What’s the story?
Former WWE SmackDown LIVE announcer Mauro Ranallo has joined Bellator MMA as a commentator. The announcement of Ranallo joining Bellator was done via an official press release by Bellator and was also confirmed by Ranallo on his official Twitter account. The Tweet can be seen below:
Bellator have also signed former UFC commentator Mike Goldberg.
In case you didn’t know...
Mauro Ranallo was signed to a WWE contract in December 2015, and he was with the company until he was officially released on April 22, 2017. Ranallo’s departure was rumoured to be due to backstage bullying by JBL, which Ranallo had later denied.
Ranallo has been a commentator in the past for MMA promotions Pride, EliteXC, ShoXC as well as Strikeforce. He has also called several high-profile boxing events.
The heart of the matter
Mauro Ranallo has officially been signed to Bellator, and the news has been revealed in an official press release by Bellator themselves. Former UFC announcer Mike Goldberg, who was rumoured to be on WWE’s radar as a replacement for Ranallo, has also been signed up by the promotion.
Also read: 5 things you didn’t know about Mauro Ranallo
In the official statement released by the promotion, Bellator president Scott Coker stated:
“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.
In addition to June 24, we look forward to working together to make future Spike broadcast even more exciting for our fans as we add further depth to an already-exception broadcast team.”
Scott Coker and Mauro Ranallo have previously worked together as part of the Strikeforce MMA promotion.
What’s next?
Mauro Ranallo and Mike Goldberg have been signed to “multi-event broadcast agreements” as per the press release, and the first event that they will be announcing will be Bellator NYC: Sonnen vs. Silva and Bellator 180: Davis vs. Bader on June 24th, 2017.
Author’s take
It is great to see Ranallo back in his groove! MMA has always been what Ranallo has been best at, and despite the WWE having been his dream job, it really was time for him to go back to doing what he did best, calling MMA.
The team of Mauro Ranallo and Mike Goldberg is certainly a dream duo when it comes to MMA commentary, and I can’t wait to hear them both do their thing in Bellator.
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