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Jon Anik has opted to explain a tweet he made, following Belal Muhammad's welterweight title win at UFC 304 last weekend. According to the UFC commentator, the post was directed at those who doubted Muhammad.
In the main event of the Manchester card, 'Remember the Name' put on a dominant performance against Leon Edwards, utilizing his takedowns and pressure-heavy style to nullify the Englishman. 'Rocky' looked uncharacteristically sluggish on the night and never quite found his footing, eventually losing the title to Muhammad via unanimous decision.
Following Belal Muhammad's win, Anik, who was on commentary for the fight, took to X and tweeted:
"Cry. #UFC304 @bullyb170."
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The UFC commentator opted to explain what he meant by the tweet on the latest episode of his podcast with Kenny Florian. According to Jon Anik, his tweet was directed towards a section of the UFC fan base that appear to watch Muhammad fight with a "tainted eye". He explained:
"I think a lot of people just watch Belal Muhammad with a tainted eye. That's why I tweet 'Cry'. I am a Leon Edwards fan as anyone knows... The most significant call of my career is Edwards, the favorite moment of my professional career is when Leon hugged me after the fact six months later."
He continued:
"But it is time to put respect on the name Belal Muhammad. If other people don't want to do it, we're gonna do it here. And I'm gonna tweet to this segment of the fanbase, f*cking cry. cry."
Catch Anik's comments here (26:05):
Jon Anik shouts out Belal Muhammad's striking coach
Following UFC 304, Jon Anik has spent much of his time praising the performance of Belal Muhammad for his title win. The UFC color commentator has also focused on those who made it happen and specifically mentioned Muhammad's striking coach Mike Valle.
Valle heads up the Valle Flow Striking gym in Chicago and has worked with Muhammad for a number of years. The gym has also produced a number of fighters who have made it to the UFC, such as Ignacio Bahamondes and Charles Radtke.
Taking to X, Anik followed the same narrative of putting respect on Muhammad's name by asking fans to also take notice of Valle, whose striking work with 'Remember the Name' was on full show during his clash against Leon Edwards. He tweeted:
"About time to put some respect on Mike Valle's name, too. @Valle_Flow."
