Jon Anik is a former
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
anchor and host of
ESPN.comESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 3.com, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...
's
MMA LiveMMA Live is a sports show about mixed martial arts. It is seen on ESPN2. The show features analysts such as Franklin McNeil, Pat Miletich, Kenny Florian and Rashad Evans. MMA Live was originally an Internet show, but made the move to television after positive reception...
. He currently works for the
Ultimate Fighting ChampionshipThe Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
(UFC) as a commentator.
Early life
Anik was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from
The Rivers SchoolThe Rivers School is a private, coeducational, preparatory school, located in Weston, Massachusetts.The school's Middle School program consists of grades 6-8 and the Upper School program is for students in grades 9-12. As of 2009, 451 students from 70 Massachusetts towns attend. The average class...
in
Weston, MassachusettsWeston is a suburb of Boston located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States in the Boston metro area. The population of Weston, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, is 11,261....
in 1997 and enrolled at
Gettysburg CollegeGettysburg College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the Bullets. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women...
, where he graduated with a degree in
political journalismPolitical journalism is a broad branch of journalism that includes coverage of all aspects of politics and political science, although the term usually refers specifically to coverage of civil governments and political power....
. Anik spent one semester at
American UniversityAmerican University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, working as an intern for the George Michael Sports Machine.
ESPN
Anik is a former ESPN anchor and the host of MMA Live on
ESPN2ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
. He has anchored several live events for ESPN, including MMA Live’s coverage of
UFC 91UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 15, 2008 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event featured the return of UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture versus Brock Lesnar in a title...
,
UFC 94UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2 was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 31, 2009. The card featured five televised MMA bouts, as well as five un-aired preliminary bouts...
,
UFC 98UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 23, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
,
UFC 100UFC 100 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 11, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
,
UFC 101UFC 101: Declaration was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
,
UFC 113UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 8, 2010, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Background:...
,
UFC 114UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 29, 2010 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The UFC Fan Expo took place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center....
and
UFC 126UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 5, 2011 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
. From 2006 to 2008, Anik worked for ESPN Radio, where he anchored SportsCenter updates and served as a fill-in host on Game Night. He also does a weekly MMA chat every wednesday for ESPN.com.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
In 2011 Dana White announced during a press conference that Jon Anik would be joining the UFC. Anik made his commentary debut during the international broadcast of UFC on FOX 1. He will be the lead play-by-play voice on all
FX- Entertainment :* FX , an international cable/satellite television network * F/X, a movie set in the world of special effects* F/X: The Series, a television program based on the movie...
events and will also appear on a yet to premiere show titled Ultimate Insider.
Other appearance
Anik has made several radio and TV appearances, including ESPN programs
SportsNationSportsNation is a feature section on ESPN.com, labeled "Where America's Sports Fans Meet".- Programming :Daily features include "The Show", which consisted of "The Morning Quickie with Dan Shanoff" until September 2006. Depending on the sports in season, there will be two to three shows on that sport...
, The Scott Van Pelt Show,
The Herd with Colin CowherdThe Herd with Colin Cowherd is a sports talk radio show hosted by Colin Cowherd and broadcast on ESPN Radio from Bristol, Connecticut. The show is heard Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. ET until 1 p.m. ET on most ESPN Radio stations and is simulcasted on ESPNews...
, and The Doug Gottlieb Show. Other appearances include: ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas , ProMMA Radio, MMAjunkie Radio, MMA Weekly Radio, The MMA Hour, the
SherdogSherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts . The site is a member of the Crave Online network and provides MMA related content for ESPN.com.- History :...
Radio Network, and also featured on the ESPN UFC podcast every week with his "Anik-dotes"
Anik was the play-by-play voice for Season 1 of
Bellator Fighting ChampionshipsBellator Fighting Championships is a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. "Bellator", which is Latin for "Warrior", is organized into seasons with each event hosting the rounds of championship knockout tournaments for three-five weight divisions.-History:In its first season,...
. Anik co-starred in the MMA feature film "
WarriorA warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
" as he states "I was pleasantly surprised when I got the script that I had six wardrobe changes," Anik told MMAjunkie.com Radio. "I guess I was surprised I had that many lines. I don't know how many made the final cut, though.
External links
- http://espn.go.com/mma/
- http://twitter.com/jon_anik
- http://mmajunkie.com/news/19015/from-elitexc-to-espn2-jon-anik-enjoying-the-wild-ride-of-mma-live.mma
- http://mmajunkie.com/news/14445/bellator-plans-english-broadcast-espn-coms-jon-anik-heads-team.mma
- http://www.sherdog.com/radio/Beatdown-ESPNs-Jon-Anik-and-Micah-Miller-1452
- http://mmajunkie.com/news/19019/mmajunkie-com-radio-espns-kenny-florian-and-jon-anik-tuf-11s-josh-bryant.mma
African american descent