It appears Jon Anik will be on call for the foreseeable future as the play-by-play man for the UFC with regular broadcaster Mike Goldberg taking a break.
UFC 155 ended up with a late change in the broadcast booth instead of the Octagon with Goldberg out of action, and fellow play-by-play man Jon Anik stepping in to fill the role alongside color commentator Joe Rogan.
UFC president Dana White didn’t embellish much when asked about when Goldberg could return to the broadcast booth, but it looks like he’s going to be off for a little while dealing with personal issues.
“Goldie’s out for a while and I don’t know when he’ll be back,” White said on Saturday.
Mike Goldberg has been the regular play-by-play announcer for the UFC for many years, and has also called college football and hockey for much of his broadcast life.
It was only in 2011 that the UFC hired Anik after a stint at ESPN to work play-by-play for the promotion in their ever expanding show schedule. Anik typically works alongside former UFC contender Kenny Florian covering the UFC broadcasts on FX and Fuel TV.
Anik stepped in and covered UFC 155 with Rogan, and the next major UFC card goes down on Jan 19 in Brazil, which is UFC on FX 7 that Anik will work with Florian.
It’s unknown at this time if Goldberg could potentially return for the UFC on Fox 6 show in Chicago in late January or if Anik will continue to fill his role while he’s out.