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Bruce Buffer has rightfully earned his nickname - 'Veteran Voice of the Octagon'. Buffer has been with the UFC since 1996 and is celebrating his 25th anniversary with the company.
Buffer shared his thoughts on the tribute montage that the UFC recently released in his honor. February 16th marks Buffer's 25th anniversary with the promotion as an announcer. Buffer took to social media to express his gratitude towards the UFC.
Bruce Buffer made his first appearance as the preliminary fight card announcer at UFC 8. At UFC 10, Buffer was appointed as the announcer for the entire show. After this, the green belt in judo announced the UFC 13 fight card and has announced almost every pay-per-view event that the UFC has held since then.
In recent years, the UFC has stamped its authority as a mainstream sport. This has enabled the promotion to hold events globally in every corner of the world. Bruce Buffer mentioned that he yearns to be at each UFC event and is proud of the success that the promotion has achieved over the years.
How did Bruce Buffer land a job as an announcer for the UFC?
In an interview with Lucha Libre Online, Bruce Buffer narrated the story of how he ended up working for the UFC as an announcer. After his stint at UFC 10, Bruce Buffer believed the promotion would hire him as a full-time announcer. However, the company had other plans and rejected Buffer.
Check Out: Bruce Buffer's Net Worth as of 2021
"Back then when I wanted to get into the octagon, I basically went there with my brother, Michael (Buffer). I tried to convince him to put me in the octagon and it didn't work. They didn't say yes. So I managed a fighter named Scott ‘The Pitbull’ Perazzo for UFC 8, because as his manager, you go down there with your fighter and you participate in the whole bit and I did. I got called back to announce UFC 10 and it's the whole show. I did it. I thought they'd hire me. They hired somebody else after that."
A year and a half later, Buffer managed to pitch himself to an official to become a full-time announcer for the UFC as he described his passion for the sport of MMA.
"I met with the owner, Robert Myer, and I said: ‘Look, I feel like a girl waiting to be asked to the prom and nobody's asked me to the prom. I'm going to ask you one more time. I want to be the announcer the octagon announcer. I will help you build this business and go on to greatness with everything I can give you, with my own sport media contacts’. That was the best poker hand I ever played. I announce every single UFC show from that point forward”.
Over the years, Bruce Buffer has refined his style of introducing fighters to the Octagon. "Buffer 180" and "Buffer 360" are his patented signature moves that he performs to introduce fighters. His charismatic dressing sense and vocal abilities have made him a major ingredient for the success of the UFC since its inception.
