UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik feels fans are picking and choosing when to hate Colby Covington.
Anik is no stranger to Covington’s antics, as he was on the receiving end of a personal verbal threat from “Chaos.” During an interview with Mike Heck of MMAFighting earlier this year, Covington took issue with Anik giving Belal Muhammad a platform on his podcast. “Chaos” claimed Anik was supporting a “racist” and had some scathing words for the UFC commentator.
“Jon Anik, dude, I don’t want your kids to grow up without a dad,” Covington said. “Just realize you live in Boca, I live in Miami motherf*cker. You’re not too far from me. So, you better shut your f*cking mouth. You poke the bear, now the bear comes after you.”
Anik has said that he and Covington hashed things out since those comments were made. Despite this, Covington certainly hasn’t let up on others, including UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards.
"He (Leon) was a GHOST out there (at #UFC296) he was moving EXTREMELY well and never let Colby get started until (really) Round 5" ~ @kennyFlorian on Edwards v. Covington for @DraftKings.
Watch the show here: https://t.co/rwmrl8E82P pic.twitter.com/EwqPk9ewVY
— Anik & Florian Podcast (@AnikFlorianPod) December 19, 2023
Jon Anik On Outrage Towards Colby Covington
Ahead of their UFC 296 title fight, Colby Covington made things personal with Edwards. He said he’d drag “Rocky” to hell so he can see his father, which led to Edwards hurling a bottle at Covington. In the end, Edwards defeated Covington via unanimous decision.
During an edition of the “Anik & Florian Podcast,” Jon Anik admitted that whenever Covington gets backlash, it appears to be rather selective.
“Colby Covington is a perpetual line-crosser,” Anik said. “So, I will admit, and I know this is the minority opinion, to being a little bit surprised at just how upset the masses were. I can understand Leon Edwards and his family being very upset. Leon is still carrying emotion from his father’s murder. Even if his father wasn’t necessarily a doting dad or a good guy, he’s still carrying those emotions however many years later. He was brought to tears backstage. I can understand all of that, but I feel like Colby always crosses the line, right? There was no promotional rage at all from the UFC when he threatened that my kids would all grow up without a father. I didn’t hear boo. So, it seems like there’s almost some selectivity when it comes to the rage with Colby Covington.”
Here’s the full video of the latest edition of the “Anik & Florian Podcast:”
