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UFC 45 Interview: Announcer, Bruce Buffer (part 1)
Reported By: Boxing Insider - 11.17.2003 03:48 AM
Bruce Buffer, the Voice of the Octagon, on UFC 45 – Tenth Anniversary Show.
Bruce Buffer Interview: Interview w/ UFC Announcer Part 1 |Part 2
His regular appearances at the UFC and other MMA events such as the Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Championships have made him more recognizable than the many of the fighters he introduces each show. Bruce Buffer, “The Voice of Mixed Martial Arts,” in addition to being a highly successful entrepreneur and marketer, is an enthusiastic supporter of the UFC and MMA.
As part of UFC 45 COVERAGE, BoxingInsider.com asked Bruce Buffer about his thoughts and predictions for the upcoming show.
Photo: Bruce Buffer
BoxingInsider.com: What are you thoughts on the tenth anniversary of the UFC?
Bruce Buffer: The UFC 45 brings a huge amount of memories to me because of my announcing work in the Octagon and all I’ve put into personally promoting the UFC and MMA over the last eight years and where we’ve come to today. I’ve been in the Octagon during the great times, the down times, the current awesome times under ZUFFA, and have probably forgotten more experiences than I can remember with all I have seen and experienced. I’ve had the pleasure and honor to meet and get to know every fighter and all the people associated with the UFC plus made a lot of good friends over the years. From a fan standpoint it’s awesome to see where the UFC has positioned itself and how it truly has evolved from the spectacle to the quality legitimate sport and event it is today.
BoxingInsider.com: What is the greatest moment you have witnessed in your time with the UFC?
Bruce Buffer: There have been so many and each time one happens it always seems like the greatest to me, so I’ll mention a few that come to mind.
• Watching Don Frye and Mark Coleman winning their first tournaments. Tournament fighting back then was an amazing single-handed ultimate achievement for one man and there is no way that a single fight today can compare to the human endurance, skill and heart it takes to be crowned a champion when you are facing two or three top fighters in one night. Although we don’t have this anymore I’ll never forget all I witnessed both in front and behind the scenes back then.
• Frank Shamrock winning over Tito Ortiz in one of the most talked about, anticipated and exciting fights in UFC history. The only disappointment was that we were not on Cable TV for all UFC fans to see. I only wish the Frank Shamrock of then was in the UFC scene today because he would be an awesome champion as he was then and is still a true example of a stellar top level UFC fighter and champion MMA role model.
• The UFC 40 was the most exciting show I’ve ever announced. To watch Tito and Ken enter the Octagon after all the media build up of these two modern day Gladiators getting ready to go to war in the Octagon and then Tito, the young gun, taking down Ken, the legend with a heart the size of a football field, was an amazing experience. When I was announcing the introductions in the Octagon, my body was getting hit with sound and energy vibrations emanating from the 14,000 in attendance. It was a feeling that one could imagine, but could only feel it for real by being in the center of it all.
• Randy Couture winning against Tito Ortiz at the UFC 44 was the purest example of how great and unpredictable our sport and the UFC can be. Randy Couture is hands down the greatest overall role model example of a UFC fighter ever in our history. I’ve always said he should be on the cover of a Wheaties box with his inspirational Captain America image that we labeled him with years ago. The image is not only awesome to me at 46, but to the younger fans as well, which is very important.
BoxingInsider.com: Explain what you expect from the UFC 45? What are you looking forward to most about the show?
Bruce Buffer: ZUFFA has produced solid and entertaining UFCs with some great match-ups since they took over. The UFC 45 will be another excellent and entertaining sold out show at the Mohegan Sun. I’ve read some forum posts about this show stating that UFC 45 doesn’t have any great or legendary fights. But legendary fight match-ups are not going to happen every show and remember excellent fights with great performances create the opportunity for fighters to become stars on their way to possibly becoming legends.
Bottom line? I’m excited about this show, and I can’t wait to see Tank and Cabbage go at it plus the other fights which make up a solid night of UFC action and that’s what our job is... to promote an exciting show and give the fans the entertainment they deserve consistently six or more times a year for their hard earned dollars.
BoxingInsider.com: What do you think of the UFC Hall of Fame? What other fighters should the UFC put in the Hall of Fame?
Bruce Buffer: To honor the tenth anniversary ZUFFA has begun the UFC Hall of Fame Awards and the legends in attendance at UFC 45 will excite any true UFC fan. Sure they won’t be fighting each other and even I’d like to announce these legends pairing off against each other in the Octagon that night, but that’s like having an NFL Hall of Fame ceremony and having the inductees put on the pads and have an exhibition game afterwards, which is not what’s supposed to happen. This is about bringing the legends together, inducting two of them a year and honoring them, because without all the blood, sweat and tears they’ve all left in the Octagon over the last ten years, we wouldn’t be the great event and the incredible sport we are today.
A few other fighters I want to see inducted in the future are Frank Shamrock, Mark Coleman, Don Frye, Oleg Taktarov, Tank Abbott, Pat Miletich and Marco Ruas along with others in the future that are making history today such as Tito Ortiz.
BoxingInsider.com: What do you think about the fights?
Bruce Buffer: I’m excited and pumped. There are some solid exciting match-ups. Anyone who isn’t excited about watching a UFC event live in person or on pay-per-view is not a true UFC or MMA fan in my opinion.
BoxingInsider.com: Matt Hughes v. Frank Trigg?
Bruce Buffer: Matt is an excellent champion and Trigg is no slouch at all—an excellent fighter! It should be a solid championship match-up, even though it’s going to be hard to come up with someone who can dominate Matt Hughes and take his belt away.
BoxingInsider.com: Have you ever seen a fighter as dominant as Matt Hughes? Explain what you think makes him such a great champion.
Bruce Buffer: I don’t know if it’s from pitching tons of hay on his farm over the years, but Matt is a genetic freak of nature and at 170 lbs. He is stronger than most fighters at 200 lbs. I’m a big fan of Matt and I know one thing and that’s when Matt Hughes enters the Octagon he comes to fight. It amazes me at how he improves with every fight. I jumped out of my seat when he threw a high kick and landed and then attempted a submission during his last two fights. God only knows what he’ll surprise us with this time.
Matt is a great champion because he possesses natural talent and a willingness to fight along with being an amazing natural physical specimen who holds no fear of anyone standing across the Octagon from him. He’s humble in his greatness, which I admire. He also is a gentlemen and role model outside of the Octagon. One really important variable is his training, under the tutelage of Pat Militech and everyone he trains with at the Militech Camp, is the best camaraderie of any team in MMA from what I’ve seen.
BoxingInsider.com: Matt Lindland vs. Falaniko Vitale?
Bruce Buffer: This is an excellent match-up and should be a solid fight.
BoxingInsider.com: Lindland, an Olympic Silver Medalist, has been called the Rodney Dangerfield of MMA? Give us your thoughts on Matt Lindland and what you think he brings to the sport.
Bruce Buffer: Matt Lindland is one of my favorite fighters who I like as a friend also. He is one of the toughest hearted men I’ve met in the UFC and possesses great all around talent. I love his Olympic trials story where he decided to go ahead and fight to win his spot on the team after cutting and pulling the wires from his broken jaw, which he got from a pool cue hit in a bar fight days before, just so he could kick the ass of his opponent who spoke and disrespected him. Now that’s my kind of fighter.
BoxingInsider.com: If you were doing the marketing, how would you exploit Lindland feats as a world class wrestler?
Bruce Buffer: Just tell the story and paint it truthfully in a grandiose way that attracts respect and attention. Sell the sizzle and create the smell of success for the fans to see Matt as the modern day gladiator he is. To market someone they have to have a story you can tell to the public that is true so you can create the image of a champion in their mind. That can be done with Matt and many others I can think of.
BoxingInsider.com: Evan Tanner vs. Phil Baroni?
Bruce Buffer: Interesting fight and don’t count out Evan.
BoxingInsider.com: This is a huge fight for both competitors. How can Evan Tanner counter Baroni’s ferocity and grit?
Bruce Buffer: I know Evan got caught quickly last time he fought, but he has the ability to control the pace of a fight and is very strong at Baroni’s weight class. I would have Evan control the Octagon by staying in the middle, keeping his distance and moving around Baroni while jabbing to control Baroni’s charges. Then at the first opportunity counter him and bang him into the cage with knees and elbows and take him down and ground and pound him hard. This is easier said than done of course because Baroni is an animal of a fighter and a powerful devastating puncher who also possesses a big heart and loves to bang.
Bruce Buffer Interview: Interview w/ UFC Announcer Part 1 |Part 2
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