Last week, in a surprising move, Bellator MMA parted ways with long-time commentator Jimmy Smith. Along with the announcement, Bellator released a statement saying the company and Smith “mutually agreed to part ways,” and Tuesday on The Joe Rogan Experience MMA Show, Smith spoke with long-time UFC color commentator Joe Rogan about his departure from the second-biggest organization in MMA., agreeing that the split was not acrimonious.

“It’s not a Bellator thing,” said Smith. “They were great to work with. They were great about the whole break up thing. What happened was, I had a deal with an option year and 2018 was my option year and when I was in Verona, New York doing the Verona show, my boss sat me down and said, ‘We’re not gonna renew 2018, we want a different deal.’

“When they come to you and say they want a different deal, it’s never - when you’re girlfriend comes to you and says she wants to talk it’s never, ‘I don’t give enough bl**jobs.’ They never say that. It’s always bad. It’s always bad.

“So that was it. When they were like, ‘We want to change the deal around,’ I was like, ‘Okay,’ and they did make an honest effort to keep me. They really tried, but they just didn’t make an offer that was worth me coming back. That was pretty much the deal so it’s kind of comparatively amicable.”

Smith served as Bellator’s chief color commentator for nine years and is widely considered to be one of the sharpest minds in MMA commentary today, sporting both a six-fight professional MMA career and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. His position at Bellator will reportedly be filled by a combination of Chael Sonnen and Frank Mir who both have experience as color commentators. But Smith is is currently without a home and Rogan suggested he might come join him at the UFC, a position Rogan says he already suggested to Dana White four years ago.

“I called Dana White about you, how many years ago, like four?” said Rogan. “I tried to get Jimmy Smith hired by the UFC four years ago. I was like, ‘Dude, you want better people, you want more people? Hire that f*cking guy. He knows what he’s doing, he’s excited, and he loves the sport. I was telling him you’re a great guy, he’s genuine, he’s a real fan and he’s f*cking good at it. Go get him.’”

Flattered, Smith said that the “timing didn’t work out then” but suggested that things could be different now that he is unemployed. That’s good news for Rogan who seems positively elated at the idea of having Smith in the UFC alongside him.

“You f**ked up, Bellator,” said Rogan. “You f**cked up. I’ve been telling everybody that Jimmy Smith’s the best out there and you let him go. That’s a huge error on their part. I would be thrilled if somehow or another they were able to work it out where Jimmy Smith was at the UFC. That would be what I would like to see.”

“We shall see,” responded Smith. “We shall see how that goes.”

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MUST-READ STORIES

Baby. Former bantamweight champion Miesha Tate announced pregnancy.

Ban. The UFC stripped credentials from Jackson-Wink staffer following Cris Cyborg comments.

Rose. Rose Namajunas says a UFC title doesn’t mean much if you’re an “a**hole.”

Fight. Justin Gaethje is interested in a fight with “loudmouth” Kevin Lee next.

Amateur. Greg Hardy is scheduled for his third amateur MMA bout.

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VIDEO STEW

Fight Motion is always great.

AXS TV is linking a ton of their ‘Best of 2017’ stuff for you ardent fight fans.

Buffer says Holly is in good spirits.

Bob Arum keeping the beef alive.

Michael Chandler discussing success.

Remixing the bravest act in MMA.

Tommy Toe Hold.

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LISTEN UP

The MMA Hour. 2017’s MMA Hour Awards Show with a couple guests receiving.

Obviously Fight Talk. Recapping UFC 219 and Khabib’s sterling showing.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Cyborg statement.

He back.

Khabib arriving back home.

Moving on up.

Not to make this the Khabib section but . . . . .

Also moving up.

Colby never changing.

Odd and awesome.

Scoggins looking good.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Greg Hardy (Am. 2-0) vs. Ryan Chester (Am. 2-1); LFA 33, Feb. 16.

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TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2015: Jon Jones won a unanimous decision over Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 to retain his light heavyweight title in on of the most anticipated grudge matches in UFC history.

On the undercard, Cody Garbrandt made his UFC debut, stopping Marcus Brimage in the third round.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Thanks to Alex for jumping in for me yesterday. Hope everyone had a good long weekend and glad to be back with all of y’all in this new year.

Conor bless.

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EXIT POLL

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If you find something you'd like to see in the Morning Report, hit me up on Twitter @JedKMeshew and let me know about it. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram, add us on Snapchat at MMA-Fighting, and like us on Facebook.