Many people who don’t follow MMA news closely had no idea that the last PPV was Mike Goldberg’s last.
Those who do follow the news and knew ahead of time were surprised to see there wasn’t so much as a whisper about it, let alone a special tribute or send-off, which is really strange.
The UFC isn’t known for being great to people who have helped them over the years, especially if they don’t leave on the best of terms. Look at Couture, Ortiz, to name a few. A more apt example being Stitch Duran, who was met with Dana White saying “Stitch Duran was never my friend” after Stitch said he was surprised about how he was let go, and that he considered Dana a friend.
Now, the UFC loves to play clips of Rory MacDonald getting worked over by Wonderboy, and have tried to downplay what a great fighter Rory is. Same with Benson Henderson.
In the case of Goldberg, the UFC did nothing at all.
It does sound like he was let go, rather than quit, but the circumstances are strange. If there was something bad that went down, the UFC might want to just replace him quietly, but it’s still surprising that Rogan didn’t say anything. Some have speculated that it was Rogan who got him canned, but the two seem to be really good friends and it doesn’t seem like Rogan to go behind a partner’s back like that, so we’re left with little but speculation.
Goldie’s son even took to social media to express his disappointment that the UFC couldn’t do anything at all to honor his father after years of service as part of the A-Team of UFC commentary.
Here’s what Mike himself had to say:
Seriously, how can you not love this guy? Sure, he makes mistakes, but he’s a human, and his role on the broadcast was to represent the fans, especially the ones who are newer to the sport. He asks the kinds of questions that fans would be wondering about, in a way that didn’t make new fans feel stupid for not knowing. The dynamic between Goldie and Joe over the years has lead to countless funny moments, even if he annoyed people with ad placements sometimes.
All in all, Goldie is a part of the UFC for many of us, and he’ll be missed.
This could have had something to do with the new owners and wanting to cut costs, we’ll see, time will tell.
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