UFC Commentator Jon Anik Thinks It’s Too Early To Put Israel Adesanya In The MW Goat Debate With Anderson Silva

• With UFC 271 around the corner, Jon Anik sat down with us to preview Israel Adesanya’s return to the Octagon
• While MMA fans are beginning to discuss whether or not Adesanya should be in the GOAT middleweight discussions, Anik doesn’t think he’s ready to compare Izzy with Anderson Silva just yet.
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We recently sat down with UFC commentator Jon Anik to get his thoughts on the upcoming UFC 271 main event and what he thinks about the Adesanya middleweight GOAT debate.

Anik is currently working with Modelo, the Official Beer of the UFC, to promote their Golden Ticket fan contest that will allow a lucky fan to win floor seats to 10 PPV events with all travel expenses paid for that also includes a behind-the-scenes tour with the longtime UFC commentator.

Israel Adesanya makes his long-awaited return at UFC 271 on Saturday in Houston and while many are debating whether he can finally break through as the middleweight GOAT with a decisive win against Robert Whittaker in their rematch, Anik isn’t ready to compare him with Anderson Silva just yet.

“Two head-to-head wins over Robert Whitaker, given all that Whitaker has accomplished in the UFC, is a pretty big feather in your cap, but I think when you look at Anderson Silva as the consensus greatest middleweight of all time and say what you want about some of the transgressions, right, but most people believe he’s the greatest middleweight champion of all time and a lot of that is rooted in the title defenses, not necessarily the style points with which he defended the title. So I think humbly Adesanya has a long way to go. I also think it’s very difficult to put proper historical context on a fighter who might have ten or twelve fights left in the UFC”

Here’s Anik on what he thinks Adesanya needs to do before he can jump into the middleweight GOAT conversation.

“You know, some people argue that he (Adesanya) has already cleaned out the division, and I certainly would not make that proclamation. Derek Brunson. Yeah, he’s got a head-to-head win over him, but it was almost four years ago and Brunson is a different beast. Jared Cannonier is lurking. I know Adesanya is disappointed that Darren Till wasn’t able to methodically work his way in the middle way title contention, but he’s undefeated in the weight class. He’s never lost at 185, and that was Anderson Silva’s reality, forever in the UFC. So, yeah, I guess you add the second Whitaker win and then an accompanying title defense or two, then maybe on my podcast I’d be willing to open up the conversation. I’m just not there yet.”

As for Whittaker, Anik thinks the fight is going to be closer than many think.

“In terms of Whittaker, where he’s at right now, and the winning streak, that winning streak gave him a lot of confidence. So even though his preparation was pretty good for the first Adesanya meeting, I think he’s just a more confident fighter. I think he’s a more mature man, and I think that it’s closer than the betting odds would indicate here early on.”

Modelo, the Official Beer of the UFC, is teaming up with Jon Anik to reward fans with the Fighting Spirit with an epic experience. By entering free contests on DraftKings fans will compete for a chance at two $10,000 cash prizes and for the chance to win the “gold standard of fan experiences”— floor seats and travel to ten of the year’s biggest PPV fights in Las Vegas, and other cities, for a full year. The grand prize winner will also get to meet Anik at the Apex for a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s really like to be a UFC commentator.

To enter, it’s very simple:

Fans must scan the QR code and go to DraftKings to play 3 free contests. Consumers will enter individual contests, the best lineups from each contest will win cash and the Top 2 will be entered to win the Modelo grand prize for golden floor seats to the year’s marquee UFC fights.
The contest opens starting February 2, 2022 and runs until April 15, 2022.

Here is what Anik had to say about his partnership with Modelo:

“This has been a real honor to align with Modelo because I think to whatever degree, my brand has been synonymous with their brand because of all the messaging like brewed for those with a fighting spirit and you may recall when Jorge Masvidal knocked out Ben Askren, this fight clock is brought to you by, Modelo. Modelo is immersed embedded in the call of one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history. So I wanted to align with the brand for a long time, but then when this promotion came to light, bro, it’s not just ten fights. You’re going to ten pay-per-views. It’s one grand prize on top of another, on top of other times ten. There’s a whole behind-the-scenes package that will be a part of this as well. They’ll be with me intimately throughout fight week, backstage on television sets, all that fun stuff as well, but dude, I can’t get past two-floor seats to ten consecutive pay-per-views. Like, it literally is taking your average grand prize sweepstakes and extending it over a calendar year. I can’t think of any point of comparison in pro sports prior, so it’s going to be a big deal for the winter come April of that you can be sure.”