B/R Interview with Mauro Ranallo: The Voice of Strikeforce and Pride

Mauro Ranallo is one of the most recognizable voices in MMA and arguably all of sportscasting. His unique style and personality have brought colorful commentary and announcing to promotions like Pride and Strikeforce, and he remains vigilant in his work. Bleacher Report's Gregory Chase spoke with Mauro to talk about his life, his journey, Strikeforce and even the shaved head!

Chase: Let’s start with your background. How did you come to be one of the most recognized commentators in MMA? Where did it all start? 

Ranallo: Well, it’s been a very amazing ride. I’ve shared this story many times, but for you sir, I will try to make it as short as possible. When it comes to yours truly, usually, that’s not the case! I do have a good case of verbal diarrhea, but here we go!

I believe every one of us has a gift, I believe every one of us human beings has a path in this life, and it is up to each of us, through circumstance, through knowledge, through awareness, through luck—and luck does play a huge part—to hopefully achieve that path and walk the path and realize the gift.

For me, at a very young age, I knew I wanted to be in the entertainment industry; I wanted to be an announcer. I was very smitten at an early age with the voice I heard coming from a radio. I remember my parents telling me that my biggest babysitter was the radio in my playpen, and I only settled down when I heard the disc jockey or the sportscasters. So from a very young age, I wanted to get into this field. I guess before I even realized what the term “visualization” meant; that’s exactly what I was doing, because at around five or six years old, I would see the TV, and even pro wrestling ,which was an early love of mine because of my parents coming over from Italy, not speaking the language here in Canada and pro wrestling was one of the early success stories on television.

In the 60’s, where there is the black-and-white, three-channel universe…wrestling was a big staple, especially in Vancouver, where my family located themselves. Because of that, I started to think, what would it be like to be a DJ? Or what would it be like to be a sportscaster? What would it be like to be involved in this industry? I think I surprised a lot of people in my family because I was a very shy kid at home…timid, I was a bookworm; I just loved to read; I loved to gain information from a very young age, so at 16 in my high school, I was attending a charity pro wrestling event for the school football team. The promoter of the event was actually doing the ring announcing, and my best friend, who unfortunately has since passed away, shared a huge love for pro wrestling with me.

We went and started kind of…you know, couple of teenage kids wanting to show off our knowledge to the promoter, and I got the feeling he was like “OK you punks, get away from me,” kinda thing [laughs]. He was doing his job and I was like “Oh what about this, and I know this and I know that,” and so, he eventually looked at me and said “hey kid, have you ever handled a microphone?” And unbeknownst to him at the time, I was already doing the school PA announcements, I was doing the PA announcements for the football team, the basketball team, hockey…any sport, any broadcasting, anything that had to do with a microphone I tried to jump into because I was just very eager and passionate about doing so. Again, very blessed to have these opportunities, and I will never forget what my high school meant to me and the first pro wrestling promotion, because not only did I end up doing the ring announcing that night, for the rest of the night; he asked for my name and number, and within a couple of weeks, I was at a television studio in British Columbia, BCTV, which is an affiliate of one of the major networks in Canada.

And from 1986 to 1989, I was part of the studio wrestling show known as All-Star wrestling. Granted, it wasn’t the stars of WWE or anything like that, but it was an opportunity for this kid who had no education in broadcasting, no training or anything, for me to get my baptism by fire. I fell in love with the fact that there was this pressure to deliver extemporaneously and to ad-lib and think on my feet. So not only did I get to showcase my speaking skills, but I became a part of the show, and there is something to be said about getting that rush.

For me, unfortunately, I think in many ways the early success, not financially, but opportunity wise, I think it kinda messed with me a little in the sense of I was all of a sudden getting a lot more attention, and then my best friend, who I have already eluded to…he passed away when we were 19 of a heart attack. And that kind of sent me for a huge loop, to the point where I actually ended up having a breakdown and being diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder, which I have successfully battled and been very publicly outspoken in my support for people who are dealing with the stigma that is still attached to a mental illness.

But in terms of my career, it started at 16; I got into radio at 17. And really, it’s an incredible roadmap since; everything I’ve wanted to do, I’ve been able to achieve, and that’s why I speak very openly and honestly when I say…everyone can do…and it’s so true. People say “oh, you’re lucky” I mean, you’re right, luck has something to do with it…but if you truly believe in something…if you SEE it…if you really want it for the right reasons…the line that I say is “conceive, believe, achieve”...and it’s amazing what can happen.

So for me, the career started for me at 16. I was brought into the life of one Bas Rutten in 2001 at a grappling tournament that I was attending to support a friend of mine. I had never met Bas before, but of course knew who he was: the King of Pancrase, UFC Heavyweight champion and the commentator with Pride. He and I ended up doing a very low-budget film together in which we played announcers.

So I was brought into a recording studio the first time I met Bas, and it’s no exaggeration when I say that the chemistry was instantaneous. We had everyone LITERALLY on the floor laughing, and we were just working off each other, and I thought “wow, this guy is SO cool!”, and he actually was the one that said “hey man, I really want to work with you again." So he took my contact information…and as usually the case, you’d get it all the time “my people will call your people,” and “oh, we’ll keep in touch!. So I didn’t really make more of it; I was just impressed and very humbled that a guy that I had respect for and someone who had achieved a lot of success, thought so highly of my work having just met me one day.

Little did I know that Bas Rutten would indeed be a man of his word, and one of the reasons why next to my immediate family, he and maybe a handful of others are the people I would take a bullet for. There would be no Mauro Ranallo in MMA, or maybe even period, to be truly honest with you…without Bas Rutten’s friendship, mentorship and just belief in my talents. Because two years later, after staying in touch intermittently, he gave me a phone call, left a message and said that there had been some changes with Pride FC. The Japanese office asked Bas if he know of anyone who could fill in for this new series Bushido, which was going to take place in October of 2003.

Stephen Quadros “The Fight Professor” who, of course, eventually I ended up working with and have a tremendous relationship with both personally and professionally, had been replaced. The gentleman who replaced him couldn’t make it to the show, so they asked Bas “Do you know anyone?” and Bas remembered working with me, was a fan of my work and asked me to send a tape. At the time, I was doing Muay Thai for Canada’s equivalent of ESPN, and on that tape, little did I know it would turn into a three-year dream job with Pride FC, which I announced 31 events; majority of them with “El Guapo” Bas Rutten and from there to Showtime, Elite XC, Strikeforce and so many other promotions in between. And of course, Canada’s first and most comprehensive half-hour mixed martial arts show, The MMA Show and The Score, my daily podcast.

So really, in a nutshell, those are the two main moments, and I have been very fortunate for the past 26 years to be able to say that I am living the dream. Everyday, I count my blessings. 

Chase: Now, you are one of the most prominent figures in MMA. What about this sport do you like compared to others and what draws you to it? 

Ranallo: Great question! For me, simply put sir, it is the purest form of competition. MMA to me represents really all of humanity at its core. Yes, it’s violent. Yes, it’s dangerous.

I talked about this recently with Dr. Johnny Benjamin in light of all the deaths in the NFL, the head trauma issues, the concussions and whatnot. Sort of just spanning all of those kinds of sports, including MMA, it goes back to time immemorial. It’s in our DNA. It’s something to me in martial arts, especially MMA, and not boxing or even pro wrestling, which, of course, is A scripted form of entertainment; but those gentlemen and ladies are talented athletes and talent actors and talented performers, and I don’t care if you like it or not; you have to have a respect for people who choose to chase their passion.

For me, what draws me to MMA, or the reason for it, sir, is I’ve played hockey…not very well. I’ve played football…not very well. Baseball, soccer…all not very well. I was a high school wrestler…not bad. Mixed martial arts, and just getting into a ring or a cage…and I’ve talked to Sarah Kaufman after her fight with Alexis Davis on my podcast, and she says her last fight was the first time she really felt like she was in a fight. She said “That’s fun, when you’re swinging for the fences and punching each other!”, and I’m like “Wait a minute…bring it back down psychologically…what is FUN about that?” and I think that speaks to it right there.

Here’s a young lady, with a high IQ, highly educated, very smart and yet talk to anyone involved in the sport, it’s a piece of them, it’s about their soul. It’s almost a spiritual thing, and for me, MMA is the greatest sport. Because like I said, these people, just to GET to the cage, what they have to do; the amount of training, the amount of discipline and the amount of focus. That’s the real reason why I’m so blessed to be an MMA announcer is that I get to cover the greatest athletes in the world.

You know, are there black sheep in the fraternity? Hey man, it’s a way of life and are we still learning certain things because this sport is still very young? Absolutely, but I’d say 99 percent of the people that I’ve come across: the athletes, the coaches and everyone that I’ve been fortunate enough to meet and interview and get to know…they’re just tremendous stories and backgrounds. So really, that’s what drew me more to MMA than every other thing that I’ve been involved in, is the fact that I’m always amazed and inspired by these stories. 

Chase: You’ve been doing voice commentary for a long time now; where do you think you’ve been at your best as far as commentating? Is there a particular promotion that you felt more comfortable or you found that you enjoyed it more? 

Ranallo: I would say for sure, the moment with Bas Rutten in Pride FC and having the opportunity to call so many of those memorable battles. Granted, MMA was still very much in its infancy; there wasn’t a lot of opportunities to cut one’s teeth as a MMA announcer, nor is there still today. And for me, because of my pro wrestling background and the fact that I always am a fan first and foremost. I’m a hyper person, I’m an intense individual, I’m a passionate person…and I just know what I’m feeling when I see something amazing, or when I’m into a game…when you emotionally invest in something, and for me, I need to be a fan of my work; otherwise, I won’t do it. Thankfully, there aren’t many things I’m not interested in in this world. That’s the problem; I’m interested in too much!

I got this pile of magazines sitting here that date back months that I’m still trying to catch up on! [laughs] For me, I would say the Pride era…but honestly, I’m one of those people who is never satisfied. I never believe that I’ve done anything good yet….like you’re only as good as your last effort, so to speak…and I just try to get better and better. I know there’s room for plenty of improvement in my play-by-play call, as a talk show host, as a human being. I just strive to improve every time and just give the people and the athletes what they deserve. I think the athletes deserve the respect of having someone put over their exploits, tell them whom these individuals really are.

I’m not a professional fighter, I’ve never been one…it’s not up to me to criticize what they’re doing or that kind of stuff. That’s where Pat Miletich, Frank Shamrock, and Joe Rogan’s whole world come in; they’ve trained, they’re the expert analysts.

But for me, I would say it’s the Pride days only because I was apart of something that was so iconic and something that will never be repeated. So for me to have been blessed, to have been a part of that whole era…you know, it could have ended there, and I would’ve had a good life! It seems like everyday I get a new opportunity, I’ve started to do audio books now, I’m doing more voiceover work in other fields…done a couple of F-1 and NASCAR commercials, I’d love to get into movie trailer work, commercial work, I got my daily talk show. So I’d say the best is yet to come, or I hope so anyway. I’ve had a VERY blessed career. 

Chase: What skills would you say you need to have in order to be a good commentator? 

Ranallo: I think first and foremost, preparation is key. You want to be able to have an organized set of notes or at least information that you feel will enhance the broadcast. Not enhance YOU, or your ego or personality…the broadcast. It’s about the entire presentation. Obviously, a good command of the English language is great; I excelled in English and Social Studies…education is very key as well, although the best education in broadcasting is probably hands-on. We know it’s a very cutthroat industry and it’s becoming more and more competitive.

But for any aspiring broadcaster, I always tell them you need to be committed to the craft, you need to be passionate about the industry, because there’s a good chance you won’t make money for a while. I didn’t do it for money for many, many years! [laughs] Even now, to be honest with you, I live comfortably, but it’s not ever about the money nor will it ever be about the money for me. I get to do something everyday, I wake up and I smile…can’t wait to do what I do. My family, my parents had to work to the bone…my mother’s on long-term disability…and knowing that, I know what it was like; for millions of people what it’s like now. And that’s why I never take for granted the opportunities that have been afforded me and that’s why I like to give back. Because I know [laughs] you know, my karma is hanging in the balance! And I truly believe you get out of life what you put into it.

So the biggest piece of advice is preparation, and just passion. You have to be genuinely passionate. If you are just wanting to be on TV to be famous, or if you just want the accolades and the riches or whatever…you’re in the wrong industry. And to be honest with you, you’ll be chewed up and spit out before you even get in the front door. 

Chase: You mentioned about enhancing and being prepared. Now you have had countless memorable quotes, and you have some great one-liners that come out during your commentating. Are those things you think of beforehand, do you think of them during the fights and are some out of nowhere? 

Ranallo: Great question, and one that has been asked many times in different ways! I have been who I am for 26 years of my career. If you go back and see video footage of me from 1986 with the All-star pro wrestling promotion and my Flock of Seagulls mullet…maybe the voice was a little higher…I was doing what I do back then.

When I say preparation…I had an impromptu meeting with legendary pro wrestling personality “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, who was one of the best heels ever, one of the best promo men ever, and he was one of the stars growing up that I got into with the promotion that I actually ended up working with. But Roddy Piper was in the studio, maybe 86’ 87, everyone had said, “Man, this kid can really talk,” and he took me aside and said “you know, you got the gift of the gab, you’re good on the stick, the microphone.”

He goes “What do you do?” He said what you should do is grab a book, little book and write notes and quotes you hear in movies, or jokes you hear or things that come to you. I said “Well sir, I HAVE one of those books!”

I constantly…even on my show, everyday, I write my own script. There’s a thing I do now called the “Maurologue” and extent of a monologue, where I give my take on pop culture and comedy, and again, whether it’s through repetition, whether it through experience, whether it’s the way I was born…I just am able to be very quick on my feet. I am able to ad-lib at a moment’s time. So, I sometimes go into an event saying, “you know what? If this happens, this happens, I should see where this is,” but I’m not trying to be funny, I’m not trying to steal the attention…and to be honest with you, most of the stuff that is memorable is in the here and now. I try to live in the moment, but I’m not going to lie to you, anything I’ve said comes from me, but yeah, maybe before broadcast, I’ll go “oh, I gotta make sure I say this, because that could be funny there.”

So when people say “oh, it’s already written down” or whatever, it’s still an ad-lib, but yeah, a prepared one. And one would be surprised…some of us make it look very easy; the art of the ad-lb as it were. That’s what it really comes down to. I’m constantly looking at tying in pop culture events to the sport of MMA to my broadcast. I want to cover as many people as possible. I want to speak to the girlfriend that’s not a fight fan, but is forced to sit on the couch and give her a reason to be interested. And mom and grandma…again, I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, and in fact, I pride myself on NOT being everyone’s cup of tea, because that means that it is unique, it is original and it’s something I pride myself on being.

I can’t honestly say that I try to pattern myself after anyone. I have a lot of people I respect in the industry as broadcasters, but for me, it’s who I am…I’m not going to change. I hope to get better, but my style is what it is. I hope to lend some intelligence, some humor and at the end of the day, I just want to compliment these amazing athletes with all they deserve. 

Chase: You mentioned you hope to get better. Is there any area of your job you think you can improve on? 

Ranallo: To be honest with you, I would say less is more. I still, like everybody else…let the fights breathe a little bit. And in fact, my mentor at Showtime; my boss,. David Dinkins, has really done a terrific job of taking me under the wing, and I’m really grateful to the pros, and Stephen Espinoza and all fine folks at Showtime….and Kelly Kahl at CBS. I mean, to be apart of the first ever broadcast team on CBS was a highlight of my career, and it still gives me goosebumps! I’m a small-town kid from British Columbia who had a dream and is now living the dream. For me, the improvement, I think, like anyone else in this industry…less talk. I need to learn to allow the action to speak more, and even get what I’m saying off in shorter sound bites, and just always improve. Always improve. So for me, I would say the one area still is just learn to do my job with less verbiage. 

Chase: Similar to the last question, where have you seen the biggest improvements in your announcing and commentating over your career? 

Ranallo: I would say just the fact that I…and maybe people listening or reading this will laugh at this[laughs]…I hope I’m becoming more mature in terms of that I’m not always going crazy. I know sometimes people say, “Ah he’s yelling! He’s going crazy!”

We’re hearing this noise in the building, the energy…I get caught up in everything. I LIVE in that moment. When the crowd goes nuts, I want to go nuts! When there’s an amazing knockout, I’m reacting like I hope you are on the couch! And that’ just ME! I can’t change that! Can someone else do it differently? Sure! Mike Goldberg, Mike Schiavello…everybody does their own thing. For me, that’s where it is. And thankfully, some people love it, others don’t and I just hope that at the end of the day, I hope they don’t just go crazy over an announcer. I’m just an announcer, after all. That’s one thing about MMA that really makes me go “WOW, I can’t believe how passionate these guys are!” Because I come from a majoring sport background, I’ve covered other sports at a high level, and fans were passionate.

But for me, it was all like, “hey, great job, Mauro” or nothing…you know, whatever. Now, I come into MMA…everything is scrutinized. You know, “Stitch” Duran, the referees, the announcers…it’s just everyone who is anyone in MMA, you got either a fan or a detractor…and I like that. I really do…because the fans are what this sport is all about.

But I would say my biggest improvement is getting the thicker skin and just getting into the moment…knowing when a story is being told, and I’m a part of it, but I’m not taking away from it. That’s my thing. I’m always my biggest critic, and I only listen to my broadcast or watch a fight card once with my volume up to listen to my commentary. And it’s usually to go “oh shoot! Why did I do that?” or “oh man, why didn’t I say THAT!” So it’s to critique myself. But after that, I’ll watch the fights again, but the volume might be down [laughs] because I’m not in love with my voice…so for me, I just think I’m getting better at accepting…”You know what, Mauro? At the end of the day, you do a pretty damn good job; you should enjoy it a little bit!” 

Chase: You’ve done great job with Strikeforce for a while now. What is your take on Strikeforce? Many feel it is slowly bleeding, while others think it will be turned into sort of a minor league promotion. Is it something you see lasting for a long time or see changing in the near future? 

Ranallo: I’m going to be honest with you, I really don’t know. As a fan, and someone who gets a paycheck from Showtime sports, I want it to last forever! Yes, there’s less events…we know what’s happened with Dana White saying he’s removing himself from that.  But I can tell you that Showtime is invested in MMA, Showtime wants to be in the MMA business and I think they are going to stay in the MMA business. And Strikeforce, if it were possible to just have some added dimension from the UFC, the UFC brand is a juggernaut, it’s the dominant brand…but Strikeforce is also known for quality fights; and yeah, you talk about it being blend of talent, or less events or the B-league or whatever. I really don’t like referring to it as a minor league or a B-league…I know how the public and some of the athletes talk about it. These athletes who are in Strikeforce, like at the last event, we had two tremendous, compelling fights that would be main events in the UFC, let’s face it. Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier in the Heavyweight Grand Prix final, the trilogy of Josh Thompson re-challenging Gilbert Melendez…and I’ll tell you something, the rematch…the fight that Melendez won the title back from Thompson; one of the best MMA fights I’ve ever called. Like, AMAZING back and forth battle.

And so, there is still SO much talent still in Strikeforce, and I think that’s what we have to celebrate, and what we have to promote and all we have is today. I can’t tell you what the future’s going to bring, but I got a lot of fights to look forward to under the Strikeforce banner, and I’m just hoping that…it would be nice for Strikeforce to still exist someway somehow. I have my ideas on what I would like it to be, but at the end of the day, it’s not up to me. I’m just a contracted employee of Showtime Sports; I love working with Showtime, and I love calling MMA on Showtime and I hope we get to do it for many years to come. 

Chase: Now you are going to be doing the narration for the audio book Caged. Have you started on that? You’ve already read the book prior, so what are your thoughts on it, and how did you come to be the voice for Cameron Conway’s book? 

Ranallo: It’s almost complete, in fact, sir! I got a few more chapters! And really, to be honest with you, the first half-hour segment was already supposed to be up this week on audiobooks.com, but I guess there’s some technical issues…but no, the majority of the book has already been recorded, but you’re right; I’m in the homestretch right now and I appreciate the opportunity just to say…you know, I talk about living the dream and having been blessed…Cameron Conway is an amazing human being, whose early life wasn’t so much a dream. Dealing with an abusive father and a tough upbringing…but again, a kid, who I think just like myself…an old soul and someone who was forced to grow up quick. He’s an amazingly talented writer, and amazingly talented human being.

This book is inspiring. It’s his memories…he’s a professional mixed martial artist who is also an award-winning poet who has taught at John Hopkins’ writing courses. He’s a guy who believes in humanity, personal beliefs in helping humanity, who believes in bringing a voice to the silence. Now, as we speak, he’s in Thailand doing research on Malaria, and I think that’s going to be his next book.

This is a guy who, whether you are a fan of MMA or not; whether you are a fan of self-help books or not…this is a page-turner. It’s very compelling…it runs a gamut of emotions…and just to be able to lend my voice to these words was an amazing experience, because in many ways, it felt like I was writing these words…I just can’t write it as well as he can! But you will be able to relate to it. If you don’t relate to it, it means you’re not human. If you’re a human being, you’re going to find something to relate to in this book. And for my first effort as an audiobook narrator, I could not have asked for a better tome. 

Chase: Do you have any favorite fighters? 

Ranallo: Because of the nature of my job, and I truly mean it…man…you go into a ring or cage, you give it all, win or lose…I’m a fan. That’s really how I look at it. I mean, we all know who the superstars have become and the legends have become, and I’ve been able to speak and call many of their fights. But I mean, from the Pride crew, to the UFC to Strikeforce…I can’t say I have a favorite, but I enjoy them all. I am so happy to be able to talk to these amazing citizens. There has been so many amazing athletes, and that’s why my blood does boil; that’s what gets me really angry is when all these critics of the sport take personal shots at the individuals involved, because they are some of the most amazing people I’ve come across.

Are there some bad apples? Absolutely; it’s called life. But there’s so many inspiring individuals…and again, I’m just so glad that I get to be a small part of it. 

Chase: You commentate over MMA, which incorporates a wide variety of disciplines, but is there a particular style or martial art that you enjoy more than others? 

Ranallo: I would say Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Catch wrestling. I’m a big fan of the submission game. I really do love the grappling aspect, because in many ways, that’s what separates us from the siblings. Like, striking is great, but there’s boxing, there’s Kickboxing, Muay…oh I love Muay Thai, called a lot of Muay Thai fights. To me, Muay Thai and submission wrestling, call it what you will, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, catch wrestling. Antonio Nogueira and Josh Barnett, their first meeting in Pride was an amazing grappling contest, I love that kind of stuff!

Conversely, what can you say about the striking prowess of a Jose Aldo, Silva, Jones…I love all kinds of aspects, but for me, I’m really intrigued by…I would say the grappling is the part I like best, when it’s done at the highest level. 

Chase: What are some of your hobbies outside of commentating? Is there anything about you that fans and the MMA world doesn’t know about? 

Ranallo: Some know about this, some don’t, but I love my original programming on Showtime, HBO, AMC, FX…I love my documentaries. Big fan of documentaries. Love all sports cover. I follow the playoffs in almost every league. It’s funny, because people say “where do you find all the time?” and I’m like “Well, this is all I do!” Because it is my life, it is LIFE. I got two gorgeous nephews, I don’t have any children, I’m not married, but the other big passion of mine is music.

The weird thing, without having ever taking a piano lesson or anything like that, I can mimic almost any song perfectly within seconds of hearing it. I’ve got what they call I guess perfect ear or perfect pitch, so I spend a lot of time on my keyboard. I love just composing stuff. I’m also, believe it or not, pretty good at coming up with extemporaneous lyrics! I am able to rhyme rather quickly. So to be honest with you, I’ve got some things that keep me going, but they all tie into what I do anyway. Like if you listen to my show, listen to my broadcasting…and this is something I really like...I’m an open book! Anything about me that I think is worth knowing, people are going to know about, and I hope to bring out that for them.

I want to know what makes people tick. I want to know why we’re doing what we’re doing. I always want to just hopefully put a smile on someone’s face and try to help as much as I can, those who are less fortunate. I don’t mean to be a martyr or sanctimonious on my soapbox; I just wish people…and this goes for everyone…just have to learn to respect each other a little more, and just let’s make this life as good as we an be. And if you don’t like MMA, well, there’s lots of other stuff out there to love! 

Chase: So I have to ask, why the shaved head? 

Ranallo: The most liberating thing I have EVER done in my life…one thing about me that everyone who has followed my career for any mount of time will know, is that there has probably never been two shows in a row where my hair is the same style. My head was cursed with straight hair, I always had a full head of hair and I went through a perm in high school that sucked, I shaved my head into a Mohawk for wrestling, I had the bleached blonde hair, I had the mullet, I had braids in my hair…I get to Showtime and I’m trying to come up with a unique, cool style for broadcasting. I went through the Pat Riley.

And then this one day, I just said, “you know what…what’s the point…what is going ON here?! Everyone in MMA; Bas Rutten, Dana White…we’re a shaved-head fraternity! And so, very impulsively one morning, I get up, went to the washroom…and slowly started chopping away, not even with proper scissors by the way…then I took a razor and went right to the skin, and I’m like, “you know what, you did it.”

Thankfully, my head is shaped where I can actually pull it off. And even though it’s been…you know…whatever people have their comments…and I know my mom maybe is not too happy with it…I can’t tell you how liberating it is, and I wish I would have done it a lot sooner. The one thing I have to do is ask Erik Koch for some tanning tips…but other than that, I’m very happy with the shaved head, and it will probably stay with me forever. 

Chase: Lastly, who wins in a fight between Mauro Ranallo and Joe Rogan.  What round, what method? Give us a breakdown of that fight. 

Ranallo: If anyone ever saw NewsRadio, where Joe Rogan took on Andy Dick in a similar situation…Joe Rogan would win, probably by death, within 11 seconds…if he had any form of knockout, tapout, whatever he would like to do. I would probably have to resort to fish-hooking, eye-gouging…I would say pulling hair, but he doesn’t have hair…no, Joe Rogan’s a bad man. He’s a badass, and I can honestly say it would not even be worth watching [laughs].

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