In a new interview on Ariel Helwani’s ‘MMA Hour’ show UFC commentator Mike Goldberg finally speaks out about the real reason behind his recent absence from the broadcast booth and the false rumors of drug addiction that swept the internet afterwards.
“I ended up coming home from Brazil with a virus, an upper respiratory infection,” Goldberg told Helwani. “I ended up being hospitalized a couple times for it, just because they were making sure they could get my lungs open. And just the complications of, I’m an asthmatic, I have been since high school, the complications with trying to get proper medications to get this virus out of my body, I’m not the first guy to come back from Brazil not feeling 100 percent, it just kind of spiraled.
“I’ve had throat infections, chest infections I’ve had a head cold, during the 800 NHL games I called, in the 200 or so UFCs or so I’ve done since 1997. So yeah, I’m a prideful guy, I consider myself a fighter as far as my broadcast spot, I want to be in my seat at cageside during UFC 155, but it broke my heart that I wasn’t able to do so. I was kicking and screaming because I wanted to call the fights, I wanted to call the [Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez] rematch, I wanted to be there for a big show just like every big show I want to be there.
“To put it simply, it was the perfect storm, my immune system was never really able to get back in balance, and then complications came, my voice started to go, and I wasn’t able to get the pre-production done, and I wasn’t able to voice it 100 percent, and I wasn’t able to get it together for UFC 155.”
Goldberg also shot down rumors that he had become addicted to Adderall, stating firmly that “I absolutely do not” have a drug problem.
“It was disappointing, it was hurtful, and yet the outpour of support by the majority of the people on social media, on Twitter was very heartfelt and it was appreciated,” Goldberg said of many sites decision to run with the story [incidentally, https://mmainsight.com chose not to] and MMA fans reactions to it. “People like to see people fail, people like gossip, people people like to think the worst, people unfortunately that’s the society we live in. “
The good news is that Goldberg will be back in the broadcast booth this weekend alongside Joe Rogan to call the action at ‘UFC On FOX 6’.
Watch Goldberg’s full interview below courtesy of MMAfighting.com.
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