Comments I have read or heard since the news has broken:
"only person who is an acceptable replacement IMO is Michael Schiavello"
"I would love to see him replace Mauro Ranallo"
"They should replace Jimmy with Todd Harris, I thought he did a great job in the WEC"
"You should team up with Pat Miletich"
"Love to see you and Rogan work together man"
No matter what your opinions of the broadcasting ability of the people that were suggested and whether or not they should replace me or vice-versa, the fact is that NONE of the aforementioned combinations are possible.
A standard broadcasting team consists of a color commentator alongside a play-by-play commentator. Each of those people have VERY specific roles and have to work in tandem in order to make a broadcast work.
An easy way to keep the division of labor straight is to remember that the play-by-play commentator is in charge of the "who and what". He tells the audience who is fighting, what their hometown is, truck colors, and biographical info to familiarize the people with the fighter as a person. If they played soccer as a kid and were raised by their grandparents, the play-by-play commentator is the one who will tell you about it.
During the fight itself the "what" side of the equation means that the play-by-play commentator will narrate the actual physical action of the fight, calling out strikes and takedowns etc. as they occur. They also serve as the bridge between the audience and the production itself, bringing them back from commercial breaks, adding sponsor tags, and plugging upcoming events.
The color commentator is in charge of the "why and how". The play-by-play commentator will point out an overhand right(the "what"), and its the color commentator's job to explain why the fighter chose to use that particular punch, the strategy behind it, and the effect it may have on the outcome of the fight. My job is to provide insight into an action that comes from experience in the sport. This comes into play a LOT when it comes to the grappling side of MMA. The casual fan has no idea how to set up far-side armbar, explaining it to them while keeping the information within the context of the fight is a big part of my job. You never want to give a long-winded explanation of something that will take longer than the action itself. Explaining how to defend a choke while the fighter is tapping is a good way to look like an idiot, not that I haven't done it more than once.
While the play-by-play guy is usually in charge of general biographical info, background that pertains to the fight itself is usually my domain. I will talk about the fighter's team, his history against similar opponents, and the specific training that might impact the fight itself. Obviously, as the guy in the both who has actually fought, I might have a personal or professional connection to the fighter or his team and that insight is always useful.
A typical color/play-by-play exchange will go something like this:
Play-by-play: "Good right hand by Melendez!"
Color: "That's the best punch against a southpaw, Cesar Gracie told me that they've been working on that shot a lot in camp."
Play-by-play lays down the bricks, color fills in the mortar, that's pretty much how the house is constructed. Problems generally occur when commentators get their roles confused. Its important to keep in mind that most play-by-play commentators are extremely knowledgeable. Mike Goldberg has been doing UFC events for over 13 years. He is familiar with every submission, every striking combination, and every defensive tactic a fighter could use. A big part of his job is to understand his role and "throw" to Joe Rogan when it comes to tactical questions that an expert should answer. Usually when Goldberg says to Rogan "What do you think he's going for here Joe?" he has a probably pretty good idea of what the guy is going for, but he understands his role and know the broadcast will flow a lot better with Rogan taking care of the technical aspects of the fight. A play-by-play guy who thinks he is a color commentator will never give his partner space to talk and will fill in every possible second with his own voice, its never fun to listen to.
On the color side, few things are more annoying than a color guy yelling over his play-by-play partner. The nuts and bolts of the action are the domain of the play-by-play announcer. If the color guy cant add any technical details he should know when to lay off an let his partner call the action, we never need two guys announcing a left hook. The end of the fight is particularly important timing-wise. The finish of the fight is a play-by-play specialty, it's where he adds his tag-line and wraps up the action. Goldberg's signature "IT IS ALLLLLL OVER" is well known to everyone in MMA and Rogan knows when to back off and let him do his thing. Perhaps the most annoying thing to hear in an MMA broadcast is the play-by-play guy calling the ending of a fight while the color guy screams "OH, OH, OH!!!" at the top of his lungs.
Teamwork, timing, and the ability to temper one's ego are THE biggest factors in a successful broadcast team. It takes time to build the necessary relationship. If your partner is out to steamroll you and in love with the sound of his own voice then the broadcast will suffer. Trust that your partner will help you and you will help him goes a long way in getting through a 3-hour event.
For the record: Michael Schiavello, Mike Goldberg, Mauro Renallo, and Todd Harris are play-by-play announcers. I cant do their job, and they can't do mine. I can work alongside any of them as a broadcast team, but our skills are mutually exclusive.
Joe Rogan, Pat Miletich, Frank Trigg, and Frank Shamrock are color announcers. The only way I can work alongside them is if there is a 3-man booth (usually consisting of one play-by-play announcer and 2 color commentators, a format used mostly by Strikeforce).
