(As Goldie himself might say, the precision of those rumors was not very precise.)
When long-time UFC play-by-play announcer Mike Goldberg missed UFC 155 for undisclosed reasons, it didn’t take long for the rumor mill to churn out reports of him being addicted to Adderall and taking a leave of absence to attend drug rehab.* MMA Fighting contacted Goldberg directly on Friday, asking for comment on his health, and the commentator denied the pill addiction rumor and said he hopes to return to work by the next UFC on Fox event later this month.
“Those rumors out there are not true,” Goldberg said via text to MMA Fighting. ”I’m dealing with a complicated health issue but feeling better and hoping to be back to 100 percent by Jan. 26.”
Goldberg did not provide more details about his health issues but reporter Ariel Helwani also wrote that “according to multiple sources close to Goldberg, who all asked to remain anonymous, the broadcaster suffered from a severe upper respiratory infection in October.”
“The already-asthmatic Goldberg was then treated with large doses of medication to open the airway and treat the infection. Goldberg’s doctor later confirmed that the medication taken to treat the infection in combination with his normal asthma medication caused severe side effects that affected his ability to work, which according to the same sources, was the reason he missed UFC 155,” he continued.
* In light of Goldberg’s latest statement, we’ve taken down our previous post about the rehab rumor. Whatever’s he’s dealing with, we wish Mike a full and speedy recovery.