Who is this roaring uncle at the World Cup final who can earn tens of thousands of dollars with a single shout?

Do you remember that American guy with gray hair, a big build, and wearing a floral suit and bow tie, who was yelling loudly on the sidelines before the World Cup final?

Before the age of forty, he was an unknown. Now he is worth tens of millions, commands appearance fees of tens of thousands of dollars, and has been inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame. He has appeared in key events at numerous top-level sporting events, including MLB and F1.

He is Bruce Buffon, the UFC's top announcer. Nearly seventy years old, he is known as the "Golden Voice of the Octagon." His voice has opened for countless fighting stars, making him rich and famous, but it has also caused him to experience an embarrassing situation.

Born in the mid-to-late 1950s, Buffett's connection with combat sports was not entirely accidental. His father had served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He himself was also a trained fighter, learning martial arts and Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 13, and later studying Tang Soo Do under Chuck Norris, earning a second-degree black belt. After the age of 20, he practiced kickboxing, but had to give up the sport at the age of 32 due to a concussion.

Bruce Buffon's path to becoming a UFC broadcaster was thanks to his half-brother, Michael. The two had never met before the age of 30, until Bruce's father saw Michael on television. Michael's parents divorced when he was 11 months old, and he was primarily raised by adoptive parents. As an adult, he fought in the Vietnam War, sold cars, and started broadcasting local boxing matches in 1982. A year later, he joined top promotional agency Arum and began promoting boxing matches on ESPN, which propelled him to national fame.

In 1984, Michael invented his signature opening line, "Get ready to fight!", which he used to grab the audience's attention the moment before each fight. This iconic opening line made him even more memorable to the audience. By the late 1980s, Michael had become the exclusive ring announcer for all boxing matches at Trump's casinos. In 1991, Michael signed a contract with HBO to become the resident boxing announcer for the World Boxing Championships. He opened matches for star boxers including Tyson, Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, and Roy Jones Jr.

The two brothers hit it off immediately upon meeting, regretting they hadn't known each other long enough. Bruce gradually became involved in his brother's business affairs. Their joint company, Buffer Partnership, was later renamed "Ready To Rumble," a name inspired by his brother's catchphrase. This brilliant business move yielded brand and revenue success; according to ABC in 2009, the company was valued at $400 million that year. The brothers earned enormous sums through selling the rights to audio-visual products, video games, merchandise, and appearing at various events.

In an interview with SI, Bruce Buffon said, "When I first saw my brother in the boxing ring, I thought, 'That's a really cool job.' He travels the world, wearing a tuxedo, bringing passion to all sorts of events. I was deeply inspired by everything he did and felt I could do it too."

In 1995, Bruce accompanied his brother to UFC 6. At that time, the UFC (whose early rules were extremely simple, with no weight classes and fighters from different fighting styles, primarily competing within their own schools and genres) was far from the success it is today, and the events were relatively small. Bruce, appearing on "The Ariel Helvany Show," said that as soon as he saw the atmosphere, he felt, "I know, this is my world." He later recalled that this was the first time he truly realized that mixed martial arts would become a huge industry in the future.

They initially signed a three-fight broadcaster contract with the UFC. Michael left due to an invitation from WCW (World Championship Wrestling), and Bruce spent a full year and a half contacting agents and sending tapes to the UFC boss before finally convincing him to become a broadcaster. In 1996, Bruce Buffett made his debut as a broadcaster in the UFC 8 preliminaries, when he was almost 40 years old. He gradually won the approval of the UFC boss and the audience, and subsequently received a new contract, allowing him to host all the UFC 10 fights. From then on, his broadcasting role became fixed, and Bruce Buffett gradually became a familiar face to combat sports fans and sports fans across the United States.

In 1997, he made a guest appearance in the 24th episode of the third season of the sitcom *Friends*, titled "Ultimate Fighting Champion." In this episode, he successfully persuaded UFC boss Bob Merowitz to hire him as a full-time ring announcer, starting with UFC 13. This was both a reflection of his journey to becoming a full-time announcer and a testament to his continued expansion of public exposure.

Throughout his more than ten years as a UFC broadcaster, Bruce Buffon made many of his broadcasts iconic. In particular, his opening line, " It's time! ", is a classic. He would always build up to it with a long "It's" before unleashing a powerful, explosive "t," a sound so dramatic it could be described as a sudden burst of energy.

His signature move, the "Buffon 180° spin," became a spectacle in itself. Every time he introduced a fighter at the start of the match, after holding the microphone and cue cards and delivering a powerful voice, he would instantly turn 180 degrees to the next fighter. Even in his fifties, he remained remarkably agile. In 2011, at UFC 129, while announcing the fight with his usual intense emotion and roar, Buffon overextended himself during the spin, experiencing the same sharp, bullet-like pain he felt as many fighters—a torn ACL. He endured the excruciating pain and finished his part of the match, hopping off the octagon on one leg.

Bruce also had an elevator incident. In June 2006, in a Las Vegas hotel elevator, he, former UFC welterweight champion Frank Trigg, and UFC president John White were in the same elevator. Bruce said, "We had just entered the elevator when Frank had Dana take him back to the octagon, which was fine. But I'm a watch enthusiast, and Dana had a really cool wristband on his watch. I walked up to Frank to look at his watch, and suddenly he grabbed me by the throat."

Frank thought he was just giving a simple greeting, since they had just had drinks together. But a martial artist like him couldn't hide his fiery temper, a "What are you looking at? What's it to you?" kind of anger. Bruce continued, "I looked at Frank and said, 'You hit me! Why the hell did you hit me?!'"

Frank's response was: "What do you want?"

Bruce reacted instinctively, drawing on his street boxing skills, and landed two punches to the stomach, using only 60% of his strength according to old fighting rules. But then the situation took a sharp turn for the better. Bruce Barford said, "We fought for ten floors and had a lot of fun."

After achieving renown in the combat sports world and becoming a prominent figure in American sports, Bruce Barford has cultivated a wide network of connections with celebrities. He has a long-standing relationship with podcast star Joe Rogan and has made numerous guest appearances in television series. His voice acting career has also expanded significantly, with frequent appearances on broadcasts and live events for baseball, American football, the World Beer Table Tennis Championships, and gaming competitions. On his personal website, you can also commission him to create custom recordings for your wedding, company events, special occasions, birthdays, and more.

According to MediaReferee, Bruce Baffer, as the main live announcer for the UFC Octagon, earns up to $50,000 per fight. Reports also indicate that he earns approximately $100,000 more for participating in special UFC events, such as International Fight Week, Madison Square Garden matches, and large pay-per-view events. As of 2023, his net worth was estimated at $12 million.

Aside from MMA enthusiasts, Chinese sports fans' first impression of this man might have been that of a quirky, eccentric figure. When F1 first came to Las Vegas, Liberty Media invited Bavo to introduce each driver. However, each driver had a distinct personality, a stark contrast to the fiery warriors in the octagon. As he dragged out his deep voice introducing, "Sergio Cheko Perez," Perez looked at him silently, a smile playing on his lips, giving the impression of "quietly watching you roar, never daring to interrupt." The scene was incredibly awkward. After nodding a few times to Perez, Bavo's passionate expression vanished, and he instantly turned away like a kind old man, sticking out his tongue awkwardly as he looked at his card. This scene was widely circulated as a meme among racing fans.

During the final of the USA-Canadian Cup, Buffon's classic roar echoed from the sidelines once again. This time, did his presence evoke awkwardness, a chill in the air, or did he reignite the sweltering heat of New Jersey, igniting that epic clash?