Mauro Ranallo is one of the most colorful personalities within the sport of mixed martial arts. His commentating style is not for everyone, but neither is Mike Goldberg, Joe Rogan or Michael Schiavello‘s style for everyone.
What he does bring is an unrivaled enthusiasm and love of the sport. His experience, knowledge, humor and quick wit make for commentating that is professional yet entertaining.
Ranallo cemented his legacy in the MMA world working with PRIDE in Japan where he called some of the most memorable fights in the sport’s history. Today he works for The Fight Network and serves as color commentator for Strikeforce which can be seen on Showtime.
In the following in-depth interview, Fanhouse reporter Ariel Helwani sits down to learn more about “The Bi-Polar Rock n’ Roller” and what makes him tick.
If you think you knew who Mauro Ranallo was, you probably didn’t.
He opens up about his battles with depression and spending time in a mental hospital. He talks about how Bas Rutten helped him get hooked up with PRIDE and what the whole experience was like for him. He also talks about Jerry Millen and what happened that eventually led to him leaving PRIDE.
Ranallo addresses some of the criticisms people have with his commentary. He talks about the Gina Carano gaffe. He talks about the three-man commentating booth at Strikeforce and what its like to do color commentary with Gus Johnson handling the play-by-play… All this and much more.
If you were a fan of Ranallo already, you will love this. And if you didn’t really care for him or didn’t know much about him before, well maybe this will give you a different perspective on “The Bi-Polar Rock n’ Roller”.
PART 1
PART 2