Bruce Buffer: “I love MMA”
Mark of Joe.ie, had an awesome interview with Bruce Buffer. Enjoy.
By Mark O’Toole | Source: Joe.ie
JOE: First of all Bruce everyone knows you as the voice of the UFC, but you started off managing your brother and fellow announcer Michael Buffer of “Let’s get ready to rumble” fame.
There’s a pretty interesting story there because you’re half brothers and didn’t meet until later in your lives….
Bruce Buffer: Yeah, Randomhouse Publishing is publishing my memoirs which will be out in the UK and Ireland next year and will go into depth into the story.
Basically me and Michael are long, lost half-brothers, we have the same father and we discovered each other around 25 years ago and shortly after that, maybe four years after, I started to manage his career because he was great at what he did.
I had this vision of making him the preeminent sports and entertainment announcer, not just in boxing… he was already established…but outside of it into every sports and entertainment event possible.
We trademarked the “Rumble” catchphrase and made toys and videogames and everything we’ve done since then, it’s just been a really grand and amazing historic adventure.
JOE: We’ve heard a few figures over the years regarding the money made from trademarking “Let’s get ready to rumble,” and obviously now your own catchphrase “It’s time,” has taken on a life of its own, would you care to make an Irish audience jealous and tell us a ballpark figure of how much you and Michael have made out of those phrases?
BB: [Laughs] Well this isn’t in my pocket but in the retail sales and the products and licences I’ve created we’ve sold over $425million.
JOE: $425million from all that?!?
BB: Yeah, you know video games, toys, movie mentions all that kind of stuff…
JOE: It’s also interesting that you started off managing your brother, but according to the UFC Official Encyclopaedia you felt an affinity to MMA and you wanted to announce it. So you hustled, you got in and it turns out that you’re as good as your brother, or better in the eyes of some MMA fans, in terms of announcing…
BB: [Laughs] Well my brother is the greatest of all-time and he brought a style and a James Bond-type image to the ring that was never done before… and I entered the business never wanting to be Frank Sinatra Junior.
It’s just my love of performing in front people and my love of fights, because I had been at fights since I was a kid, including my own endeavours… and with that being said I wanted create my own little historical situation.
I love MMA and I wanted to help it grow and publicise it and I had visions of it being the biggest sport in the world and luckily when Dana White and the Fertitta brothers took over the UFC , because of their passion, their vision for the UFC and their business acumen we have got there, but we still have ways to go.
History is being made now and I’m so proud because I have the honour of being on this team and having a first-class ticket on this UFC freight train going uphill.
It’s amazing; I can’t begin to tell you how amazing it is…I mean when you see the fans, who give so much back to us, especially the fans in the UK and Ireland, they’re absolutely rabid about the UFC!
We get so much respect over there and I’m looking forward to getting over UFC Nottingham in a couple of weeks, because it’s an absolute joy.
Read the entire article at the source…
