The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 126

#4 Best: The fantastic commentary

The addition of former Bellator commentator Jimmy Smith has been a masterstroke

While Mike Goldberg was much maligned for his constant shilling, mistakes and repetitive nature, to me the UFC hasn’t sounded quite right since he left the promotion at the end of 2016. Jon Anik has done a fine job but the chemistry that Goldberg had with Joe Rogan has been missing, and while the handful of fighters the UFC has used in the colour role have been alright, UFC commentary hasn’t been great for some time.

Enter Brendan Fitzgerald last December. He was plucked from commentating on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series and plugged into UFC Fight Night 123 alongside current UFC Lightweight Paul Felder, and generally did a solid job – knowing when to interject himself with play-by-play but also when to let his partner talk - but last night he was even better.

Why? Last night was the first show that saw him joined by former Bellator colour man Jimmy Smith – for a long time recognised as one of the best commentators in MMA. Quite why the UFC’s rival promotion let him go is a massive question, but their loss is the UFC’s gain.

Fitzgerald and Smith were both entertaining and informative – like any great commentary team should be – and here’s hoping that this isn’t their only show together. If it were down to me I’d make them the “A” team in the UFC commentary stakes – hopefully, the powerbrokers at WME-IMG will see it makes sense.