MMAFighting.com is reporting that former WWE commentator Mauro Ranallo has officially joined the Bellator MMA commentary team going forward.
Ranallo will join former UFC commentator Mike Goldberg starting with the Bellator NYC PPV event on June 24 live from New York City at Madison Square Garden.
Ranallo, who also calls boxing events for Showtime, returned to mixed martial arts commentary back in April for the RIZIN promotion in Japan with Frank Shamrock. That was Ranallo’s first return to sports commentary since his public departure from WWE.
WWE had issued a statement stating that Ranallo’s current deal with the company expired in August. Ranallo told Newsweek in April that his departure had “nothing to do with JBL”, while JBL himself described the situation with Ranallo as “unfounded rumors.”
Bellator CEO Scott Coker stated that both Ranallo and Goldberg would be call all Bellator shows for the rest of 2017, meaning any chance of Ranallo mending fences with WWE about a possible return to commentary seems very out of the question for now. Ranallo has a rich history calling MMA including a lengthy run with PRIDE and later with Strikeforce.