As was the case for UFC 208, there will be a three-man commentary booth for UFC 209.
With Mike Goldberg out after twenty years as the voice of the UFC, the promotion switched things up for its first pay-per-view event of 2017, as UFC 208 featured a three-man booth consisting of Jon Anik, Joe Rogan, and Daniel Cormier. Whether you loved or hated the set-up, the UFC will be repeating this formula for UFC 209: Woodley vs. Thompson 2 on March 4th. The only difference is former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will take Cormier’s spot at cageside. This news was announced during the UFC Halifax post-fight show on Sunday.
Cruz’s first foray into live fight commentary came in December 2015, when he analyzed a handful of bouts for UFC on FOX 17, including the main event between Rafael dos Anjosand Donald Cerrone. His first full event was done alongside Jon Anik last September, at UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Lansberg in Brasilia, Brazil. Cruz recently lost his bantamweight belt to Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207, and currently does not have a fight booked.
There have been rumblings that longtime sports talk show host Jim Rome is lined up to take over Mike Goldberg’s spot on pay-per-views, and while Dana White never referenced him by name, he hopes to have his commentary dream team assembled before July. For now, Anik has been promoted to PPV broadcasts (in addition to his roles on FS1, Fight Pass, and FOX), while veteran broadcaster Todd Grisham just made his play-by-play debut at UFC Halifax.
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