Bruce Buffer

Bruce Buffer
Born (1957-05-21) May 21, 1957
Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Nationality American
Other names Voice of the Octagon
Occupation UFC Announcer
Years active 1996–present
Known for Octagon announcer for UFC events
Title      2nd degree black belt in tang soo do
     green belt in Judo
Website

Bruce Anthony Buffer (born May 21, 1957) is the official octagon announcer for UFC events, introduced on broadcasts as the "Veteran Voice of the Octagon". Bruce's catchphrase is "IT'S TIME!", which he announces before the main event of the UFC. He is the half brother of the boxing and professional wrestling ring announcer Michael Buffer, and is the President and CEO of their company, The Buffer Partnership. Both are grandsons of boxer Johnny Buff. Buffer holds a black belt in Tang Soo Do and has fought as a kickboxer.[1]

Early life and martial arts background

Buffer was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His mother, Connie, is of Italian descent.[2] He first ventured into martial arts when he was thirteen years old and living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, studying judo and achieving the rank of green belt. He moved to Malibu, California with his family at the age of fifteen and befriended two of the students of Chuck Norris, who introduced him to Tang Soo Do, in which he holds a second degree black belt. He began kickboxing in his twenties but was forced to give the sport up at 32 after suffering his second concussion.[3]

UFC announcing

Buffer uses catch phrases in his UFC announcing, and also has a signature move called the "Buffer 180",[4] in which he motions directly across the Octagon before quickly spinning 180° and pointing to the corner being introduced. Buffer performs 45° and 90° turns before most fights,[5] but reserves the "Buffer 180" for main events and co-main events. At UFC 100, after months of encouragement from Joe Rogan,[6] Buffer performed a "Buffer 360" during his introduction of Frank Mir v. Brock Lesnar.[7] He also performs the "Buffer Bow" exclusively for Randy Couture, bending down as a knight would to a king in the accolade.[8]

Notable appearances outside UFC

Buffer has announced many other MMA promotions internationally including K-1 events and also the 2008 Joel Casamayor vs. Michael Katsidis boxing event on HBO. He also announces for the biannual ADCC (Abu Dhabi Combat Club) submission wrestling tournament.

Buffer is a world-rated poker player on the professional circuit. He has appeared on ESPN's World Series of Poker Main Event show playing World Champion Chris Moneymaker at the televised table in 2007 and in 2005 made the Final Table of the World Poker Tour in the Season 3 Invitational at the Commerce Casino, where he placed 6th. He appeared on an MMA versus poker pro match during the sixth season of the NBC show Poker After Dark along with Strikeforce Fighter Dan Henderson and UFC Fighter Randy Couture. Buffer outlasted them as well as pros Erick Lindgren and Patrik Antonius to finish second, losing in heads-up play to Howard Lederer. At the World Series of Poker 2010 main event final table he was given the honor of starting the final table with the poker phrase "Shuffle up and deal!" As of September 2010, the Luxor Las Vegas has named their poker room after Bruce Buffer.[9]

Buffer has appeared on some TV shows such as the Season 3 Episode 24 of Friends, "The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion". On the HBO series Entourage, he appeared in the episode entitled "Gotcha!", announcing an exhibition fight for Chuck Liddell's charity. On March 20, 2012, he was featured on the Comedy Central show Tosh.0. Buffer appeared as himself in the 2015 film Hot Tub Time Machine 2.

He is also the official announcer for the World Series of Beer Pong.[10]

He was recently featured as an announcer pack in the video game Smite.

He provided announcing on the UFC-inspired song "It's Time" by American & Dutch DJs Steve Aoki and Laidback Luke.[11]

Radio

Buffer's popular "IT'S TIME!" Lifestyles Podcast can be heard weekly with special guests on iTunes & Soundcloud & can be viewed on video at http://www.GasDigitalNetwork.com

Personal life

In 1989, Bruce was introduced to his half-brother, Michael Buffer, when their father (also Michael's birth-father) contacted Michael after seeing him on television.[12] In the mid-1990s, Michael Buffer brought along his half-brother Bruce, as his agent/manager. This grew into a business partnership to increase licensing productivity of the trademark.

References

  1. ↑ The voice of the octagon - Boxing - Yahoo! Sports
  2. ↑ http://fightcreature.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/its-time-my-360-view-of-the-ufc.pdf
  3. ↑ Buffer missed announcing two events in 17 years
  4. ↑ MMAMemories.com interview, March 26, 2008.
  5. ↑ Joe Rogan (2009-03-24), Joe Rogan and the Buffer 360!, retrieved 2018-09-25
  6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKIw_HrGiHY
  7. ↑ Alvarez, B. (2009-07-11). "Ongoing main card UFC play-by-play". F4Wonline.com. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
  8. ↑ La Monica, Mark (13 May 2013). "Q&A: UFC announcer Bruce Buffer". Newsday. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  9. ↑ Ryan Lucchesi, "A Poker Life -- Bruce Buffer", Cardplayer.com, April 4, 2011.
  10. ↑ Bottoms up! Beer pong world champions net $50,000 at the Flamingo
  11. ↑ Bein, Kat (April 6, 2018). "Steve Aoki & Laidback Luke Go Head to Head for 'It's Time': Watch". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Hollywood Reporter".
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