With a legacy spanning 29 years, Bruce Buffer recently announced that he is nearly a year away from completing three decades with the promotion as the voice of the Octagon. His signature catchphrase, “Iiiiiiiiiiit’s Tiiiiiimme!!” has become synonymous with the UFC. However, it appears the time may be approaching for the veteran announcer to consider retirement, as fans have begun expressing concerns about the health of their beloved voice at UFC Seattle.

After nearly three decades of service, Bruce Buffer’s voice appears to be breaking out. His UFC Seattle endeavor has the fans worried as not only did his voice break but it appeared that the announcer had some trouble reading the scorecards. Popular MMA content creator, ‘Spinnin Backfist’ noticed the commotion and took to their X handle to highlight it, “Hopefully the GOAT Bruce Buffer is okay. Seems off tonight.” 

Bruce Buffer has been with the UFC since 1996. Initially, it was his brother, Michael Buffer, who announced the events, but Bruce made sure to break in and carve a path for himself. While having a conversation on ‘ The Ariel Helwani Show,’ Buffer emphasized that he went to Puerto Rico to announce his first UFC event, “I brought him (Ferrozzo) down. I called up Meyrowitz and said, ‘Robert, I’m bringing my tuxedo in my bag. Let me announce the prelims.”

He further added, “Let me show you what I’ve got.’ The night before the show he said, ‘yYou know what, you can announce the prelims.’ That’s exactly what I wanted to do. That’s the only reason I went down there,”  Despite his impressive debut, Buffer was not called upon by the UFC to announce the fights at UFC 9. However, things changed at UFC 10 when he received the call. Decades have passed since then and Buffer has been an integral part of the promotion. However, his age might be catching up and the fans are worried.

MMA community worried about Bruce Buffer’s weird behavior at UFC Seattle

Starting off with a bit of position attitude, a fan emphasized that nothing is wrong with Bruce Buffer except the fact that he doesn’t like Seattle, “He doesn’t like Seattle.” However, another fan would beg to differ as Buffer did seem to struggle with reading the scorecards, and in addition to that he appeared tired, It’s really weird it’s almost like he’s having trouble reading the scorecard. Hopefully it’s just the paper that’s confusing him or something.”

Moreover, another fan was concerned about Buffer’s weird behavior, “Yeah, it feels a little weird tonight.” It is worth noting that back in 2021, Bruce Buffer contracted COVID-19 and had to rest. Considering the virus directly affects the lungs—and Buffer’s career relies heavily on them—this was particularly concerning. Given that, another fan believes, Buffer is just old, “Getting old . Not the same anymore.” 

However, it appears that another fan has been observing the same pattern for months now. It must be noted that there’s no alternative for Bruce Buffer in the UFC as of yet and he has been announcing most of the events for the promotion, “I’ve been saying for like 6 months that he needs to retire, for real.” Last but not least, Buffer might be losing his voice as per a fan, “Losing his voice. He’s been sounding off for a while now”

Is the ‘Voice of the Octagon’ hiding something from his fans? or is it just another episode in Bruce Buffer’s career? What are your thoughts on the hubbub? State your opinion in the comments below.