Las Vegas — Jon Anik believes Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen alone could headline a UFC Hall of Fame inauguration, and remembers exactly where he was when that fight went down, prior to his time with the UFC.
“Then you’ve got Frankie Edgar and Joanna [Jedrzejczyk] and then guys who go by one name, Wanderlei and Shogun,” the always loquacious Anik told media outlets including Cageside Press at the 2024 UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony. “This is my twelfth year doing it. I started onstage at the Fan Expo with Tito Ortiz in 2012; I think this might be the deepest Hall of Fame class we’ve ever had.”
While Silva was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame for the second time last week— he joined the Pioneer Wing in 2023, and entered the Hall again for his 2010 classic against Sonnen — he was not on hand to receive the honor. “The Spider” had something of a troubled relationship with the promotion, and Dana White, during the later years of his run there.
“It is disappointing, but I’m happy that the company still stands by Anderson Silva and still gestures in his direction, even if he doesn’t reciprocate,” Anik said regarding Silva’s absence. “I don’t necessarily know the inner workings, I was not surprised to hear he was not here, but hopefully Chael Sonnen with his way with words can carry the torch somehow, some way.”
Watch the full media scrum with Jon Anik at the 2024 UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony above.
