Mike Goldberg shares how Joe Rogan approached UFC management to ensure he didn't leave for WWE

For many years, Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan were the UFC's main broadcast duo -- the two called many of the promotion's most memorable events. However, the duo almost broke up once.

In a Sportskeeda MMA exclusive, the former voice of the UFC mentioned that he had received an offer to join WWE. In light of this, Rogan approached UFC management and ensured that Goldberg didn't leave the promotion for the sports entertainment juggernaut:

"Joe the whole night kept saying, 'Dude, You're not gonna leave me and do porn are you?'... And Joe was instrumental...he went up to Dana [White] and Lorenzo (Fertitta)...and he just said, 'I love working with Goldie. I don't wanna work with some other schmo. Don't let him go, he's great at what he does and we have a great relationship.' And I'll always be thankful to Joe for that." [15:14 - 15:46]

Goldberg then added that after accepting the UFC's offer to stay, he received a voicemail from WWE Chairman Vince McMahon notifying him to give producer Kevin Dunn an explanation as to why he turned them down.

He recalled Dana White's reaction and said the UFC President had a sense of pride upon hearing the McMahon voicemail, saying:

"I don't think Dana was ever more proud of me than that moment 'cause he felt like he beat Vince [McMahon], right. Vince tried to steal me and I stayed. I should've saved that message and that's not to be disrespectful to Vince McMahon, it was just kind of like, 'Holy s**t, that's Vince McMahon on my voicemail.' And it was an interesting time but ultimately, I made the right decision." [16:20 - 16:45]

Goldie was the voice of the UFC for 19 years before the promotion parted ways with him in 2016. He then served as a commentator for Bellator from 2017 to 2021 before moving to bare-knuckle boxing promotion BYB Extreme.

Check out the full Sportskeeda exclusive:

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Mike Goldberg called fights long before becoming the voice of the UFC

Despite becoming the voice of the UFC in 1997, Mike Goldberg called many fights prior to his foray into MMA.

Goldberg was a NHL announcer for the Detroit Red Wings as well as ESPN Hockey. What separates the NHL from other professional sports leagues is that they allow fights to take place during the games. However, if players fight, they must serve a 5-minute penalty.

One of the most memorable NHL fights he called was the infamous brawl between the Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche. The two teams were rivals, and the brawl has since been documented in ESPN's E:60 documentary series, Unrivaled.