Scott Coker: We’re trying to see if we can fit Mike Goldberg into Bellator broadcast team

If you watched UFC 208 earlier this month, the broadcast probably sounded much different than you’re used to. That, of course, is because long time UFC play-by-play man Mike Goldberg was not a part of the broadcast team. Instead, the broadcast booth was filled by a three-man team of Joe Rogan, Jon Anik, and UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.

Golberg was released by the UFC in late 2016. His last broadcast as a UFC employee was December’s UFC 207, after which he was sent packing with precisely zero thanks from the UFC, or acknowledgement for the decades of hard work he put in for the company.

Unsurprisingly, many fans were disappointed with the UFC’s choice to cut “Goldie” from the team. More still were upset with the way his departure was handled, saying his efforts should have at least been acknowledged during his final broadcast.

Given this, fans were excited to learn that Bellator MMA – the world’s second biggest MMA promotion – was interested in adding Goldie to their broadcast team. Unfortunately, however, we probably shouldn’t expect to hear the play-by-play man’s beloved Goldberg-isms on Bellator broadcasts any time soon.

Shortly after last weekend’s Bellator 173 card, Bellator President Scott Coker told The Mac Life that, while his promotion was interested in taking Goldie on, their doing so could take some time. His words:

“We have been talking but I feel like we have got a great [broadcast] team. Sean [Grande] and Jimmy [Smith] do a great job so we’ll see what happens. We have talked. We have a great team — and that’s the hard part. If we were starting all over, you know, starting from scratch? Then maybe we could have more flexibility but we’re trying to see if we can fit him in and get something going but it’s not imminent and like I said, we have a great team.”

So, contrary to Goldberg’s recent Tweet, which suggested we’d be hearing him calling MMA again soon, this might not actually be the case.

What do you think of the UFC’s choice to release Mike Goldberg? Sound off, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/27/2017.