What have you been up to?
I’m a believer that you end the year strong to start the year strong. We ended the year with the best show of the year. Awesome nights, awesome fights. I’m sorry to see Nog and Wandy go out the way they did but that’s the game we are in. But the excitement in the octagon was awesome. How do you compain about that night? It was incredible.

How do you top it?
Yeah, really. It’s always great for me. Traveling all around the world for the last 14 years and experienceing all I’ve experienced it’s one of the perks of the job. It’s something that if I ever got tired of I’d step down but I just seemed to get more excited and passionate of the UFC and our sport as time goes on.

You were right there in the middle of the Wanderlei Silva and Rampage shoving match at the weigh-ins.

I asked Joe Silva how they were at the press conference and he said they were fine. I said to Lorenzo, let me get in here because you never know what could happen. Dana can handle the situation perfectly but you always need another body in there because there are two guys. I expected something could happen that’s why I was close to it. Rampage leaned over and basically said I’m going to knock you out. What I think Wandy felt was a show of disrespect and that’s why he acted the way he did. And when you deal with a personality like Wandy he’s going to blackout and forget about paycheck and the fight the next night he wants to go at it right there. Rampage just wanted to get in his head and screw him up and he accomplished that.

The thing that blew me away the night of the fight was that Wandy was dry. I didn’t say any sweat on him in the octagon. I thought didn’t you warm up in the back? He seemd so dry and Rampage was loosened up and ready to go. It’s always a bad sign when you walk into the ring in MMA or boxing.

How did you come up with the phrase “It’s Time”?

Let me preface this alot of people ask me what’s your phrase? Everybody relates ring announcing to my brother Michael. He basically brought attention to the ring announcer. There will never be another “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble.” It’s one of the most marketable phrases in the world. As you know I manage my brothers career. Right now our two big ventures we are working on are the video game Ready to Rumble Revolution coming out for the Wii in March and Rumble sport bars which we are working on creating a franchise to be done across the country.

Now we’ve been watching a UFC pay per view for two and half hours and the main event comes on. Unlike boxing you pay to watch the whole show you never know which fight is going to be the best. But after two hours it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for. It’s the main event. That’s where “It’s Time” comes from. A belt usually is on the line. They’ve been training for a few months. It’s time.

Who has the hardest name to pronounce?

Single syllable names (laughs) It used to be Maurice Smith. What are you going to do with Smith? Let’s see there have been a few.

Don Frye?

The Frye always rolled out and it was always The Predator Don Frye. It all worked together. I always find a way to get out each name and make it work. Frank Mir was a pain in the ass at first. What am I going to do with Frank Mir? But I stretch out Mir now and I think it sounds really good. I don’t have much difficulty pronouncing people’s names. I always try to give a flavor to each name.

Has anyone ever came to you and said that you mispronounced their name?

Yeah, one in particular is on youtube now. It’s a screw up I had with Dan Miragliotta. Someone put it on youtube for me to see for the rest of my life. I don’t know what I was thinking. I got the stats wrong on Gono and Dan’s name. I made few mistakes but you have to roll over them so people don’t notice. I pride myself in not really making mistakes. I think I made three last year.

Jorge “El Conquistador” Riviera was one. I wear a pice in my ear and the director tells me sometime to hurry it up because we are pressed for time. But if I shave off five seconds is it really going to make a difference? Before Jorge’s fight the director was telling me to hurry, really rushing me and before his name I had to announce where he was from and I annouced a different city. He came up to me after the fight and told me it wasn’t a big deal but it wasn’t where he was from.

I’ve never got the name wrong. It’s too important. Maybe the pronounciation where there is a Brazilian or a Japanese pronounciation versus an English pronounciation. It’s all about how it’s interpretated.

It seems like it could be stressful.

To the untrained eye it will seem stressful. People say I don’t know if I could walk out in front of thousands of people and five million watching on TV. It’s live and you get one shot. But I’ve always prided myself in speaking to live crowds. I did some motivational speaking. I always get asked if I get nervous but I really don’t. I get excited. I’m a kid in a candy store. I’m doing what I love.

Do you ever catch yourself being a fan and getting caught up in the fights?

Every single UFC I do. Fan first, announcer second. Seriously.

Have you ever seen a decision that you didn’t agree with?

Sure, Nobody knows the decision before me except for the commission. Lorenzo or Dana don’t even know. I get the decision I look at it and I have to do what I have to do. Don’t shoot the messanger.

Was Bisping and Hammill one of those?

I was at a little disagreement with that one I have to be honest. It could’ve went either way or been a draw. But I thought Matt did win that one. I love Michael Bisping. I get along with him. He’s a great guy and he’s great for the sport but I think he lost that fight.

How did you get the job in the UFC? I had heard it stemmed from a Friends episode.

Basically, my brother Michael whom I manage I try to get him at all the major events. He’s a legend and when the UFC came on the scene in 1993 I contacted them and got them to sign an agreement to have him work three shows. It started at UFC 6, UFC 7, and the Ultimate Ultimate. We were in Casper, Wyoming for UFC 6 and it was Tank Abbot’s first show and it was my first as well. It was an awesome experience it was something new, exciting, and controversial.

When Michael first came out in the octagon WCW, whom we had a huge contract with to do one pay per view a month and a few Monday Night Nitros weren’t happy because they had him say if it wan’t in an octagon it wasn’t real. But back then WCW wanted people to think it was real and not “sports entertainment”. We had ot make a decision. I wanted to do what was best for my client which was my brother Michael. When I weighed how much money we were making with the UFC and WCW it was light years of a difference. We fulfilled the contract and made sure we didn’t interfere with our WCW contract. Michael always loved wrestling. It’s a fun experience. I’m not a huge wrestling fan but I respect those guys for what they put their bodies through.

When that happened I’d always wanted to do announcing and we agreed I wouldn’t do boxing. So I toldhim not to worry because something would come along for me. I knew the UFC was for me but I wanted to get Michael in there. I managed a fighter at UFC 8 in Puerto Rico, Scott Ferrozzo . He was a big guy from Minnesota. I went to Puerto Rico with him and I called New York and the SEG offices before that and told them I wanted to be their announcer and asked to do the prelims. And Robert Myer, the owner at the time let me do it. I walked out in front of 9,000 people in Puerto Rico and just did it.

Then I got a call back for UFC 10 and did the whole show. Then I got a call on a Monday and was told that NBC was writing me into the script for Friends to be the announcer for the Ultimate Champion episode with Jon Favreau, Tank, and John McCarthy. They sent out a runner to get audio and video of me and called me back an hour later and said we are writing me into the script can you be on the set at 6 for rehearsal and we film on Wednesday. I said sure, no problem.

I called Robert Myer and told him I had to speak to him. I went to see him and basically it was the best poker hand I’ve ever played. I told him this is a hit show, the UFC is a hot, happening thing. I’m going to be playing myself on this show and if I’m doing this let’s negotiate a deal. I want to be the announcer for the UFC. He agreed and we made a deal. I’ve only missed one show since. It was a show in Japan and there wasn’t enough money in the production budget to bring me over.

Do you think we’ll see Tito back in the UFC?

I hope so. I think the octagon is his home. I know he feels the same but he’s got to take care of his family and do what’s best for him. Now that Lorenzo is in full-time it’s helped with the rift between Dana and Tito. Let Tito go out and commentate for Affliction. Who knows how long they will last? I don’t think they’ll last I’m sorry to say. Competition is good for the sport. But nobody will ever be bigger than the UFC. The UFC is the Star Wars and NFL of MMA. I would suspect that since he expects to fight for three to five more years he will be back. He is still a draw. Do I think he’ll be a champion? I can’t say that I don’t know if he can beat the top level of competition. But anybody can beat anybody on any given day. That’s the beauty of the sport.

He should have beaten Rashad.

Yeah, but Rashad is getting better each time out. He’s a very good fighter. But anybody can beat anybody and Tito is one of those guys who can beat anyone. He has to believe that he can. You have to in those one man wars to stay alive. I like Tito I don’t care about politics. He’s an asset.

He’s like Rampage. He’s a larger than life character.

I like Rampage. He’s my dog. I like him a lot. We’ve always got along. I get along with everyone. I can count on one hand how many people I don’t get along with. Everyone is a gentleman and everyone is cool. I’m amazed at the sport.

What would you have said if I had told you 20 years ago that you would have your own video game and a front row seat to UFC pay per views?

I would have said really, how? If you would’ve told me 14 years ago I would’ve said yes it will happen it’s a matter of when. I’m always looking ahead. When I took over Michaels career, what I did for him and what we have done togther it took place over the past 20 years. But I believed it was going to happen. I knew poker was going to be huge. I have my own site RumblePoker.com. But with the UFC and all the success comes brandking and all the products thats coming out. And I’m so happy and honored and I’m going to work my ass off and do everything I can to keep my position in the octagon. This is a great train and I’ve got a first class seat.

Where do you see the UFC in five years?

Bigger than it is today. You will see the respect and the attention it’s getting domestically in other countries. It’s going to be a strong sport and strong pay per view vehicle. As long as Dana and Lorenzo keep doing there brilliant job of managing the UFC all they’ll have to do it dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s. It’s about careful marketing and proper decisions in management. There will be downturns and cycles. Look at HBO boxing and WWE. But the strong surivive. Right now they’ve got the hearts and minds of the 18-34 demographic, male and female. They’ll teach it to their kids and their kids will teach it to their kids. That’s why they’ll continue to be successful.

When I was younger boxing was on every weekend do you think MMA will be on every weekend in a few years?

It’s on pretty much every weekend now. There is a point in every business where there is a saturation point. You have to be careful. You have to keep it fresh and have exciting new personalities coming in and out of the octagon. That’s what keeps people interested. Look at wrestling. People don’t watch it just to watch wrestling. They want to see characters and interviews. Getting to know their personalitites is important. That keeps them excited about their upcoming fight. The Ultimate Fighter was a Godsend. I don’t know where we’d be without Dana and Lorenzo brilliantly rolling the dice on that show.

When you saw Griffin and Bonnar did you know it was going to explode?

I knew it was going to be big because of the free TV aspect. But if you look at my reaction, I try to keep my cool but sometimes you have to get excited. Dana handed out the contract to Forrest and then one to Bonnar I was so excited for those guys. They fought their hearts out. It was an amazing fight. To this day it was one of the best fight I have ever seen.

Is there anything else you’d like to say to the fans?

I have a blog on my website BufferZone.net. Every Wednesday I talk poker, UFC, or life in general. You could also get recordings at YouTalk.comwhere you can design a ringtone where I say your name or send a message to a friend of you and him saying your name in the octagon. It’s only $1.99. They are selling like hot cakes. But check out my website. I answer all my emails. It might take me a while because I get a lot but I do answer all my emails.
Thanks Bruce

Thank you. Happy New Year.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 9th, 2009 at 4:31 pm and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.