Kirkus Reviews QR Code
IT'S TIME! by Bruce Buffer

IT'S TIME!

My 360-Degree View of the UFC

by Bruce Buffer

Pub Date: May 14th, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-307-95391-9
Publisher: Crown Archetype

The veteran Ultimate Fighting Championship announcer shares his life story. 

The central portion of Buffer's memoir chronicles his recent knee injury (sustained, ironically, while announcing at a UFC event) and his commitment to making a complete recovery. However, it is his account of life outside of the UFC that provides key insights into the very full personality behind the “Voice of the Octagon.” Growing up in Malibu with a hard-charging father, a former Marine turned novelist, Buffer had an adventure-filled childhood. He achieved financial success working at a series of telemarketing companies and went on to do well in the high-stakes world of competitive poker. After discovering as an adult that boxing announcer Michael Buffer was his long-lost brother, Bruce formed a business partnership with his famous sibling and was involved in the lucrative decision to trademark Michael’s catchphrase, “Let’s get ready to rumble!” Their relationship sparked Bruce’s desire to become an announcer himself for the then-new sport of mixed martial arts, which has gained significant popularity in recent years. Interspersed throughout the book are “Bufferisms” drawn from the lessons he learned on his tumultuous life's journey; they offer inspirational, though often pedantic, words of wisdom about how to achieve success in business and personal relations. Of course, Buffer also includes plenty of behind-the-scenes stories about partying and fighting alongside some of the biggest names in MMA, including BJ Penn, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz. Outsized personalities from Hollywood and the world of competitive poker make cameo appearances as well.

An amalgam of entertaining vignettes written in an informal, rambling style.