Mike Goldberg Out of UFC 155, No Set Date for his Return

With 2012 mercifully coming to an end, you had to imagine that at least one more fighter would be taken off of the year’s final card due to the great injury curse. Sure enough, at the last possible second a key member of UFC 155 has been removed from the card, causing the organization to scramble to find an adequate replacement. Okay, he’s not a fighter – and he’s not even a casualty of the injury curse – but damn it, this year has been brutal for last-second withdrawals.

Veteran announcer Mike Goldberg will not be calling the fights tonight at UFC 155. Originally, his absence from tonight’s event was attributed to an illness, but it turns out that this isn’t quite the case. Via MMAJunkie:

UFC President Dana White on Friday confirmed the change to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) but could not offer specifics into the situation or when Goldberg is expected to return to his post.

“He’s taking time off and is not working this weekend,” White said. “I don’t know when he will be back.

With 2012 mercifully coming to an end, you had to imagine that at least one more fighter would be taken off of the year’s final card due to the great injury curse. Sure enough, at the last possible second a key member of UFC 155 has been removed from the card, causing the organization to scramble to find an adequate replacement. Okay, he’s not a fighter – and he’s not even a casualty of the injury curse – but damn it, this year has been brutal for last-second withdrawals.

Veteran announcer Mike Goldberg will not be calling the fights tonight at UFC 155. Originally, his absence from tonight’s event was attributed to an illness, but it turns out that this isn’t quite the case. Via MMAJunkie:

UFC President Dana White on Friday confirmed the change to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) but could not offer specifics into the situation or when Goldberg is expected to return to his post.

“He’s taking time off and is not working this weekend,” White said. “I don’t know when he will be back.

White declined to offer any specifics on the reason for Goldberg’s leave.

Damn, that doesn’t exactly sound promising. Hopefully he’s not going through anything too serious, but from the looks of things, he won’t be back any time soon. While it’s possible that his sabbatical is a sign that he’s on his way out of the UFC, we’ll hold off on the tribute until more information becomes available. 

Stepping in on short notice to join Joe Rogan will be B-Team announcer Jon Anik. Anik, who usually calls the fights on FX and FUEL TV alongside Kenny Florian, will be making his UFC PPV debut. Assuming he doesn’t completely drop the ball tonight, the position is his for the foreseeable future.

So what do you taters think about this?  Is Goldberg taking time off to be with his family? Did the Arizona Cardinals offer Goldberg a gigantic contract (LOL)? If we really want to get crazy here, is the WWE paying him to no-show UFC pay-per-views like they have reportedly tried to in the past? And how do you think Jon Anik will work with Joe Rogan? Keep it civil, you guys.

@SethFalvo