Legendary WWE Commentator Jim Ross Set To Call His First MMA Event

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In the world of professional wrestling, Jim Ross is a legend.

Known as ‘J.R.’, the color commentator spent years calling matches for World Wrestling Entertainment and in recent months has been trying his hand at calling other professional sporting events.

Ross has publicly said that he would like to try his hand (or voice) at calling a mixed martial arts events. After leaving WWE a year ago, it looks like he will finally get his chance.

MMAFighting.com reports that on October 3, the BattleGrounds MMA promotion is running a pay-per-view event from Tulsa, Okla. Interestingly enough, the headlines about the event seem to be more focused on the team that is calling the match instead of the people that are fighting in it as Jim Ross will be joined by controversial sidekick Chael Sonnen.

“The folks at BattleGrounds are Oklahoma-based guys,” said Ross, who in some circles is almost synonymous with his home state, in an appearance on Monday’s MMA Hour. “They contacted me and asked if I had an interest. I think they followed me on Twitter and know I have an interest in a lot of things. Doing play-by-play of an MMA event was a bucket list thing for me. It’s a new challenge, a new gig, a new opportunity. We were able to work it out. I suggested, I thought Chael would be a great partner. I’ve worked with a lot of explosive, controversial broadcasters in my day, including former Gov. Jesse Ventura, Jerry Lawler, Paul Heyman and many others. It felt right. I felt we’d have good chemistry. I don’t know. It may be a train wreck, but I assure you, it won’t be boring.”

As of this moment, Jim Ross’ contract with BattleGrounds is a one-time deal.