The voice of the UFC, Jon Anik has praised one of the great Australian fighters, labelling Mark Hunt’s battle against Antonio “Big Foot” Silva as the most memorable fight of his storied career.
Anik, who is regularly seen as one of the greatest commentators in sports media history has called nearly every main-event fight in UFC history since taking over the role of lead caller in 2012.
Despite having a hall-of-fame worthy resume of fights called, Anik noted that the classic fight between the two heavyweight giants will always hold a special place in his heart.
“I think there’s a little bit of a recency bias when I mention Leon Edwards knockout of Kamaru Usman… but I would have to say in terms of a singular fight it was in Brisbane, Australia in 2013,” Anik said on SEN’s Them’s Fightin Words.
“It was my man, the lead horse Mark Hunt taking on Antonio Big Foot Silva, to this day (it’s) probably the greatest heavyweight fight in UFC history.
“Because it was happening in the morning in Brisbane and it was a UFC Fight Night, I just kept thinking, ‘I hope the Americans are actually watching this play out right now because this is one of the greatest fights I’ve ever seen’.”
The Hunt-Silva bout is still ranked by Tapology as the greatest MMA heavyweight fight of all time, and as the 14th greatest MMA fight ever.
“That’s probably the most memorable fight that I’ve ever called, I was like shaking when I walked out of the Brisbane Entertainment Centre that morning,” Anik said.
“That will always be a special moment for me.”
UFC 284 in Perth on Sunday afternoon ends a near three-year hiatus of the MMA giant hosting an event on our shores, returning to Australia for the first time since UFC 243 in Melbourne.