Tag: Mike Goldberg

Jimmy Smith Declares He’s ‘Not Here To Replace Rogan’

Former Bellator commentator and newly acquired voice of the UFC, Jimmy Smith says he’s not looking to be another Joe Rogan. Smith has often been compared to Rogan, both are bald, muscular and have a similar sounding voice and approach to MMA commentating. Rogan recently praised Smith and excoriated Bellator for letting him go, and […]

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Former Bellator commentator and newly acquired voice of the UFC, Jimmy Smith says he’s not looking to be another Joe Rogan.

Smith has often been compared to Rogan, both are bald, muscular and have a similar sounding voice and approach to MMA commentating. Rogan recently praised Smith and excoriated Bellator for letting him go, and with Rogan looking for an out from the UFC in the near future, Smith would be a perfect replacement.

Smith revealed on The Three Amigos Podcast how smoothly things went when signing with the UFC and how Rogan played a hand in his employment:

“People know that Joe [Rogan] has been trying to bring me over to the UFC for more than four years now. He’s been talking me up to them for a long time and there had been negotiations before when I was in between contracts, so it’s no surprise. Now, they have the best opportunity to have my whole career. I was a free agent with no contract for the first time, but they were very friendly and things went really well.”

Both Bellator and the UFC have been shuffling the deck in terms of commentary; Mike Goldberg left the UFC for Bellator just a few months back, and now Smith leaving Bellator for the UFC. Brian Stann is no longer providing his voice for commentary either.

But for Jimmy Smith, he’s right where he wants to be following a short period of unemployment:

“I’m thrilled to be here. It’s been a long time coming and I’m actually getting jittery because I’m looking forward to it so much. It’s a whole new world of fights and fighters, a whole new team—everybody over there has told me how excited they are that I’m coming over—it’s like I’m starting over again. I’m the new kid at a brand new school and I’m really excited about everything coming up. I get to be a part of the best promotion in the world and that’s huge for me. It’s the pinnacle of my career.”

But don’t expect Smith to replicate or replace Joe Rogan’s style, despite the comparisons over the years.

“There are two things I want to make really clear. I’m not replacing Joe Rogan. Joe is still active with the UFC this year, so it’s not like I’m coming in and he’s leaving. The other thing I want to address is that people have some idea that I was somehow pushed out by Mauro [Ranallo] and Goldie [Mike Goldberg], that signing them kind of pushed me out. They were looking forward to working with me for years. They were easy to work with (and) fun to work with…”

How do you think Smith will fit in as UFC commentator?

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Mike Goldberg Says UFC Departure Ranked With His Most Difficult Time

With former UFC commentator Mike Goldberg now signed as tthe voice behind Bellator, this past year has been quite the whirlwind. After being ousted from his position at the UFC rather unceremoniously, “Goldie” finally broke his silence on the subject on Monday. “The last six months were as difficult as any period of my life,” […]

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With former UFC commentator Mike Goldberg now signed as tthe voice behind Bellator, this past year has been quite the whirlwind.

After being ousted from his position at the UFC rather unceremoniously, “Goldie” finally broke his silence on the subject on Monday.

“The last six months were as difficult as any period of my life,” Goldberg said on The MMA Hour. “And it was professional, wasn’t personal, but it was as difficult as any six months in my life. And it’s weird, though, because what was difficult was that everybody that I spoke to said ‘oh, it’s a no brainer, you’re gonna be great with us, it’s a no brainer, let’s make it happen.’

“When you’re dealing with big corporations and there’s a lot of moving parts, ‘let’s make this happen’ in February or March, in the corporate world, happens in June. And in my world, in that time, you just want to have it, you just want that text or email or that call to say ‘hey, Goldie, you’re back in the game.’”

Goldberg will return to the commentator booth with fellow announcers Mauro Ranallo and Jimmy Smith at this weekend’s pay-per-view event.

But he says that fan support after his departure from the UFC made him think there was still a place in MMA for “Goldie”.

“It was difficult,” Goldberg said of the months separating his UFC departure from his Bellator signing. “What pushed me through it, and what kept me motivated — obviously, my family is first and foremost — were the fans and the tweets that continued, and the praise and the ‘we miss you, Goldie’, ‘when are you coming back?’ That energized me.”

“Nineteen years I got to do that, right outside the Octagon, and always well,” he said. “If I didn’t have those 19 years, I wouldn’t be in the position that I am right now, headed to New York City later today to do a pay-per-view broadcast from the world’s most famous arena. I bring with me all the great memories, I bring with me all the positive vibes.”

Are you looking forward to Goldberg’s Bellator commentating debut?

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Mike Goldberg Admits Having Difficulties Before Signing With Bellator

Things weren’t exactly smooth sailing for Mike Goldberg before signing with Bellator. The long-time voice of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was axed somewhat abruptly as 2016 came to a close. His last call was at UFC 207, which saw the likely demise of former women’s bantamweight ruler Ronda Rousey. Many felt Goldberg would find work […]

Things weren’t exactly smooth sailing for Mike Goldberg before signing with Bellator. The long-time voice of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was axed somewhat abruptly as 2016 came to a close. His last call was at UFC 207, which saw the likely demise of former women’s bantamweight ruler Ronda Rousey. Many felt Goldberg would find work […]

Scott Coker: Mike Goldberg & Mauro Ranallo Offering Different Experience

Bellator President Scott Coker believes the additions of Mike Goldberg and Mauro Ranallo add a significant boost to the booth. Sean Grande recently announced that he was out as Bellator’s play-by-play commentator due to other commitments. Today (June 13), Bellator announced that Goldberg and Ranallo have signed with the promotion. During a conference call, Coker […]

Bellator President Scott Coker believes the additions of Mike Goldberg and Mauro Ranallo add a significant boost to the booth. Sean Grande recently announced that he was out as Bellator’s play-by-play commentator due to other commitments. Today (June 13), Bellator announced that Goldberg and Ranallo have signed with the promotion. During a conference call, Coker […]

Mike Goldberg & Mauro Ranallo Sign With Bellator MMA

Bellator MMA has just made two big signings that will impact their commentary team for the better. The promotion announced on Tuesday that they have signed longstanding MMA commentators Mike Goldberg and Mauro Ranallo to multi-event broadcast agreements beginning with Bellator NYC: Sonnen vs. Silva and Bellator 180: Davis vs. Bader. The announcement of the […]

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Bellator MMA has just made two big signings that will impact their commentary team for the better. The promotion announced on Tuesday that they have signed longstanding MMA commentators Mike Goldberg and Mauro Ranallo to multi-event broadcast agreements beginning with Bellator NYC: Sonnen vs. Silva and Bellator 180: Davis vs. Bader.

The announcement of the signings come less than 24 hours after Sean Grande revealed that he would give up his position ahead of the promotion’s New York City pay-per-view later this month. The signings see Goldberg, who was forced out of the UFC after the purchase of the company by WME-IMG, return to Spike TV for the first time since 2011. Ranallo, who was the voice of Strikeforce on Showtime and also continues to cover boxing for the network, will reunite with Bellator President Scott Coker as they worked together through 2013. The pair will join a broadcast team that currently includes Jimmy Smith, Jenn Brown and Chael Sonnen.

“Mike Goldberg and Mauro Ranallo are two of the best in our business, and I couldn’t be happier about them joining the Bellator family,” said Scott Coker. “In addition to June 24, we look forward to working together to make future Spike broadcasts even more exciting for our fans as we add further depth to an already-exceptional broadcast team.”

“The addition of highly-regarded announcers Mauro and Mike to our fantastic lineup of broadcasters, and our first-rate production led by Scott Fishman, further demonstrates our commitment MMA fans and expanding the global Bellator brand,” added Spike SVP, Sports, and Specials Jon Slusser.

Goldberg is best known for his 20 plus years of play-by-play work in the UFC as he had been a staple of the promotion for years. He also called 900 games in the NHL, both nationally and with the Minnesota Wild, Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings. Since his departure from the UFC, Goldberg had kept quiet regarding his future in the sport but it’s not a big surprise that he signed with Bellator as it was an expected move.

Throughout his career, Ranallo has spent time working with various sports outside of MMA, including boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing and ice hockey. It was noted in the press release that he would continue his work with Showtime Boxing. Although he has not appeared on WWE television since earlier this year, he is still under contract until August 12th and the door for his return is still open if he is willing to come back.

Ranallo, who is known to be very active on social media, took to Twitter to comment on the news but kept his statement short. He wrote the following:

Bellator NYC will be headlined by Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva, which has been a fight in the making for years. Not only does Bellator NYC feature a good main event, but it also has a stacked the main card. In the co-main event, MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko takes on former UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione. Rounding out the main card is Michael Chandler defending his lightweight title as well as Douglas Lima defending his welterweight title against new free-agent acquisition Lorenz Larkin. Then we go to the undercard, which will air on Spike TV and feature a light heavyweight title fight between Phil Davis and Ryan Bader.

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Scott Coker on Mike Goldberg: ‘We’ve Been Talking, But I Feel We Have a Great Team’

Bellator President Scott Coker has been in talks with Mike Goldberg, but don’t expect the play-by-play (PBP) commentator to make his way to the promotion anytime soon. Goldberg was last seen doing commentary for a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) event back in Dec. 2016 for UFC 207. After working with the promotion for nearly […]

Bellator President Scott Coker has been in talks with Mike Goldberg, but don’t expect the play-by-play (PBP) commentator to make his way to the promotion anytime soon. Goldberg was last seen doing commentary for a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) event back in Dec. 2016 for UFC 207. After working with the promotion for nearly […]