5 reasons why the UFC is better than Bellator

#5 The UFC has the superior broadcast team

Using knowledgeable fighters like Dan Hardy on colour commentary allows the UFC to have a superior broadcast team to Bellator

For years, one of the biggest criticisms of the UFC was its broadcast team of Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan. Longtime play-by-play announcer Goldberg often came under fire for focusing more on plugging the UFC’s sponsors than on the fights and repeating the same lines over and over (“it is all over!”) while Rogan was considered knowledgeable, but at times too focused on pushing his own narrative during the action.

Over the past couple of years, however, this has improved tenfold. Goldberg is now gone – replaced by a trio of superior play-by-play men in Jon Anik, John Gooden and Brendan Fitzgerald – and while Rogan remains and continues to split the opinion of the fanbase, they’re often joined by extremely knowledgeable fighters like Dominick Cruz, Daniel Cormier and Paul Felder.

But the biggest coup that the UFC has pulled recently in this area came in a signing from Bellator. Colour commentator Jimmy Smith – one of the most knowledgeable analysts in MMA – joined the UFC in early 2018 and he’s taken to his new surroundings like a duck to water.

All in all, that makes the UFC’s broadcast team absolutely fantastic in 2018, and essentially, you’re guaranteed top-level analysis on every show they put on.

Bellator on the other hand? Well, they signed Goldberg in 2017 to perform play-by-play duties – and while he provides a familiar voice to longtime fans of the UFC and isn’t terrible at his job, he can still be frustrating at times. Unfortunately, he’s often paired with the cliche-spewing Mauro Renallo – certainly a knowledgeable fan, but one perhaps more suited for pro-wrestling rather than MMA.

Legendary referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy and current fighter Chael Sonnen often provide colour commentary, but despite being decent they pale in comparison to the likes of Cormier, Cruz and Dan Hardy.

It might not sound like a big deal, but the UFC’s far superior broadcast team is just another reason why they remain miles ahead of their biggest competitor.