Bruce Buffer has announced approximately 100 UFC events but his first still stands out.
“Walking out, I never get nervous, I just get excited, but in that situation, I walked out in front of almost 10,000 people and we were still at a high draw pay-per-view, and it was an amazing experience,” said Buffer. “It was one of pure excitement, pure adrenaline, and mixed with that tension that you get when you step out for the first time to prove yourself.”
Buffer claims to have forgotten more memorable moments than he can remember. Still, Tito Ortiz’s first thrashing of Ken Shamrock at UFC 40 stands out. Matt Hughes stopping Royce Gracie at UFC 60 does, too. According to Buffer, Randy Couture coming back to take the heavyweight strap from Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 was “tremendously exciting.”
But one fight rises above the rest, though. And that fight is Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar’s game changing war at “The Ultimate Fighter” season one finale, one of the “greatest fights in the history of the UFC” according to the veteran ring announcer.
Buffer said that lightweights, with their speed, strength and agility have “amazingly technical wars,” such as Roger Huerta’s dramatic 2007 comeback over Clay Guida. Welterweights have the same effect on Buffer as well. He calls newly crowned light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, “the 205-pound Bruce Lee.” All the champions, from 155-pounds to 265-pounds, are, in Buffer’s words, “extremely staggeringly impressive.”
A walking positive affirmation, Buffer asserts that UFC 24’s last-minute scrapped main event and the crowd’s violent reaction to it was still a memorable experience and an honor to be involved in. Packed, raucous arenas from Columbus, Ohio to Montreal, Canada to London, England reinforce the feeling regularly and a recent trip into Cologne, Germany for UFC 99 made Buffer optimistic that the future holds many more memorable UFC moments.
Read about how Buffer got his start in the UFC here and check in next Monday on fightmagazine.com for Buffer’s best road stories and go here for more Buffer pics.
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