Jon Anik apologizes to fans after emotional rant went viral

UFC color commentary GOAT Jon Anik issued an apology after a rant complaining about MMA fans went viral this week. Anik lamented about the negativity he received from fans after his commentary following Dricus Du Plessiss' win over Sean Strickland.

He was so upset by the response that he even hinted he might retire from the sport because of it.

He took to Instagram on Saturday, Jan. 27, to issue a statement to the fans.

"I was in a heightened emotional state following myriad allegations of bias at UFC 297 and I made some regrettable comments relating to the MMA fan base," Anik wrote on Instagram. "While I was surprised at the extent to which my comments were re-purposed and sensationalized, I need to be more responsible on an open microphone. "So much work goes into the execution of just one UFC pay-per-view so it can be tough when my integrity on broadcast is called into question. That doesn't excuse my retort. I am just a fiery, passionate, flawed, empathetic guy and sometimes my emotions lead the dance."

He concluded with an apology, "To those MMA fans whom I've offended, I am sorry. That was not my intention. For 12 years, I've prided myself on being accessible to the fan base and that will continue. I've learned a lot over the last 48 hours."

What did Jon Anik say?

Anik voiced his frustrations earlier in the week on his podcast.

"Even if you and I thought Dricus Du Plessis won the fight we try to present that information respectfully," he told his co-host, former fighter turned commetarian Kenny Florian. "And when I go on to X or I go on to YouTube comments it seems like a lot of these fans are just in attack mode. And I don't know if these fans are casual fans or not but I appreciate the passion. But I'm getting to a point at 45 years of age where I dont know how much time I have left in this MMA space because if I go do pro football like I'm not necessarily going to be dealing with this lowest common denominator all the time."

"I don't know man I just feel like there's a lot of malice and disrespect from the fanbase. And we can disagree, like don't take it from me. Demetrious Johnson and Kenny Florian thought DDP won the fight, I don't know. I've just been very offput with the negativity that has permeated my feed since Saturday night and I'm just ot sure how much longer I have in this space honestly.

Many MMA fans and fellow media and fighters jumped to the defense of Anik, urging him to stay and supporting him against the toxicity.

But the former UFC middleweight champion did the opposite.

Strickland tweeted in support of the fans late Friday night.

"What id say to Jon Anik calling mma fans 'The lowest common denominator' These people are way you have a paycheck, and you make way more than most... Maybe the NFL is a better choice for you than MMA. Also you guys are a bunch of savage c*nts. I'm here for it."

It's worth noting that most the hate being spewed at Anik was from fans defending Strickland.

Let's hope this is the last we have to talk about this topic and we put this chapter to bed.