What made him one of the most beloved UFC color commentators ever was his professionalism when announcing fights. He’s also a retired US Marine, and he worked as a UFC color commentator for quite a while. Brian Stann is a former MMA fighter that competed in the UFC for years. It made him dear to me because it was just hilarious. You wouldn’t even know it happened if there weren’t for Michael Bisping, who uploaded a video on social media of Brendan under a table, still announcing like nothing’s happening. While he only has around 5.5 thousand followers on Instagram, I’m sure many people remember him hiding under the commentator table in 2019.įans at UFC Mexico City descended into chaos, throwing beer cups and other debris towards the octagon after the match between Yair Rodriguez and Jeremy Stephens was cut short after only 15 seconds due to an accidental eye poke.įitzgerald quickly found cover under a table. He’s still not that popular as a UFC commentator, but his podcast Fitz Nation is gaining steam quickly. He now covers numerous events on ESPN and ESPN+, and while he might not have the experience or the knowledge of, for instance, Joe Rogan, he’s still a valuable asset to the UFC booth team. He sticks to what he knows and lets the experts comment on the expert stuff.įitzgerald is a young face in the UFC that became an announcer and commentator for the promotion in 2017 when UFC parted ways with FOX and signed with ESPN. And he's out! Oh my God, he's won the title back at 32! Muhammad Ali." That was Carpenter at his best.Brendan Fitzgerald might not be as well-known as some other UFC commentators, analysts, and announcers, but I love his style. And I don't think Foreman's going to get up. The fight is in round eight and then Carpenter describes the stunning end: "Ali, at times now, looks as though he can barely lift his arms up. His finest moments behind the microphone were in Zaire, Ali versus Foreman, with experts fearing for Ali's life. Stracey and Charlie Magri long before they marched from amateur obscurity to world-title glory. He knew fighters like Bruno, Barry McGuigan, John Conteh, John H. It is often forgotten that he worked for the BBC at every Olympic Games from 1956 until 1992, and Carpenter knew that there is no better time for getting to know tomorrow's professional champions than during the slow hours of a major amateur tournament. Each year at the ABA finals he would produce his often grubby cards and make his precise notes for the fights that were about to start. One of Carpenter's strongest points was his ability, due in part to his days on a newspaper, to do his own research, and he possessed an index card collection that made me envious. Carpenter was doing what millions in Britain were doing during the brief and even exchanges before Tyson ruined Bruno's dream. It was an astonishing lapse and at the same time it secured Carpenter a special place in the minds of all boxing fans. It was during Bruno's world title fight with Mike Tyson at the Hilton in Las Vegas in 1989 that Carpenter seemed to leave his seat, abandon his professionalism and follow his heart by screaming encouragement live from ringside. A double act was quickly established and at some point "Big Frank", as Carpenter often called him, coined the phrases: "Where's 'Arry?" and "Know what I mean, 'Arry?"Ĭarpenter was at first a reluctant participant in the often inane banter, but there was no doubting the enormous affection he had for Bruno. Carpenter was there from the start, and the BBC, with its exclusive promoters Jarvis Astaire, Terry Lawless and Mickey Duff, delivered fight after fight. Bruno was only 18 when he won the ABA's heavyweight title that night, and he turned professional and fought for the first time in 1982. It was in May 1980, at the ABA finals inside the decaying Wembley Arena, that Carpenter first commentated on Frank Bruno, the fighter who would come to be most closely associated with him.
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