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Jim ?JR? Ross ditches WWE to commentate for MMA?s Battleground elimination event

Posted: Oct 2nd 2014 By: Marissa Payne

It?s about to be official. Jim Ross, who became famous for his colorful play-by-play commentary in the WWE, is set to take his shouts of ?Slobberknocker!? and ?He could bring a tear to a glass eye!? to the MMA. On Friday night, Ross will broadcast for the much-hyped BattleGrounds MMA pay-per-view in Tulsa, Okla., that is taking a page from the past and setting up an eight-man, one-night elimination tournament. JR, as Ross is better known to WWE fans, is pretty excited.

?The anticipation is building to be honest with you,? Ross told MMAmania.com. ?I?ve been a fan [of MMA] for years, since the Art Davie years, actually. It?s kind of ironic that it?s taken me this long to get there and then I?m coming back to do what is customary to that era and that is the one-night tournament. It?s going to be a fun thing and it?s something I?ve looked forward to for a long time. I?m looking to it as a one off, like it?s my WrestleMania. So, I?m going to prepare and work diligently as if this is the only one that I?m going to do and I am lucky to be here.?

Ross might be feeling lucky because he?s not as knowledgeable about mixed martial arts techniques as he is about pro-wrestling moves. That?s why, he says, he recruited former UFC middleweight fighter Chael Sonnen to join him on the mic. While Ross provides his signature colorful play-by-play, Sonnen will handle the explanations of technique.

?When I saw [Sonnen] in the studio, the personality, the lightning rod that he was, glib, good soundbites and all that knowledge, I thought he would be a great partner,? Ross explains to MMAmania.com. ?I tell people this: I?m a big fan of the Thunder and Chael is my Kevin Durant. If I get the ball to KD in a basketball game he is going to score. If I give Chael enough of asking the right questions and bring up the right topics, than he is going to score.?

It?s no coincidence that Ross, who was born, bred and educated in Oklahoma made an Oklahoma reference. That may be another reason why he?s excited about BattleGrounds MMA. The promotion is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Friday?s pay-per-view is set to go down in the city?s BOK Center. It?s safe to assume Ross will take his ?Boomer Sooner? entrance music with him from the WWE to MMA.

But if Ross?s presence isn?t enough to get viewers to purchase the $19.95 pay-per-view, perhaps the elimination fight card is. Former UFC fighters Jesse Taylor, Cody McKenzie, Luigi Fioravanti, Brock Larson and Roan Carneiro will join Strikeforce fighters Trey Houston and Joe Ray, as well as wild card Randall Wallace in the elimination tournament. As to who will face whom, well, the surprise is all part of the fun, according to BattleGrounds MMA. The promotion will not announce the first match-ups until the day of the fight.