What is a color commentator in the UFC?
If you’re an MMA fan then the chances are, you’ll have heard of the term color commentator at some point. This is the term to describe one of the commentators at an event. Although this term is used sparingly, you may not know what it means exactly.
It turns out that the term color commentator isn’t exclusive to the UFC or MMA either. It’s actually been around for a while and is also used in other sports and has also been used in professional wrestling for years. Read on for more information.
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What does color commentator mean in MMA?
In MMA, you will typically have a play-by-play commentator and color commentator. The play-by-play commentator will literally give a play-by-play of the action as it’s live. For instance, every punch landed and action by the second will be commented on. You could say that these are the main commentators who do the majority of the talking.
The color commentator acts as a sidekick for these and basically ‘fills in the color’, which is where the term comes from. So, imagine the main commentator tells most of the story. The color commentator will fill in every now and then and add more color and depth to what is going on.
Examples of color commentary in the UFC
Imagine Jon Jones is fighting and Joe Anik is the main commentator. For fifteen seconds straight, he may say something like “Jones just landed a hard left and slipped in to attempt a single leg takedown. However, he decided against it and steps back into the middle of the octagon. There are 30 seconds left of the first round.”
This could be added to by the color commentator. For instance, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier are both color commentators. Here, Rogan could give his own opinion and say “Yes, Jones has been allowed too many left hooks in this fight.” As the saying goes, too many cooks spoil the broth and this is the case with commentary. The aim of the color commentator is to complement the main talker and add to the description of what is going on.
Notable color commentators in the UFC
Over the years, the UFC has had various color commentators who have come and gone. Some have even been promoted to play-by-play commentators too if their opinions are deemed popular enough. In recent times, UFC color commentators include:
- Dan Hardy
- Paul Felder
- Daniel Cormier
- Joe Rogan
- Dominick Cruz
- Mike Bisping
As you can imagine, each color commentator is different and has their own style. Sometimes, there may be one main commentator who is accompanied by two color commentators at the same time.
Color commentators can give more opinions compared to play-by-play commentators
Whilst a color commentator isn’t a full-blown pundit, they usually give more opinionated stances compared to a play-by-play commentator. Often, they won’t talk as much during the round but may chip in with their own takes during the break.
Generally, a play-by-play commentator should be fairly neutral and shouldn’t give much bias. Obviously, if a fighter is badly losing then it’s still their job to point this out. However, a color commentator will expand on these takes and truly say what they think, rather than observe what is going on. This means a color commentator may tell jokes or even predict fight patterns which can sometimes be horribly off!
