Former WWE announcer Mauro Ranallo and former UFC announcer Mike Goldberg have officially signed with the Bellator MMA promotion.
Bellator’s new broadcasting dream team will be cageside calling the action for Bellator’s upcoming NYC debut on Saturday, June 24th live from Madison Square Garden. According to Bellator President Scott Coker, Goldberg and Ranallo will call all of the promotion’s remaining shows for 2017.
Excited to announce the addition of both @GoldieOnTV and @mauroranallo beginning with #BellatorNYC!
Full details ? https://t.co/7TwU1yz3tX— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) June 13, 2017
Here’s the full press release:
BELLATOR SIGNS VETERAN MMA COMMENTATORS MIKE GOLDBERG AND MAURO RANALLO – BOTH SET TO CALL THE ACTION FOR BELLATOR NYC ON SATURDAY, JUNE 24 AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
LOS ANGELES — Bellator has 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 on Saturday, June 24. The move sees Goldberg return to SPIKE for the first time since 2011, while Ranallo reunites with Bellator President Scott Coker, having 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 Slugger.
Mike Goldberg is best known for his 20 plus years of play-by-play work in professional MMA and trademark calls that made him popular with fans around the globe. In addition to his two decades in mixed martial arts, he has broadcast every major sport at the network level, most notably his 900 games in the NHL, both nationally and with the Minnesota Wild, Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings. He has also hosted entertainment shows, including Shaq Vs. A graduate of Miami (Ohio) University, Goldberg now resides in Phoenix, Ariz.
Mauro Ranallo gained notoriety with MMA fans during his tenure with PRIDE, and later STRIKEFORCE, where his voice became synonymous with the now-legendary events. Throughout his career, Ranallo has spent time working with various sports outside of MMA, including boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing and ice hockey, and will continue his work with Showtime Boxing. Ranallo, a native of British Columbia, Canada, now resides in Los Angeles, Calif.
Please visit Bellator.com and BellatorNYC.com for upcoming event information.
