Mike Goldberg Explains Story Behind Sitting In The Crowd At UFC Fight Night 103

After wrapping up his nearly 20-year career with the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the UFC 207: Rousey vs. Nunes pay-per-view this past December, longtime UFC announcer Mike Goldberg popped up in the crowd at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona to watch his friend and UFC Hall Of Famer B.J. Penn come out of retirement for a main event bout with Yair Rodriguez.

During a recent episode of Ariel Helwani’s popular weekly webcast, “The MMA Hour,” Goldberg explained the story behind being spotted in the crowd as “just another fan” only two weeks and change after his final assignment alongside longtime broadcast partner Joe Rogan for the Ronda Rousey vs. Amanda Nunes-led UFC 207 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“B.J. Penn is one of my best friends,” Goldberg told Helwani during the live interview. “B.J. Penn is one of my favorite people in the world, and I went that night for B.J. Penn.”

Goldberg continued, “I also went to that fight that night in my hometown to say thank you, because going back to what you had asked about [UFC] 207 — everything was very laser-focused on the direct people who were with me and back in the dressing room. I didn’t get [a chance] to say thank you to the Reed Harrises and the Joe Williams’, and Mike The Photographers and everybody else in the truck, because I didn’t see them.”