Veteran combat sports announcer Mauro Ranallo has made it official -- his time with WWE is over after 16 months. 

Ranallo, 47, made the announcement public on Saturday in a statement to Newsweek. He also denied online reports that his exit from WWE was caused by bullying from his on-air SmackDown Live partner John "Bradshaw" Layfield. 

"WWE and I have mutually agreed to part ways. It has nothing to do with JBL," Ranallo said. He remains under contract through August 12, according to a WWE spokesman. 

Ranallo, who signed with the company in December 2015, hasn't appeared on WWE television since March and was absent from WrestleMania. One week later, he removed all mentions of WWE from his Twitter account. 

Rumors quickly began to swirl that backstage hazing was the root cause of Ranallo's exit. Many pointed to a March 13 episode of the WWE Network show "Bring It To The Table" in which Layfield scolded an absent Ranallo on air. One night later, Ranallo missed his first episode of SmackDown Live and never returned. 

The aftermath turned ugly as fans began to spread the hashtag #FireJBL on Twitter and chanted the phrase in unison at WWE live shows. Layfield's involvement in the rumors were further escalated upon the release of former WWE announcer Justin Roberts' memoir "Best Seat in the House," which brought back to life stories from over a decade ago of hazing, including one involving a stolen passport that was linked to Layfield. 

MMA legend Pat Miletich, a former colleague of Ranallo on Showtime's coverage of Strikeforce MMA, even tweeted at Layfield on April 11 about Ranallo, which only fueled speculation.

"Admittedly, I took part in locker room pranks that existed within the industry years ago," Layfield told Newsweek in a statement. "WWE addressed my behavior and I responded accordingly, yet my past is being brought up because of recent unfounded rumors. I apologize if anything I said playing 'the bad guy' on a TV show was misconstrued."

An advocate for mental health who has been outspoken about his battle with bipolar disorder, Ranallo tweeted a message to his fans on March 24 that has subsequently been deleted: "I'm deeply touched by your tweets of support. My doctor wants me to stay off social media for now but I wanted to thank you." 

While it hasn't spoken publicly about Ranallo's exit, WWE released a statement to Newsweek regarding the recent accusations of a bullying culture within the company. 

"As part of our commitment to creating an inclusive environment, in April 2011, WWE launched our anti-bullying campaign, Be a STAR, which encourages young people to treat each other with tolerance and respect." a WWE spokesperson said.

"As a publicly traded company, that mantra carries forward in our corporate culture. As such, we fully investigate any allegations of inappropriate behavior including the recent alleged situation with John Layfield (aka JBL), despite no formal complaint having been submitted."

WWE replaced Ranallo as the lead play-by-play announcer on SmackDown Live with Tom Phillips. The company also signed Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross to a two-year deal on March 31. 

Ranallo remains the voice of Showtime Championship Boxing and last weekend called an MMA card in Japan for RIZIN.