Commentary is one of the most important parts of a sports program, and it's doubly important for MMA. Everyone knows what it's like to throw a football or baseball, but in MMA, not everyone knows what it is like to compete inside of a cage or to train in the martial arts.RELATED: 10 Things Fans Should Know About The Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor RivalryAs a result, it's extremely important for MMA commentators to accurately explain to audiences what is going on inside of the cage. Across the MMA landscape and especially in the UFC, we've had some excellent commentators who can do just that. Unfortunately, we've also had some terrible commentators along the way as well.
10 Best: Jon Anik
The UFC's current color commentator Jon Anik has done an incredible job since joining the UFC in 2011. Originally, Anik was honestly a bit bland for a lot of fans at first. However, over time he's been allowed to show more of his personality. His clear friendship with the likes of Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan has made the commentary always fun to listen to.
Since becoming the lead color commentator following Mike Goldberg's exit in 2017, he's showcased that he is one of the best in the game.
9 Worst: Gus Johnson
© Adam Cairns\/Columbus Dispatch \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n"">© Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Gus Johnson is one of the greatest commentators of all time. His work commentating on both football and basketball has made him revered as one of the best in the business, as his calls of amazing plays are forever a part of sports history. Unfortunately, he wasn't great in MMA.
Johnson's boisterous commentary in football and basketball worked because he actually knows a lot about the sports. Despite not knowing much about MMA, he did commentary for both EliteXC and Strikeforce and was derided for multiple head-scratching calls as a commentator. Worst of which was his call of Kimbo Slice's loss to Seth Petruzelli, which Johnson dubbed as "the most incredible victory in the history of martial arts".
8 Best: Michael Bisping
Michael Bisping, since his retirement in 2019, has become one of the UFC's best and brightest on commentary. Originally starting on the desk as an analyst on the Dana White Contender Series, Bisping has moved up over the years to regularly doing PPV shows.
Bisping seems to have the best of both worlds as a commentator. He is able to joke around and be light on commentary. However, as a former middleweight champion, he is able to give lots of technical commentaries and point out things that the average fan would have missed.
7 Worst: John McCarthy
© Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n"">© Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
"Big" John McCarthy is one of the greatest referees in MMA history, having quite literally written the rule book that the sport operates under in order to get it regulated across America. McCarthy notably did commentary for the short-lived Affliction promotion while referring, but he didn't get a full-time job commentating until 2018 under Bellator.
McCarthy's stint in the promotion has been far from great. McCarthy will occasionally go on tangents and lose moments in the action, and while his anecdotes on the history of MMA are great, he lacks a lot in the area of technical expertise.
6 Best: Daniel Cormier
Daniel Cormier is one of the greatest inside of the cage and also outside of it. First commentating in a guest role at UFC 197, Cormier quickly began to become a staple at the desk for UFC events.
Cormier has only become even more of a company man since his retirement in 2020. Cormier, similar to Bisping, mixes jokes with technical expertise in a way that only he knows how to do. "DC" is one of the best in the world behind a microphone right now.
5 Worst: Tito Ortiz
Tito "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz, prior to being a politician and failed boxer, was a UFC light-heavyweight champion. However, during his free agency period in 2009, Ortiz was approached by the upstart Affliction Entertainment promotion to do commentary on their "Day of Reckoning" event.
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Ortiz did both color commentary and post-fight interviews for the event, and it was tragically bad. Ortiz's post-fight interview with Renato Sobral lives in infamy as one of the worst of all time.
4 Best: Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan has been a staple of the UFC for longer than seemingly anyone. Rogan debuted at UFC 12, first starting out as the pre-fight and post-fight interviewer. However, he quickly moved behind the desk and became an integral part of the UFC's early success.
Nowadays, Rogan is rarely at UFC shows. He is busy with his stand-up comedy career and uber-successful podcast. However, whenever Rogan comes around, it still feels like a big show and he makes the broadcast more fun.
3 Worst: Mike Goldberg
Mike Goldberg could just as easily be seen as one of the greatest commentators of all time, depending on when the time period is. Goldberg like Rogan was an integral part of the UFC's success in the early 2000s, bringing a sense of professionalism to a company that needed it badly.
However, over time, Goldberg became less of a commentator and it seemed like he was just "playing the hits". Just dropping his known catchphrases and plugging the UFC's sponsors, prior to being dropped by the company in 2016. He had a stint with Bellator until 2021, where he was released from there as well.
2 Best: Mauro Ranallo
Mauro Ranallo is the greatest commentator to never be in the UFC. Ranallo was the voice of the Japanese-based PRIDE promotion and, alongside Bas Rutten, became the voice of early 2000s MMA.
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However, following the closure of PRIDE, Ranallo stayed in MMA. Having provided commentary to Invicta FC, EliteXC, Strikeforce, and presently he is commentating for Bellator MMA.
1 Worst: Bill Goldberg
Bill Goldberg's stint as a mixed-martial-arts commentator has seemingly been lost to history, and that's a good thing. The former WCW and WWE champion provided commentary to PRIDE and EliteXC during his hiatus away from pro-wrestling in the mid to late 2000s.
Goldberg wasn't terrible as a commentator, just terribly mediocre. He lacked the technical experience and wasn't great at commanding a broadcast. It's better to just remember him for his work inside of the ring.
