Fighters Only

Issue 058

January 2010

“I’ll see you at 105 in Manchester. Just don’t ask me to kiss your girlfriend; it’s always awkward when people do that.”

In one throwaway comment Bruce Buffer captures not only his own mischievous humor, but his true status as a treasured icon of mixed martial arts. How many other blokes get asked to kiss people’s girlfriends?

All sports have their legends, but only a selected few become such an integral part of the furniture that you couldn’t possibly imagine a future without them. Like football without John Madden, the NBA without Michael Jordan, or a world without the Olsen twins.

“She won’t wait for me to ask you,” comes my reply about the girlfriend. “Well then I’ll get your permission first,” retorts Buffer. Add one more to the list above: The UFC without Bruce Buffer.

Ever since 1997, when Buffer’s appearance on hit TV-series Friends cemented his place in the MMA fabric, the former judo, Muay Thai and karate practitioner has been the recognized ‘Voice of the Octagon’. From UFC 13 onwards Buffer has never missed a fight, but he still remembers his favorite two. “The fights that stick out in my mind are Randy Couture coming out of retirement to regain his heavyweight title from Tim Sylvia, and the classic fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephen Bonnar.

“I’m a fan first. I try to carry myself with class when I’m inside the Octagon but that Griffin-Bonnar fight was one of those moments when I just could not contain my excitement. I totally lost it! I didn’t even know the two fighters, I don’t get to know anything from the TUF series, just like everyone else, but I was just overwhelmed by what I had witnessed.”

As a razor-sharp pro poker player who has reached final tables with million-dollar prize pots, the image of Buffer losing his cool is an unusual one. “I have a number of poker faces; it depends who I’m facing. I’m very hard to read and if you think you can read me it’s because I want you to think you’re reading me. [Fellow poker player] Mike Swick knows all about that.”

Buffer is one of those men who you get the feeling could excel at anything. Having capitalized first on the success of his brother (boxing announcer Michael Buffer), Bruce then carved out his own niche inside the Octagon when Michael was contractually prohibited from working for the UFC. Nowadays he is the president of Buffer Enterprises and manager of the world-renowned ‘Let’s Get Ready to Rumble’ brand, but there is no doubt his main passion is still that moment when the ears of the world are tuned-in to his voice.

The words “We are live!” and “It’s TIIIIIIME” are now synonymous with Buffer, but which fighter does he enjoy introducing most? “Dan Hardy is one of my favorite UFC personalities to announce,” he admits. “He’s so animated from the moment he leaves that locker room, and when I’m announcing him, you don’t see it on TV, but it’s like two rock singers doing a duet – trying to outdo each other. He’s shouting the words right back at me!

“I love announcing Randy Couture too because he’s my favorite MMA role-model, and there’s so much meat to his announcement because I get to say ‘the former five-time champion, the UFC hall of famer, the legendary Octagon warrior.’ I even did what they’re now calling the Buffer bow at UFC 102 where I bowed like a knight to a king, because the man is royalty. I also love announcing ‘The Huntingdon Beach Bad Boy’ Tito Ortiz, and ‘The Iceman’ Chuck Liddell, they have such history to their names that it is just a pleasure to introduce them.” Any announcer’s nightmares? “The fewer Jon Fitch’s the better!” he laughs. “He’s a real warrior but how do I add excitement to a single syllable name?”

Adding excitement is what Buffer does. His ‘Buffer 180’ is legendary, while his 360-spin to announce Brock Lesnar at UFC 100 was a one-off classic that nearly made Joe Rogan’s eyes pop out. The Oklahoma native is a fan favorite, a face as recognizable as Lesnar himself, and his popularity has even reached the level where fans want him at their weddings. “Fight fans always ask me to leave messages on their telephone. I actually have a service now at Bufferzone.net where I do private recordings for weddings, birthdays and cell phones!”

It seems Bruce’s status cannot get any bigger, yet he is adamant that he is fortunate enough to be riding a UFC steam-train that will one day rule the world. “There’s a locomotive running uphill and the top of that hill isn’t even in sight yet. The UFC brand is being marvelously directed and, in turn, the UFC is directing the future of mixed martial arts.

“One day MMA will be so popular that other organizations will thrive too, but the UFC will always be the Star Wars event out there. There will be more and more worldwide events, and one day I truly believe it will become one of the biggest sports across the globe.”