Jon Anik Says UFC 281's Main Event Between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira Has The Potential To Be One Of The Greatest Fights Of All Time
On today's Pardon My Take… JON ANIK! The play-by-play voice of the UFC joined Mr. Cat and Mr. Commenter in-studio to break down all angles on this weekend's UFC 281 card, what it's like to be a broadcaster for the sport, and much more.
Tomorrow night's Main Event at Madison Square Garden features Israel Adesanya and Alex Periera: two fighters with a combined record of 29-2. There is no shortage of success between the two of them, but just how much are the stars aligning for this fight to be an instant classic? Anik says that these two fighters have what it takes to make their meeting one of the best fights of all time. Take a look:
Mr. Commenter: I love Israel Adesanya. You know, I'm a casual, I'm a casual UFC guy, I watch some of the larger main events and some of the bigger pay per views, but I remember I was high as shit in a hotel room one time, and the Adesanya/Anderson Silva fight came on. And in that fight, in the span of about like 15 minutes, he must have changed his stance and style, I don't know, like 20 times. And I thought I was watching a video game. I was so high that I thought that he was in a video game. At some point, does he actually believe that he's a video game character when he's doing these things?
Jon Anik: Oh yeah. His nickname's "The Last Stylebender" and he feels like a lot of his success is predicated upon his ability to shift and make adjustments. I just am dying to see how he approaches this fight, right? Because he could make it a pretty pedestrian, boring fight, I think, if he wants to. Perhaps not, right? But like he can leg kick and jab and realize success at distance, right? But his last fight against Jared Cannonier and you may recall Chris Pratt and some other guys sort of came out publicly and just felt like it was really boring. He was emotionally affected by that. You know, he was disappointed by that reaction. Now, that is not to suggest he's going to go in there, balls to the wall and try to put on a show. But if he approaches this with a more aggressive tenor, this could be one of the greatest fights of all time because the dude he's fighting is a marauding fucking killer.
I, like Mr. Commenter, would consider myself a UFC casual. I don't necessarily watch every single fight, but there are a few times a year where you feel the buzz of a certain card. This is one of those times. And when Jon Anik is on the call, it feels that much more important. UFC 281 is going to be incredible, can't wait for Saturday night!