A clip that surfaced last weekend on Joe Rogan's Fight Companion for the Ultimate Fighter Season 24 Finale has pretty much been confirmed by Dana White in a recent interview.
The 'Fight Companion', where Rogan, Brendan Schaub, Bryan Callen, and Eddie Bravo meet up, drink beers, and talk about absolutely anything while half-watching a live UFC event has become a big hit, but occasionally the nature of the broadcast can result in things being said that should not be said...
Last week, conspiracy theory enthusiast Eddie Bravo took a break from claiming that every major media outlet reports nothing but fake news to accidentally reveal something he was clearly told in confidence, that UFC colour commentator Mike Goldberg was being axed, and Rogan would have a new partner for big events.
Despite the best efforts of Schaub, social media caught wind and began speculating:
The look on his face as he said it, ouch.
It seems that the cat is out of the bag, and speaking to SportsNet, Joe Rogan revealed he is working on what he calls a "commentary dream team" with someone he has been chasing for years in 2017:
This has been my dream to assemble this dream team of commentating and I’ve wanted this guy for years and I’m working on it and it’s going to happen.
There were rumours that the new ownership wanted to move away from the style of commentary that Rogan and Goldberg bring, but with Rogan confirming that he would stay on for at least another year, and going on what White said about the former Fear Factor man, it sounds as if he's going nowhere soon.
Joe Rogan in my opinion is the greatest to ever do it. The greatest ever to call fights. HBO is very cocky and arrogant in their [boxing] production -- but they deserve to be; they do it well and everything else -- but Joe Rogan is the greatest to ever call fights in a combat sport.
High praise. Very high praise, actually.
Goldberg is someone who has come in for increasing criticism in recent years. It seemed to reach it's peak when Rogan bit back after Goldie replied to the suggestion that Ronda Rousey looked tired against Holly Holm by sounding that it "takes a lot of energy to be a rockstar".
But who will be drafted in to replace him? We have no way of knowing who Dana White is talking about, but the fact that he has been trying to make it happen for years means that it's not a promotion for Jon Anik, who has been doing an increasingly impressive job on the Fox cards in recent times.
Some UFC fans have been salivating over the idea of legendary WWF/WWE commentator Jim Ross, a well known fan of MMA, being drafted in, but that is nothing other than speculation at this point, as cool a thought as it is.
Who would you like to see brought in to team up with Joe Rogan?
