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via Imago

via Imago

Making UFC fans happy is a tall task. Especially if one is a commentator. It is pretty common to see allegations of bias or favoritism on the part of the commentators after UFC events on MMA forums. And UFC’s lead play-by-play commentator, Jon Anik is fed up with this, as he revealed on his Anik & Florian podcast last month following accusations of bias after calling UFC 297.

The commentator was accused of favoring Dricus Du Plessis over his opponent, middleweight champion, Sean Strickland. These allegations hurt him and he hinted he might quit when his contract expires as he is fed up with the toxicity of the fan base. However, the commentator recanted his statement next month, saying he was in a bad mood and overreacted. And as fans of the sport let us take a look at Jon Anik’s net worth and his salary per UFC event.

Jon Anik’s salary per UFC event and net worth

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Jon Anik signed a four-year extension with the UFC in January 2022 and will serve in that role until 2026. Because the details of the contract have not been disclosed, there is no clear information about how much money Anik makes nor any other information on how the contract is structured and paid.

However, there are various estimates doing the rounds on the internet speculating how much he may be making. According to various estimates, Anik is paid between $500k and $5 million per year for his services by the UFC. Similar uncertainty surrounds his net worth, which is estimated to be between $2 million to $23 million.

According to some sources, he may also get paid an additional incentive for every event he comments. But, again, these are at best estimates and guesses, since no concrete information around his pay (or indeed any other UFC commentator) remains known. However, it is safe to say Anik’s pay is likely to be on the higher end given his long association and history with the promotion..

Jon Anik’s history with UFC

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Born in the sports-obsessed Boston, Massachusetts, it is no surprise that Jon Anik took to sports at a young age. In 1997, Anik enrolled at Gettysburg College and graduated with a degree in political journalism. After a stint on the afternoon radio and as a commentator with the now-defunct MMA promotion with EliteXC, he joined ESPN Radio in 2006 and moved to their media division the next year.

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He heard rumblings about the world’s largest sports network starting an MMA show and sought to be part of it. He was successful and was appointed the host of ‘MMA Live’, ESPN’s first dedicated MMA show. During his ESPN stint, he also covered many UFC events for the network and became one of the most recognizable broadcasters in the sport.

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In 2012, he joined the UFC and called his first card- UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller. Anik served as the lead commentator for FX and Fuel TV events and called his first PPV event, UFC 155, the same year. The commentator revealed in a 2014 interview with Ariel Helwani that he would be signing a four-year extension with the UFC. He became the UFC’s lead commentator in 2017 following the departure of Mike Goldberg. Anik has signed two more extensions with the UFC, one in 2018 and the other in 2022, and will continue in his capacity until at least 2026.

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