I will always be thankful to WWE for letting me be the voice of SmackDown Live and bring it to the USA Network.

Mauro Ranallo

Categorized in : Me Live Thankful Voice

Some of the brightest, most creative minds have been touched by mental illness.

mental some mental-illness creative

Not talking about mental illness is killing people. We need that to stop.

stop not-talking talking people

I believe every one of us has a gift, I believe every one of us human beings has a path in this life, and it is up to each of us, through circumstance, through knowledge, through awareness, through luck - and luck does play a huge part - to hopefully achieve that path and walk the path and realize the gift.

walk path life knowledge

There would be no Mauro Ranallo in MMA, or maybe even period, to be truly honest with you... without Bas Rutten's friendship, mentorship, and just belief in my talents.

without just you friendship

I go into calling any match, any fight - I don't care if it's the main event or the opener - that these guys have put in their work: they're here for a reason, and there's a reason I'm calling this fight, so I do want to give it as much attention and respect and energy as I would the main event or a championship fight.

fight respect care work

As an announcer, I have nothing but respect for the fighters, and I want to make sure I do my job to let the people know who these courageous warriors are, because they are putting their lives on the line for our entertainment, and there's something to be said about that.

nothing job respect people

I don't think there's a good or wrong way of broadcasting. The more unique you are, the more opportunities you're going to get.

good think you unique

No matter what job I've undertaken, whether it was Glory Kickboxing or Strikeforce or Pride Fighting Championships or Showtime Championship Boxing, you have to play by the rules of the company you work for.

job you fighting work

We need to treat people with mental illness like people.

treat need mental-illness people

My job, live television, broadcasting, there's mania involved in there, too, but it's the good stuff.

live job good television

I've always loved kickboxing.

loved always kickboxing

I've never been ashamed of being the ham or the provocateur, as it were, in my style of commentary or my style of showmanship.

never being ashamed style

We all know the difference between sports entertainment and the combat sports that I call, but at the end of the day, they are all spawned from the same source, and there's a lot of mutual respect between the two bodies.

end-of-the-day day respect sports

I've received enough blessings for a lifetime in terms of my employment.

blessings employment enough lifetime

I've always been an advocate for mental health.

mental always mental-health health

I was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder at 19, which I thought would derail my career. Thankfully, I was able to get help and continue the path, and I think, for me, the buzzword is perseverance.

think me perseverance path

There is danger involved in combat sports, but this is the purest form of competition. It's all about finding the truth. When you put someone in a cage or a ring, you're going to find out the truth - not only about your opponent but about yourself as well.

yourself you truth sports

For me, being a part of the halcyon days of Pride Fighting Championships and then watching the explosion of the UFC following the 'Ultimate Fighter,' I've been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.

place me fighting time

Joining WWE has always been a lifelong dream of mine.

mine been always dream

I am bipolar, and I am a full manifestation of it in terms of my speech, in terms of my energy.

full i-am speech energy