Following a long 19-year-old tenure with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, play-by-play commentator Mike Goldberg vacated his spot in the commentary booth after UFC 207. The curtain-call was met with a flurry of emotions over Twitter, as people hailed his work ethic and the zeal with which he called some of the biggest fights that took place in the Octagon.
Goldberg had previously been sought after by many other promotions including the World Wrestling Federation and rightly so. However, in this case, the list includes WWE commentators who could possibly fill in for Mike Goldberg:
#5 Jim Ross
‘Nuff said, let’s start off with one of the most epoch-making play-by-play commentators in the history of sports entertainment, good ol’ JR!
Jim Ross’ highfalutin delivery would make UFC more interesting to watch and it would also add value to the ratings of the pay-per-view events. Nothing would invoke more nostalgia than hearing the good ol’ Southern boy go, “As God as my witness he is broken in half!!
Arguably, Jim Ross’ style would effortlessly blend with Joe Rogan’s extremely anti-cavalier style of delivering play-by-play commentary. While we’re speculating as to who gets the final nod at Dana’s behest, JR is someone who isn’t new to UFC territory.
He has in fact teamed up with UFC veteran Chael Sonnen to literally “call the shots” at the Backgrounds MMA one night tournament PPV, that took place on October 3, 2014.
#4 CM Punk
While CM Punk might not have had a dream UFC debut after succumbing to a first round defeat at the hands of Mickey Gall, his anti-establishment ways can definitely help him become a recognisable feature on the commentary team!
Punk, who is known for his iconoclast ways of conduct, would fare better as a commentator than a fighter. That would also save him the embarrassment of having gone through the “training to fight” rigmarole only to be unsuccessful, after his much-awaited “real fight debut”.
Kudos to Punk for crossing over to the UFC, despite not having any fighting background but commentating is something that he will effortlessly ace if he steps up to fill the spot vacated by Mike Goldberg’s egress from the company.
The UFC would surely benefit from Punk’s previous run as a commentator in both NXT and the WWE!
#3 John Bradshaw Layfield
Revered for being a “hard” bred Texan, John Bradshaw Layfield might have actually been a hell of a UFC fighter, had he been in slightly better shape (sorry JBL)! Nevertheless, the hard-hitting Acolyte proved his worth over the mic as a commentator for SmackDown, garnering enough love to still feature as a play-by-play announcer.
The 6 foot 6 former football toughie should be one of the prime contenders for the void left by Mike Goldberg. In April of 2009, following his departure from the WWE, Ohio Valley Wrestling owner Danny Davis was close to roping Layfield in, as a colour commentator and host for Vyper Fight League.
It would be amazing to see Layfield shut Joe Rogan up, the same way he likes to do with Michael Cole!
#2 Vince McMahon
When Jesse “The Body” Ventura partnered Vince McMahon, it entailed hilarity, usually at the behest of Ventura’s sharp tongue. Mind you, this was before Vinnie Mac revealed that he was the progenitor and the “driving force” of the WWE!
The comedic partnership was one of the selling points of the WWE product at that time. All said and done, Vincent Kennedy McMahon knows how to sell! This unique selling proposition that he’s bestowed with might work in the UFC too.
We’ve seen Vince do a lot of crazy things in life, including forcing people to kiss his ass, getting blown up in a limousine and pooping himself before going on to do a promo, among other delinquent stuff. The man who can “do it all” can very well be the man who joins the UFC team as a commentator.
#1 Booker T
“Wut da hail!” would be quite a fitting exclamation to the devastating carnage that transpires within the confines of the steel Octagon and there’s no one who does it better than King Booker!
Booker T aka Booker T Huffman Junior proved that he’s the king, both in the ring and outside it. Known for his extremely rhetoric usage of ebonics, Booker T’s ingress to MMA commentary might actually be a good move on UFC’s part!
While many of WWE’s fans have expressed disdain at the repetitive usage of some of his pet phrases, I honestly think Booker T’s inclusion to the UFC panel would definitely give an upthrust to the “fun quotient”! Well, can you dig that? (pause)… Suckaaaa!
If we missed out on anyone you think in particular, who could possibly “make the list”, do let us know.
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