There’s one moment that the UFC’s former lead commentator will always remember.
Every year brings with it shocking finishes and unexpected upsets contained in the Octagon. The UFC’s schedule for 2025 concluded with certainly one of the highest upsets from the last 12 months, as Petr Yan ended Merab Dvalishvili’s title reign in Las Vegas.
The Russian is in good company in terms of pulling off what many deemed unimaginable. From Julianna Pena’s submission win over Amanda Nunes to Sean Strickland’s dominant display against Israel Adesanya, loads of fights from recent years come up when fans discuss the highest upsets of all time.
For ex-UFC commentator Mike Goldberg, though, the most important got here back in 2016.
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Mike Goldberg still gets ‘chills’ from Michael Bisping’s UFC title win against Luke Rockhold
Goldberg led the decision within the UFC from 1997 until his exit in 2016. The 61-year-old was renowned for his famous catchphrases, which included “it’s throughout!” after finishes and “here we go!” in the beginning of fights.
He looked back on his time commentating for MMA’s leading promotion during an appearance on The MMA Lab’s Between Rounds podcast late last 12 months.
Goldberg highlighted Michael Bisping’s shocking knockout of Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 because the moment that also gives him “chills.”
“When Michael Bisping knocked out Luke Rockhold, that was a magical moment,” Goldberg said.
“And nothing against Luke, pointless to say, but that was one which I still get chills. I won’t ever, ever forget.
“It was only a magical moment, and an unexpected (one),” he continued. “If you take a look at fighters who got here in and got title shots 4 or five fights in, (Bisping) was 20 fights within the UFC when he finally got a title shot and took advantage of it.
“(Rockhold) was so dominant on the time and Michael got the knockout, and it was a really special night.”
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Luke Rockhold has lost eight out of 10 combat sports fights since losing his UFC title
It’s protected to say that things haven’t gone well for Rockhold since having his UFC title suddenly ended by Bisping in 2016.
His UFC tenure concluded with three straight losses after he had initially bounced back against David Branch. That run included Rockhold’s jaw-breaking knockout loss to Jan Blachowicz.
There hasn’t been much success for the Californian away from the Octagon, with Rockhold suffering violent losses to Mike Perry in BKFC and Darren Till within the boxing ring.
Rockhold most recently lost to Colby Covington when the pair each made their debuts in Real American Freestyle on January 10.
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