5 Questions with New UFC Announcer Jon Anik

In December 1997 announcer Mike Goldberg made his UFC debut in the "The Land of the Rising Sun."  For almost 15 years, with only a handful of exceptions, he's been the sole play-by-play voice of the UFC.

No longer.

The UFC's brand new broadcast deal with the Fox family has ramped up an already busy schedule and announcers Goldberg and color man Joe Rogan simply couldn't keep up with the demand. Tonight, the two men who have become synonymous with the UFC on television will give way to veteran ESPN broadcaster Jon Anik.

The 33-year-old Anik will host the brand new Ultimate Fighter and call the action on FX and Fuel. Partnered with fighter Kenny Florian, Anik will attempt to fill Goldberg's very large shoes.

Bleacher Report caught up with Anik on the eve of his first show to introduce you to the man who will walk you through the action for what should be years to come.

Leaving ESPN for the UFC

Bleacher Report: As a professional broadcaster, you are buying into this sport in the biggest way possible. To leave ESPN, for anywhere really, says a lot. You must have a lot of confidence in where the Fertittas and Dana White are going to take this thing?

Anik: Yeah. It's really a lot of confidence in the people, as much as the UFC. I certainly went all in. If they ended up on G4, I was coming on board. But it's definitely icing on the cake that they made their deal with Fox, which in my estimation was the best possible broadcast deal they could have gotten.

But for me, it wasn't even about the network. It was a chance for me to work with the UFC. And I wanted calling fights to be a part of it. Once that became a critical part of my role, it was an easy decision. It's a three-year deal, but I wouldn't have made the move if I didn't think I would be doing this for a long time.

Color Man Kenny Florian

Bleacher Report: Kenny Florian is going to be your broadcast partner in this venture. You guys have worked together for quite awhile at ESPN. There's got to be a comfort level there.

Anik: Absolutely. I had certainly developed chemistry with Stephan Bonnar and Frank Mir as well, but I did hundreds of shows with Kenny. And even though calling fights is a different animal than a studio show, we do kind of know how to finish each other's sentences. We have the kind of chemistry where we know when the other guy is going to stop and when to jump in.

One of the biggest challenges in calling the fights, because the action in MMA happens so quickly, is to try to address everything that happens without stepping on each other. So I think, as far as that is concerned, selfishly, for me, they couldn't have picked a better guy.

This is a very educated guy we're talking about. A guy who majored in communications at Boston College. A guy who just has a very good feel for how to explain an intricate and complicated sport to a lot of fans who are watching for the first time.

When I left to go to the UFC, I was hopeful things would work out this way. We both can't wait until tonight in Nashville.

Mistakes Are Made

Bleacher Report: We all spotted you, as you mentioned, cage-side doing dry runs with Frank Mir and Stephan and Kenny. There had to have been some mistakes made. What are some of the things you got out of your system before the bright lights were on?

Anik: I think there is a fine line when it comes to the energy. You can't be going sick on the first fight of the night. Even though I get excited when John Albert knocks somebody out on The Ultimate Fighter finale, it's the second or third fight of the night and I can't treat it like it was the main event.

I also think for Wanderlei Silva and Cung Le, I went a little bit too crazy when Wanderlei won. I think my call maybe was more than that moment warranted. I think it's a fine line. You want to have enough energy, but you don't want to overstate the moment.

I also think, unlike some other sports where the play-by-play guy really shines, I really believe in MMA that the analyst is supposed to shine. I know people don't necessarily like to hear it, but there are circumstances where Kenny Florian will handle some of the play-by-play. When the action is on the ground and there's a sophisticated move going on, there's some laying out I need to do. That was something I learned in those dry runs.

And it's okay, for 15 seconds, if the action and the crowd tell the story. That's something I learned at ESPN when we were calling football games. When the touchdown is scored, they want to let the moment speak for itself. There will be moments when we need to let the action breathe. And that's a skill that I think only comes with repetition.

Breathing Room

Bleacher Report: Do you think Goldberg and Rogan breathed a sigh of relief that someone was coming in to relieve them for some of these events? 

Anik: The support from Goldie and Rogan has really meant a lot to me, because they easily could have handled it differently. But they both embraced me out of the shoot, and that's certainly made it easier to make the transition and feel comfortable.

Filling Big Shoes

Bleacher Report: This is the first time someone other than Mike Goldberg will regularly call the action for the UFC. Those are big shoes to fill aren't they?

Anik: I've embraced the challenge. I couldn't possibly feel more ready or more prepared. Certainly Dana White and others have warned me the there's going to be backlash. There's going to be haters whether I kill it or whether I flub every fight. 

It's definitely not something that's lost on me. I understand the reality of it. It's going to be an adjustment for everybody, not just me and not just the fans. It's going to be an adjustment for Dana and Lorenzo to hear somebody else call their fights.

I just have to have confidence in my ability and know that I'm in this position for a reason. Now it's time to live up to the hype, live up to the contract. Make Dana and Lorenzo feel like they made the right decision.

As far as the fans go, I think I do bring something a little bit different. Hopefully it appeals to them. I'm learning on the job. I haven't called fights in a few years. Obviously, we had the benefit of the dry runs, but I recognize there is a learning curve. I hope that the show in Sweden is better than the one in Nashville and every show is better than the last one.

I look forward to hearing the feedback, from fans and the media.