WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is a frequent commentator, and he has been the source of attribution for previous comments about the announcing style. Ahead of UFC 131, he made numerous commentary-related remarks on Twitter.
“Hope Mike Goldberg & Joe Rogan give us plenty of background on the UFC fighters 2nite & don’t narrow cast to the MMA fanatics only,” wrote Ross, referencing the criticism that the UFC announce team treats its audience as too “clued in” and does not work to introduce and build the fighters’ personalities, rivalries and skillsets.
He feels that lack of build can adversely impact the fans’ emotional involvement in the fights, explaining, “Fans emotionally invest in athletes when they know more about fighters on a personal level w/ identifiable info. Prelims are 1 thing but giving succinct, bio info during the PPV allows 1 to emotionally invest in athletes.”
Earlier in the night, he wrote, “I would rock in a UFC broadcat booth but MMA would never accept a ‘wrestling guy’….until they heard my work.”
He was not all negative on Zuffa-contracted announcers, however. Ross, in fact, complimented Strikeforce play-by-play announcer Mauro Ranallo.