islam Makhachev, because even though these Russians seemingly are immune to pressure, ice water in their veins, you still gotta do it,” Anik noted. “I’m not sure any non-champion has had as much pressure in UFC history to become a champion as Islam Makhachev. And you know what? He did it with flying colors.”
At UFC 280 in October, the Dagestani completed a path long laid out for him by Khabib and Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov by dominating and submitting Charles Oliviera.
Do you agree with Jon Anik’s selection for the biggest UFC storyline of 2022?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
This year has witnessed a host of exciting pay-per-view headliners, a number of which reached the Octagon with intriguing narratives driving fan interest. One man who had a front-row seat to watch and call them play out was Anik.
The 44-year-old Boston native has been the leading voice for UFC PPVs since 2017, providing narration to some of the biggest results in the sport’s history. With that, he’s certainly well placed to assess the grandest moments that the Octagon has played host to in 2022.
And during the latest episode of ESPN MMA’s DC & RC show, Anik gave his pick for the UFC’s biggest storyline of the year.
“The crowning of Alex Pereira — and if you know the depth of this story, if you know that even though there are financial gains to be had, Alex Pereira set out on this pursuit because he wanted to beat (Israel) Adesanya in an MMA setting,” Anik said. “That was the goal. Now, Izzy was the undisputed middleweight champion, and one of the greatest middleweights of all time when Alex Pereira finally realized that fight.
“But this was a methodical plan by Alex Pereira and his team to get back to that fight. Obviously, they go 3-0 in 2022. I thought the Bruno Silva fight was great in terms of laying the foundation for what he could accomplish,” Anik continued. “Look what he’s done to Sean Strickland… To me, Alex Pereira for sure.”
Pereira added UFC gold to his combat sports trophy collection at this year’s penultimate PPV event, held at Madison Square Garden last month. At the same location where he stopped Andreas Michailidis on debut in 2021, “Poatan” finished Adesanya to win the title.
More than just a quick ascent to the top on MMA’s biggest stage, though, the background to Pereira’s championship triumph features a story of a historical rivalry. Prior to transitioning to mixed martial arts, the Brazilian recorded two victories over Adesanya in the kickboxing ring, with one coming via KO.
Having created a legacy as one of the best middleweights of all time in the years that followed his own UFC signing, it was a figure of Adesanya’s past who arrived to spoil his reign.
Anik Gives Honorable Mentions For Two Other New Champs
While Pereira’s memorable fifth-round TKO victory over Adesanya is certainly an apt choice for the category, it wasn’t the only contender. Anik acknowledged as much with a pair of honorable mentions, first for reigning UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards.
“I think most people, if they have a decade removed, are gonna say that Leon Edwards was the story of 2022, and not Alex Pereira,” Anik commented.
The Englishman culminated his journey from troubled youth to world champion this past August at UFC 278, ending the dominant rule of Kamaru Usman in dramatic fashion with a late head-kick KO.
The UFC’s lead play-by-play commentator also added a third crowning to the mix by mentioning lightweight king Islam Makhachev.
“Then an honorable mention to DC’s guy, Islam Makhachev, because even though these Russians seemingly are immune to pressure, ice water in their veins, you still gotta do it,” Anik noted. “I’m not sure any non-champion has had as much pressure in UFC history to become a champion as Islam Makhachev. And you know what? He did it with flying colors.”
At UFC 280 in October, the Dagestani completed a path long laid out for him by Khabib and Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov by dominating and submitting Charles Oliviera.
Do you agree with Jon Anik’s selection for the biggest UFC storyline of 2022?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
