Special Feature
John Gooden | 10 Moments From 10 Years
Veteran Broadcaster Reflects On His First Decade In UFC With Some Of His Favorite Memories
There’s a funny trope in the film industry that says if you’re making a documentary, you should absolutely get someone British to narrate it; the idea being that the accent, the command of the English language and the earnest delivery would immediately give your subject an air of credibility.
For the past ten years, John Gooden has been delivering enormous amounts of such credibility to UFC broadcasts. But although he hails from Watford, England, his accent and dulcet tones are a mere bonus when he’s on the microphone. The credibility that he brings to his work is derived directly from a life spent in martial arts.
“I'm not a trained broadcaster, never got into TV and was trained in a certain way. I got into this through practicing martial arts. I was on the judo mat when I was seven. Karate, boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, MMA. I'm still, to this day, part of a fight team. I've always thought about practicing and training, but in a broadcast sense. I definitely take a lot of value from being on the mats and continuing my own personal journey because it keeps me being informed, inquisitive, and just a little bit sharper when it comes to calling the plays.”
10 Years With John Gooden
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10 Years With John Gooden
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Gooden first appeared to UFC audiences back in 2014 alongside Dan Hardy, largely covering events in the UK and the rest of Europe. In the years since, his talents have brought him to the rest of globe as a presenter, analyst and play-by-play commentator for the biggest fight promotion in the world.
But Gooden is also something of a media renaissance man. On top of his broadcasting duties, he’s busy with any number of complementary projects as a writer, producer, interviewer, podcaster and content creator that expand his footprint as one of the most essential voices in the MMA space.
“I'm really passionate about mixed martial arts,” he says of his apparent tirelessness. “And I'm just as passionate about discovering about people and then helping them tell their story.”
Speaking of stories, nearly every UFC fighter remembers where they were when they got the call to the big show, and Gooden’s rivals most of those.
“I will never forget the day when I got the call to say I will be on a UFC broadcast. My former life was as an electrician, and I was at a home in Hertfordshire assessing some water damage to a lighting circuit in a conservatory. And just as the client was coming towards me to ask me some questions, which I should have fielded, I saw the UFC calling me. So I had to make them wait. I took the call, and I had to suppress my emotions until I got out of that house. I got into my van and was screaming, pounding the steering wheel. I couldn't quite believe that I was finally going to get this opportunity to work with the greatest combat sports promotion in the world.”
Ten years is a long time, particularly in a company, a sport and an entertainment landscape that all move at breakneck speed. So ahead of his appearance at UFC Paris on September 28, we caught up with Gooden and asked him to pick ten moments from the last decade that he holds near and dear.
My Debut
UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs Manuwa, March 8, 2014
I guess a great place to start was the very first time I picked up a UFC microphone. Boy oh boy, nothing could have prepared me for the UFC production. It was like sailing choppy waters, but there was one particular moment that just comes back to sort of haunt me. It was both good and bad, and it's that moment where we open up the main card.
Watch UFC London 2014 On UFC FIGHT PASS
Now UFC fans know all about this. They know that the presenters are about to get up and do their thing. So when I got out of the commentary position, turned around to sort of face the crowd, I didn't anticipate everyone to be there with their phone, with the lights on.
It was like a starry night all around the lens, and I'm trying to focus on those at home. But I just couldn't get away from the fact that there were probably what felt like 100 people with their phones out.
But I would say this: everyone was so supportive. Probably more to Dan Hardy, who was standing next to me, but I felt like they were rooting for us in this little broadcast position, and it made a real difference in that moment. I wouldn't say I was relaxed, but it helped. But boy, did I gulp before my first on-camera for the UFC.
UFC Dublin
UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs Brandão, July 19, 2014
Also in 2014 was that big McGregor card in Dublin. Now I was very lucky. Before my time with the UFC, I worked at Cage Warriors, where we had the explosion of Irish mixed martial arts, and I'd gotten a little bit closer to the guys from SBG Ireland and John Kavanagh, one of whom, of course, was the notorious one, Conor McGregor.
First of all, to see this guy that I'd been commentating on since 2010 climb the ranks into a position where he was headlining his own card in his hometown was pretty awesome.
Watch UFC Dublin 2014 On UFC FIGHT PASS
Everyone's heard about that night. It was absolutely bonkers. The fans played such an important role in that one. The Irish fighters did an incredible job of keeping the momentum going. So, for me to be a small part of that celebration of Irish mixed martial arts is something that I will take to the grave and one of the biggest moments in my broadcasting career.
My First World Title Fight
UFC Fight Night: Jedrzejczyk vs Penne, June 20, 2015
My next big moment was the very first UFC world title fight that I commentated on, and it was Joanna Jędrzejczyk against Jessica Penne.
Watch UFC Berlin 2014 on UFC FIGHT PASS
Something additional to this: I also get to produce a lot of features for the UFC. So, I go out in Europe and I visit with the fighters, and one of the first features I ever did was visiting Joanna in Olsztyn, Poland, which was somewhere that I would never, ever have visited before. And she was so cool, so lovely as we've gotten to know. And now congratulations to a Hall of Famer.
I felt a little bit closer to that story, having seen her at home with her family in the gym and then, of course, to be there Octagonside and to have some of my words to lay over her incredible performance that night, that will always be a standout memory for me.
Inside The Octagon
2014 - 2021
My next one is not so much a moment, it's a thing. And it was the show Inside The Octagon. Back in 2014, Dan Hardy and I were given this task of bringing the conversations that we were having privately to the screen. Amanda Lawson used to hear Dan and I just geeking out on fights, and she said, I think we should make a program around this.
There was something called Monday Night Football back in the UK, as well, where a couple of analysts stood around a screen and then they broke down the sport. Well, we did it for mixed martial arts. I'm very proud of the work that we did there, and we built this show to then get an enormous amount of views, and I had a really good following. I learned so much doing that show. I had so much fun. I miss it dearly, but I'm pleased that there are still people to this day that talk and ask about Inside The Octagon.
UFC Fight Night: Silva vs Bisping
February 27, 2016, London
I couldn't come up with ten big moments without speaking about this event: Bisping versus Silva in London. It was like a UFC FIGHT PASS pay-per-view. All of the UFC executives were in town and all eyes were on this particular event.
Watch UFC London 2016 on UFC FIGHT PASS
Personally, growing up, there were two fighters that I looked up to most closely: Michael Bisping--he was the guy from the UK--and Anderson Silva. I used to try--and fail--to emulate Anderson Silva whenever I got on the pads. So, to see these two Goliaths of the sport go toe-to-toe was just incredible. And then I was going to be a part of it in the broadcast? Well, that is just amazing.
And, of course, Bisping did such an incredible job that night overcoming Anderson Silva. Just an epic performance and the drama that went with it, as well. Always hats off to Michael Bisping, who, without him, I probably wouldn't be here talking to you guys now. So that is truly one of my greatest moments.
UFC 205: Alvarez vs McGregor
November 12, 2016, New York City
Another really great fond memory was a rare trip, by this moment in my career, stateside, and I got to visit UFC 205 in New York City.
Watch UFC 205 on UFC Fight Pass
I got to witness the notorious one achieve double-champ status, but my role on that day was to host the purple carpet just outside Madison Square Garden, in the shadow of the great Empire State Building. I had a lot of fun. It wasn't something that I was normally doing for the UFC, but I was outside, live hosting with a really cool producer, and we had a bunch of UFC fighters and celebrities come through, loads of fan interaction, and it was just a challenge on my skill set that I think helped me grow as a broadcaster.
But then to end the night by going inside and watching some of the greatest mixed martial artists throw down, including Conor? It was a very, very special night for me.
Up Close
UFC Fight Pass
One of my more significant achievements with the UFC was my Up Close series that I started, and the very first documentary that I self-produced and took to the UFC was with Darren Till.
Watch Up Close With John Gooden On UFC FIGHT PASS
I've always maintained that I thought I’d taje a Louis Theroux approach, to those of you that are familiar with the famous British broadcaster, where I would go up and meet a fighter in their own surroundings and spend the day with them, where they can help tell me their story.
And, of course, Darren Till is such an easy guy to be around, such a fun, kind of bombastic personality. And rather than just put it on my measly YouTube channel, I, by chance, took it to someone at UFC FIGHT PASS, and he said, “I love this, let me take it to the bosses. Let's see what we can do.” UFC FIGHT PASS licensed it. And I think because of that work, it proved to UFC FIGHT PASS and maybe the UFC: John Gooden can produce some stuff, he can host some different documentary-style footage. I'm proud to say, that probably was what hatched the current UFC FIGHT PASS deal that I have today. That helps me fund lots of different kinds of projects that help tell the story and dive into some other parts of broadcasting that really interest me.
Fight Island
2020 - 2021, Abu Dhabi
My next big memorable moment is kind of broad, and it's Fight Island. Of course it is. It’s so difficult for me to break out a single part of it. We were all so lucky to be on Fight Island when the rest of the world was locked down, but personally, I really got to grow as a broadcaster.
The 10 Best Finishes from Fight Island...So Far
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
The 10 Best Finishes from Fight Island...So Far
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I had the cheesy, maybe interesting line with “that is real life ninja stuff” on the (Joaquin) Buckley call when his moment went viral, and then people would talk about my line after that, as well. I took that, put it on a t-shirt for a little charitable concern, where I was selling some t-shirts to help fund some gyms that were struggling in the UK after the pandemic. So, there were some ties to it, which I'm pretty proud that we were able to do some work there. And, of course, it was a time where I got to call another world title fight with Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez. So, again, a huge honor for me to be on the call for a championship fight.
Fight Day Focus
Something else I'm proud to speak about is Fight Day Focus. The UFC entrusted a new project to me, a very exciting one, that we had in the EMEA region with a little home base in London.
Watch Classic Fight Day Focus Episodes
It was a magazine style show, which I've always believed in for the fans; I thought they would love that kind of format.
And a little crew of ours got together with some really big hitters in the UFC, and we had a lot of fun. It is a show that I'm very fond of. I'm sad that it's not with us anymore. Hopefully one day we will bring back Fight Day Focus.
Working In The USA
Something else that is absolutely huge for this little guy here from Watford Town - He's working stateside. I mean, come on, I have now been to Las Vegas more than ten times. I have actually worked in the UFC APEX. I've worked in the fight capital of the world. I couldn't have dreamt of this when I first started calling fights at the Watford Coliseum in 2009, and now I regularly get to take a plane over to Las Vegas, sit there in the best seats of the house and watch some of the baddest people on the planet throw down.
I'm so privileged to be in this seat, to have this opportunity, and every time I fly in and see the Las Vegas Strip, I get goose bumps. I have to pinch myself that John Gooden from Watford gets to do this for a living.
