Jon Anik will be calling the action at UFC 285, which will include the first octagon appearance of Jon Jones in over three years.
In Saturday’s main event in Las Vegas,
Jones will face Ciryl Gane in his heavyweight debut for the vacant title. Anik, like most in the MMA community, is incredibly fascinated about the matchup, and Jones’ first fight since defeating Dominick Reyes in his final light heavyweight title defense at UFC 247 in February 2020, and subsequently vacating the belt later in the year.
“There’s no better way to relax and enjoy the moment than a Jon Jones Walkout, compared against Georges St-Pierre who didn’t really like fight night,” Anik stated. “This guy really enjoys fight night and he has realized success even when there has been a binge-type training camp that has preceded these fights. He’s still been able to lean on that ticker and dig deep.
“He has seemingly been immune to pressure, at least in my eyes. I actually thought Thiago Santos beat him, and Dominick Reyes did not — I thought it was 3-2 for Santos, and I know I’m on an island there when it comes to that. But largely, Jon Jones hasn’t really had a flat fight night, like Floyd Mayweather, he’s always had that penchant for rising to the occasion. And there’s so much goddamn pressure on him at UFC 285, so how does he continue to just be immune to it? That’s the burning question for me.”
Anik, Joe Rogan, and Daniel Cormier will be calling the action. Before Francis Ngannou quit the promotion, it seemed like Jones was heading for a huge fight.
There have been many UFC fight weeks involving Jones that Anik has been a part of, and the longtime play-by-play voice believes there aren’t a lot of fighters he’s been around that have that undeniable superstar quality to them — although Jones is certainly near the top of his list.
” We’ve certainly had some fighter meetings over the years with Jon Jones and he’s always been calm, cool and collected.” Anik stated. He still makes me feel a bit star struck. There’s just something about him that just screams professional athlete when you walk in the room — the size and the mystique, the handshake, everything. He is unquestionably special and it’s a great addition to the sport.
“You can argue that stylistically, this is maybe the hardest of the three matchups when it came to Francis Ngannou, Stipe Miocic, and Ciryl Gane, and Ciryl Gane seems pretty relaxed. It will be interesting to see Jon Jones’ approach, and how he does it with his shirt on. But, we are happy to see the GOAT back .”
.
Following UFC 284, the pound-for-pound debate has been hotly debated amongst fans after Islam Makhachev retained his lightweight title against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Jones is now the consensus number one contender. 1 for years while he was active in the 205-pound division, Anik says a Jones win, no matter how he does it, undoubtedly puts him in the discussion.
“Pounds-for-pound is an interesting discussion. I am not trying to justify it, but we recently released ‘One More Sleep,’ merchandise and have a great design for Jon Jones returning because he has won 14 UFC titles fights,” Anik said. “If they hung banners in Albuquerque, N.M., Jon Jones would have 14 of them. He is always competing in the second division and wins belts. Let’s not forget about him.
” The hill that I have repeatedly fallen on is Jon Jones. Yes, if Jon Anik’s pound-for-pound rankings f****** mattered, if Jon Jones beats Ciryl Gane — in whatever fashion — he can be No. 1 for me. That’s what I believe about him. I have continued pushing the GOAT narrative, despite being pushed away by people who want to change that .”
.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/3/2/23616892/jon-anik-reveals-his-burning-question-for-jon-jones-return-at-ufc-285?rand=96749
