Mike Goldberg

Mike “Goldie” Goldberg has a wealth of experience in the world of sports broadcasting, and has held jobs that most sports lovers can only dream of. Starting his career as a smalltime sports commentator, Goldberg worked his way up to a position with a struggling company: the UFC. He grew with the company and is now a prominent figure in the ever-popular world of MMA.

Best known for his work as a play-by-play announcer for the UFC, Goldberg has held broadcasting jobs in various different sports, and he continues to expand his knowledge and experience as a sportscaster to this date.

Goldberg gained broadcasting experience as the host of the student-run television show “Sports Focus” at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, where he graduated with a degree in Mass Communications in 1986. After graduation, Goldberg got a job calling CFL games, and his goal was to become an NFL play-by-play announcer.

Goldberg, a collegiate hockey player, went on to announce the sport for the Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, Phoenix Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks, ESPN2 Hockey, and ESPN.  He was even a sideline reporter for the Chicago Bulls dynasty in his early broadcasting career.

Goldberg and co-announcer Rogan

In 1997, Goldberg got the opportunity to announce for the UFC, and began his new career at “UFC: Ultimate Japan” (UFC 15.5) on Dec. 21. Goldberg does not have an extensive background in the practice of martial arts like his counterpart Joe Rogan. Therefore, he had to quickly learn the terminology and basics of the sport in its developing stages and he still works to stay ahead in the fast-paced and arguably the worlds fastest-growing sport today.

“The most challenging part of my job is staying on top of all the news, doing my homework and keeping up with the growing sport of MMA. I feel the fans deserve this,” Goldberg said in an interview with Charles Ruocco of MMACanada.net

Having held stints in nearly every corner of the sports broadcasting world, Mike Goldberg makes up for his lack of MMA experience with his passion for the sport and knowledge of the world of sports broadcasting.

In 2005, as a response to the growing popularity of the UFC, the WWE made an attempt to slash the competition by offering Goldberg a significant contract along with a six-figure bonus to no-show at an upcoming UFC event. The UFC, realizing the value of its senior commentator, countered the offer and Goldberg ultimately decided to stay with the company.

Goldberg has been featured as the host of “UFC Unleashed,” co-host of “Shaq Vs.,” and guest host on “The Best Damn Sports Show Period.” He has covered NCAA basketball and baseball, college football and basketball for FSN nationally, and even televised NFL pre-season games for the Arizona Cardinals. Goldberg is also the commentator for the Red Bull Air Race World Series, and the announcer of the Lingerie Bowl.

Having announced over 100 UFC events and contributed greatly to the development of the sport, Goldberg is truly a notable and distinguished figure in the MMA world today. Goldberg will announce alongside Rogan this Saturday at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Goldberg Before The UFC – 1989

He may be known best for hosting the show that everyone loves to cringe at, Fear Factor. Or maybe its his role as the pseudo-conspiracy-theorist and electrician-handyman Joe Girrelli on the 1990’s sitcom NewsRadio? It couldn’t be his questionable follow-up performance as one of two replacements for the hilarious Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel on the final season of The Man Show… He’s an actor, a game show host and a comedian.

But Joe Rogan is also a color commentator for Ultimate Fighting Championship, which is, of course, where we know him from, today.

Throughout his career, Rogan has always had a little fight in him. As a stand-up comedian, he feuded with multiple popular comedians of the 2000’s, including Carlos Mencia and Dane Cook. These criticisms cost him some shows and participationin the Comedy Store agency in Los Angeles, Cal. However, it doesn’t stop there.

It’s an important issue in this growing sport… How can an actor and a game show host and a comedian turn around 180-degrees and end up involved with mixed martial arts? Some people ask for credibility. Rogan has it.

His list of potential credits begins as a teenager, where he began developing skills in Tae Kwon Do. In the state of Massachusetts, he was named the Full Tae Kwon Do Champion four consecutive times.

By age 19, Rogan won the United States Open Tae Kwon Do Championship. He also went on to defeat middle and heavyweight title holders as the lightweight champion, which resulted in him being awarded the Grand Championship.

He is currently working towards a black belt in BJJ, and is training with Eddie Bravo. Convinced yet?

Rogan believes himself to be the total package as far as self-defense goes – both physically and verbally. From an interview done in 2008 with San Francisco Stand Up, Rogan explains his thoughts on comedy and fighting.

“Well I think it all comes from the same place. The defense mechanism is also wanting to get people to like you. You know, that insecurity- that same insecurity is what leads people to martial arts, because you don’t want to be at the mercy of an attacker. You don’t want to worry about somebody physically dominating you. So I think it’s very similar in the motivation to get involved in it in the first place. What real martial arts is about, is not really about fighting- it’s more about developing your human potential. Martial arts really applies to comedy in that way. In comedy, the real deep stuff, when someone is really searching their own mind, their own soul, their own mortality, their own view of the world, they’re not just saying something to try to get some heehees and hahas out of a group of strangers. They’re digging deep and creating some art out of their own introspective thought.”

Rogan began his commentary career in 2002 with Pay Per View venues and Spike TV coverage of the UFC, and still works in the field today, even hosting the syndicated show “UFC Wired.” It most notably shows that well-roundedness and outspokenness can get you places in the entertainment industry.

Strikeforce: Miami saw a nice reception in the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla. The Showtime spectacular featured many up-and-coming fighters, but one team, and one particular fighter, is standing out.

Rated as the number one grappling competition team in Florida since 2000, and, according to UFC commentator Joe Rogan, “the best MMA camp in the country,” American Top Team (ATT) continues to grow.

American Top Team Facilities

With a headquarters in Coconut Creek, Fla., ATT has over 1,000 members, including names like Jorge Santiago, Hector Lombard, Kimbo Slice, Mike Brown and former professional wrestler, Bobby Lashley. To top it all off, the team is built around a core group of instructors with impressive resumes – a defining factor in the notoriety and credibility of ATT.

Founded by former Brazilian Top Team members Ricardo Liborio and Marcus Silveira, and financed/oversaw by Dan Lambert (a hotel executive), ATT built a 20,000-foot headquarters, and has expanded to 20 franchises and affiliate gyms. Liborio, a NAGA Grappling hall-of-famer, remains the Head Instructor. He is backed by 1976 Olympic Gold Medal boxer, Howard Davis Jr. (Head Boxing Coach), Strength and Conditioning coach Stefane Davis, who has a masters degree in Strength and Conditioning Preparation of Elite Athletes, and BJJ instructors Jonatas Gurgel and Marcos Da Matta.

Da Matta, along with Lashley and two other competitors were recently sent to Strikeforce: Miami to compete.

In the undercard, two welterweights from ATT competed, splitting 1-1. Sabah Homasi (2-1-0) was defeated for the first time by John Kelly via submission on a rear naked choke in the second round (2:48).

Also in welterweight action was Hayder Hassan (3-1-0), who handed Ryan Keenan his first professional loss with a technical knockout in the second round (2:42). All three of Hassan’s victories have come by technical knockout, showing his fine ability to pummel his opponents with his hands.

In featherweight action, Da Matta, who was undefeated prior to the event, fell to Pablo Alfonso, submitting to a straight armbar in the first round (1:47). Da Matta was able to bring the fight to the ground, but was quickly put in the defensive, where Alfonso moved from a guillotine choke to the armbar that decided Da Matta’s fate.

Finally, and most notably, Bobby Lashley competed in the heavyweight main card event, squaring off against Wes Sims, who was most recently featured on the television series The Ultimate Fighter. Lashley (5-0) remains undefeated after taking Sims out with a technical knockout in the first round (2:06). The fight was stopped after Lashley put Sims in the defensive and delivered a round of blows.

U of Combat will surely be following ATT competitors very closely in the coming months, as they are proving to be among some of the elite in the nation. You can visit their website by clicking here.

In 1993 Rorion Gracie and Art Davie organized an eight man single elimination tournament. The tournament, known as The Ultimate Fighting Championship, pitt masters of different martial arts against one another to determine which fighting style was most superior. When the tournament aired it was a mini hit. Unknown to him at the time, Gracie had uncovered the niche market and fan-base for the sport we now know today as MMA.

Since then, countless sanctioning organizations have tried to organize MMA “leagues.” Among the more popular ones today are Affliction, Elite XC, and PRIDE. However, none have reached the success or popularity of the UFC, which seized the market through their popular television show, The Ultimate Fighter, now in it’s tenth season, and used popular television personalities like Joe Rogan to analyze and announce events.

In the last few years, the UFC has become synonymous with MMA.

However it was not until this summer that the UFC reached the “next level” of popularity. A level that spans across countries and is able to draw millions of viewers. With the release of their first video game UFC 2009 Undisputed, their first event in mainland Europe, and the record breaking 100th card on July 11th, the UFC’s popularity has exploded, which begs the question – is MMA still a niche sport?

Yes. I believe it still is.

I also believe that the niche is growing. The test of the UFC’s popularity hangs in question as long as The Ultimate Fighter is still airing. When that show comes off the air, it will be interesting to see what direction the UFC takes to maintain its growth. If they lose much of their exposure and on the fence fans when the show is taken off television, well then MMA as a whole is likely to take a serious blow to fan following.

Popularity lies in the young generation of fight fans. This being the case, the UFC still has to prove that it is not a generational fad; like roller blades or boy bands. As demographics begin to change, so will the popularity of the UFC, for better or worse.

I think the UFC is past the point where it could die out completely, leaving it to go in one of two directions. The UFC can level off in popularity just as professional wrestling did in the late 1990’s, or experience huge growth, and rise to the level of a second rate mainstream sport like tennis or soccer.

I think that the latter of the two situations is more likely. On the other hand, an explosion of MMA and the UFC out of it’s niche into the mainstream does not seem too farfetched. However, It is still way too early to predict what direction the sport will head in.

If the UFC can maintain their growing popularity through the next decade, they will have a cemented place in sports and entertainment. I think they can do this. The UFC has already proven it’s marketability. Now they must expand on it.