“Big” John McCarthy has provided a theory on why Mike Goldberg has been removed from the Bellator commentating team. Fans who tuned into last Friday’s Bellator 255 card were greeted with a new commentating crew, one absent of the man who has been consi…
“Big” John McCarthy has provided a theory on why Mike Goldberg has been removed from the Bellator commentating team. Fans who tuned into last Friday’s Bellator 255 card were greeted with a new commentating crew, one absent of the man who has been considered a leading voice of the promotion over the last three years: […]
Former UFC commentator Mike Goldberg will no longer be with Bellator now that they have started broadcasting on Showtime. Bellator president Scott Coker said there are no hard feelings between the two parties. He said that it was purely a business decision. He also praised commentator Mauro Ranallo, who will be taking over for Goldberg. […]
Former UFC commentator Mike Goldberg will no longer be with Bellator now that they have started broadcasting on Showtime.
Bellator president Scott Coker said there are no hard feelings between the two parties. He said that it was purely a business decision. He also praised commentator Mauro Ranallo, who will be taking over for Goldberg. (H/T MMAJunkie.com)
“Listen, Mike is – one, he’s a friend,” Coker said. “He’s been a voice of MMA for such a long time, along with Mauro. I mean, Mauro, he’s been around (since during) PRIDE with Bas Rutten. This is way back (in) ’97, ’98, ’99.
“At one time, we had the two best on the planet. It was a production decision and they decided to move forward. That’s where we stand. But you know what? This is the kind of business that, you never know. If there’s boxing on one side and Mauro is doing it, who knows what will happen in the future? But that’s the way it rolled out.”
It does seem like Coker thinks that Goldberg could possibly come back in some capacity for the promotion. Ranallo does do boxing commentating for Showtime along side his duties for Bellator as well. He has also done work for PRIDE FC and the WWE in the past.
After leaving the UFC, Goldberg called his first event for Bellator on June 24, 2017 at Bellator 180. He was their main play-by-play guy, alongside “Big” John McCarthy and Josh Thompson.
Goldberg’s work in MMA goes all the way back to December of 1997 for the UFC. He worked there until December of 2016, where he was alongside Joe Rogan for most events.
Bellator 255 took place this past Friday and was the first event without Goldberg since he joined the promotion.
After four years with the promotion, Mike Goldberg will no longer be the voice of Bellator MMA after an announcement by Bellator president Scott Coker on Friday. In an interview with The New York Post, Coker spoke about many changes that were coming to the promotion, including the release of their lead play-by-play broadcaster. “Mike […]
In an interview with The New York Post, Coker spoke about many changes that were coming to the promotion, including the release of their lead play-by-play broadcaster.
“Mike Goldberg is not going to be part of the mix moving forward,” Coker said. “But I think we had a great run with Mike, and the door’s always going to be open.”
On top of his experience covering combat sports, Goldberg has had brief stints with the NHL, NFL and NBA over his illustrious broadcasting career.
Coker also said he intends on bringing more current fighters to the broadcast booth going forward, which the promotion did with featherweight AJ McKee on Friday night for Bellator 255. In addition to the news on Goldberg, Coker announced that ring announcer Michael C. Williams will continue his role with the broadcast team as Bellator looks to the future.
The trio of Mauro Ranallo, Josh Thomson and John McCarthy will lead the broadcasts beginning on Friday. Ranallo is also one of the premier voices for Showtime’s boxing cards.
It is unclear what is next for the 56-year-old Goldberg. The good news, if he wants to continue play-by-play work, there are a lot more opportunities available now than when he first began his run with the UFC in 1997. This includes potential fits with ONE Championship, PFL and Legacy among others.
What are your thoughts on Bellator parting ways with lead broadcaster Mike Goldberg? What do you think is next for one of the main voices of the octagon?
It’s hardly a secret that the UFC’s recent stretch of subpar pay-per-view buys and television ratings has fans wanting more in the MMA-slogged early months of 2018. With an under-promoted and un-anticipated event seemingly every weekend, fans are left with little meat on the proverbial bone, yet are expected to either sit through another grueling […]
It’s hardly a secret that the UFC’s recent stretch of subpar pay-per-view buys and television ratings has fans wanting more in the MMA-slogged early months of 2018.
With an under-promoted and un-anticipated event seemingly every weekend, fans are left with little meat on the proverbial bone, yet are expected to either sit through another grueling FOX Sports 1 broadcast or pay $65.00 for a watered-down card in order to stay current on the sport they love, not exactly an ideal position for UFC owners Endeavor to put fans in.
It’s lacking a certain something – and many would say that’s UFCmegastar Conor McGregor – but aside from that, some feel the product is just lacking excitement overall. That’s why it’s hardly a surprise to hear Octagon play-by-play man Mike Goldberg call out his former employers for being less than exhilarating.
Ousted from his longtime seat next to Joe Rogan with little fanfare or justification, Goldberg was quickly signed by UFC rival Bellator MMA, and he discussed the differences with Ariel Helwani between the two promotions during this week’s The MMA Hour.
To him, he’s now a competitor, and while he won’t trash any of his former colleagues at the UFC, he added that Bellator’s ratings are going up while the UFC’s are headed the opposite way:
“It’s different, and I’m a competitor, let’s just say that.
“I will do everything in my power to make sure that Bellator has the best TV broadcast in MMA. And that’s not being disrespectful to anybody. Jon Anik is my buddy. He never did anything to me and I never did anything to him.
“Those guy are my friends, but at the end of the day it’s competition. We’re all trying to get ratings and Bellator’s ratings are going up — we know what’s happening on the other side (UFC).”
He also noted that from his own experienced viewpoint, the UFC broadcasts have not been nearly as exciting as they could have been in his opinion.
Often criticized for sometimes head-scratching errors of his own during UFC broadcasts, Goldberg admitted he’s far from perfect, but there are still issues with the current method the UFC is delivering their on-air content to fans:
“I just want to do what I do, so do I see things that make me go, ‘Wow, that was really interesting. That was really not as exciting as it could be.’
“It’s just moments,” he explained. “It’s not anybody’s fault and don’t get me wrong, people have been saying things about me for 100 years and I’ve made my mistakes. I’d like to remind people that my blooper real is maybe 15 or 20 minutes long. I was probably on the air for two million minutes though, so that’s pretty good, right? But I do watch it and I see the difference.”
Bellator play-by-play commentator Mike Goldberg feels the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) broadcast isn’t as exciting anymore. Goldberg used to be the voice of the UFC for almost two decades. He was released in early 2017. Jon Anik replaced …
Bellator play-by-play commentator Mike Goldberg feels the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) broadcast isn’t as exciting anymore. Goldberg used to be the voice of the UFC for almost two decades. He was released in early 2017. Jon Anik replaced Goldberg, who ended up signing with Bellator. Goldberg and Mauro Ranallo swap dates for their PBP duties. […]
Bellator is continuing to make big-money moves after Spike’s recent rebranding as the Paramount Network. Previously signing Mike Goldberg, the longtime voice of the UFC and recently signing respected MMA referee “Big” John McCarthy, they’ve now added Jay Glazer to the mix as well. Glazer previously provided pre and post-fight coverage for the UFC, but […]
Bellator is continuing to make big-money moves after Spike’s recent rebranding as the Paramount Network.
Previously signing Mike Goldberg, the longtime voice of the UFC and recently signing respected MMA referee “Big” John McCarthy, they’ve now added Jay Glazer to the mix as well.
Glazer previously provided pre and post-fight coverage for the UFC, but joined Bellator in an announcement released on Tuesday.
“I’m excited to welcome Jay Glazer to the Bellator family. Jay’s knowledge and experience in sports television speaks for itself and he will be a great addition to our incredible broadcast team. As Bellator moves to Paramount Network, I look forward to having him involved with some of the biggest fights of the year.”
Glazer will continue to work as an NFL insider for FOX Sports, but will now be covering Bellator fights instead of UFC cards.
The first Bellator event Glazer will cover will feature some of the promotion’s biggest names, with Chael Sonnen taking on Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to kick off Bellator’s heavyweight Grand Prix, as well as Douglas Lima defending his welterweight belt against Rory MacDonald.
Bellator and the UFC have been trading MMA commentators lately, with former Bellator play-by-play announcer Jimmy Smith jumping ship to the UFC just last week.
How will Jay Glazer fit with Bellator? What do you make of all the recent changes to Bellator and the UFC’s commentary booths?
Former UFC commentator Mike Goldberg will no longer be with Bellator now that they have started broadcasting on Showtime. Bellator president Scott Coker said there are no hard feelings between the two parties. He said that it was purely a business decision. He also praised commentator Mauro Ranallo, who will be taking over for Goldberg. […]
After four years with the promotion, Mike Goldberg will no longer be the voice of Bellator MMA after an announcement by Bellator president Scott Coker on Friday. In an interview with The New York Post, Coker spoke about many changes that were coming to the promotion, including the release of their lead play-by-play broadcaster. “Mike […]