Promoter Hani Darwish of The Darwish Brothers is proud to announce that the voice calling the action live on www.efcmma.com this Saturday, March 9, will be a familiar one to MMA fans around the world.
Author, actor and journalist Mike Straka will be doing the broadcast play-by-play at “The Darwish Brothers Presents EFC: Relentless” in the Xanadu Theater at Trump Taj Mahal Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.
In the night’s main event, Bloomfield, New Jersey’s undefeated Fabian “The Baby Face Killer” Rosario (6-0) will defend his EFC Welterweight Championship against Danny “Massacre” Massa (2-2) of Westchester Fight Club in New Rochelle, New York.
A heavily influential and pioneering figure in the evolution of MMA media, New Jersey-born Straka wrote the book, literally, on doing MMA interviews. He is currently the host of Fight Now TV’s “1on1 Show” and the former co-host of Spike TV’s “MMA Uncensored Live” as well as “Fighting Words with Mike Straka” on HDNet.
Straka’s first show covering solely MMA was called Fox Fight Game and was the first video news show covering MMA. Fighting Words holds the distinction of being the first sit-down format show to solely feature MMA fighters.
“I started covering MMA in 2001 at Fox News channel,” he explains. “I think it was UFC 33 or 34 and I was the sports anchor at Fox News Channel for the weekends at the time, so they said go down to Atlantic City and cover it. From that day on, I was completely hooked.”
Beyond his lengthy resume in journalism, it is Straka’s own background in the combat sports that gives him added credibility with fans and insight with fighters.
“I’m a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I studied under U.S. Olympic gold medalist Herb Perez and U.S. Olympic team coach Kevin Padilla. I was also a wrestler at Rutgers. MMA started becoming popular just after I graduated in 1992. If it had been big as I was in school, I’d probably be a fighter today. I had all the tools.”
Despite having been face-to-face with every superstar in the sport, Straka says the EFC assignment will be something new for him.
“I’m going to be doing the play-by-play and have either a fighter or trainer do the color commentary with me. I’m the Mike Goldberg of the show, so to speak. This is kind of new for me to do.”
Down to earth when speaking of his peers in the fight media, Straka says he has the most admiration for the ones who keep it real.
“I’ve always liked Max Kellerman. He knows the sport of boxing almost better than anybody. He brings honesty to the game. That what I love about Joe Rogan too. They speak the language of the sport but also explain it to a layperson without turning off hard-core fans. You want the hard-core fans happy and the new fans happy. As play-by-play guys go, Mauro Ranallo is the best. I think he is under-utilized. He should be the top dog. Nobody is better than Mauro Ranallo.”
Promoter Hani Darwish says he’s happy to be bringing such a respected voice aboard Team EFC.
“Mike is a well-respected media figure whose credibility is untouchable. We are very excited to have his voice running the broadcast team for this fantastic event. Mike says he’s enthusiastic to be part of it and we’re very happy to have him.”
When the dust has settled on EFC: Relentless, Straka says he’ll go back to doing what he does best.
“I will continue to try to innovate MMA media. I’ve done a good job in differentiating myself from the rest of the MMA media. I don’t really talk about your last fight or your next fight. I try to get in-depth with the fighter and find out who they are as a person. I do in-depth features and focus more on the human aspect of being a UFC fighter, more than what’s your game plan for your next fight? You can get that anywhere. If you can already read all those answers on mmajunkie.com, why watch Mike Straka’s show? I’m always trying to look for a different angle to cover the sport.”
Tickets for “The Darwish Brothers Presents EFC: Relentless” are priced at $45, $55, $65, $75, $100 and $125 Cageside and are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com, by calling 800-745-3000, or at the Trump Taj Mahal box office on fight night.
Doors open at 7 pm and the first bout is at 8 pm. All bouts subject to change.
WARNING: All EFC events sell out. Purchase your tickets now before it’s too late.