Jon Anik was recently asked whether he’d be hesitant to work an event like the upcoming UFC Qatar card.

On October 31, Canelo Alvarez returns to challenge Christian Mbilli for the WBC super middleweight title.

This ‘Mexico vs The World’ card has been planned for the majority of 2026, and will be going ahead following the weigh-ins on Friday.

Many assumed that this event and various others would be canceled or moved due to security risks caused by ongoing conflict in the region, which one of the UFC’s commentators has shared his thoughts on.

Who do you want to see Canelo fight before he retires from the sport?🤔

Jon Anik says safety concerns wouldn’t prevent him from working UFC events but he would be hesitant

On October 25, the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh announced that it was ordering all non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia due to safety risks.

This hasn’t stopped Canelo Alvarez’s return from taking place at the Kingdom Arena later today.

It also appears that WWE’s Crown Jewel event that is scheduled to take place next week on November 7 at the ANB Arena, also in Riyadh, will still go ahead as planned.

During a live Q&A, UFC commentator Jon Anik was asked whether the security risks would give him any hesitancy to travel and work an event like the promotion’s upcoming Fight Night in Qatar.

“Great question, yes,” he replied on his YouTube channel. “Hesitancy? Yes.”

“I can expand on it too,” Anik added. “I’m hopeful for any of my colleagues that are going that it’s safe and it’s not arduous to get there and I pray for anybody in any part of the world in which there is any sort of violence. But, would I have hesitancy? Yes. Would I go? Plausibly.”

UFC Qatar takes place on November 21, though it is unlikely that Anik would have been making the trip to be in the commentary booth for this event anyway.

A Fight Night event is currently set for December 5 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, with Israel Adesanya being linked to the main event.

Canelo Alvarez’s return card lost a title fight due to the location

Lindolfo Delgado’s IBF title fight with Artur Biyarslanov fell off Saturday’s card in Riyadh on short notice.

While there were reports about Delgado’s passport expiring, his coach revealed a different reason why this bout was canceled due to them not making the trip.

Robert Garcia told the media, as covered by World Boxing News, “Why would we risk ourselves going over there without being safe?”

Attempts to find Biyarslanov a replacement opponent were unsuccessful, leading to him making the trip back home to Chechnya.