Bruce Buffer is a significant part of the UFC because he hypes up the audience inside the arena by announcing the fighters’ names in his bellowing voice. Meanwhile, Jim Miller has a special request from the announcer before his UFC 300 fight. The MMA veteran is set to face Bobby Green, and he wants Buffer to announce him as “Jim ‘F******’ Miller.”
However, this request which might seem simple to the fighter will not be fulfilled by the announcer. Moreover, John Anik, a former ESPN anchor and commentator, elaborated on the genuine reason why such a request would not be possible.
Bruce Buffer shot down Jim Miller’s request
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As UFC buffs already know, Miller’s nickname has always been A-10. However, in a recent interview, he wanted to be called by a different name during the fight announcements because he wanted to hype up the audience in the T mobile arena. However, Buffer would not be able to fulfill his wish currently because he stated, “I don’t like cursing in my job. I respect Jim’s wishes. At this point, the answer is no. I’d go for Jim friggin Miller, maybe.” An Instagram page recently announced the news again with the anecdote, “Bruce Buffer will not be able to announce Jim F****** Miller at UFC 300 because the fight is on ESPN. Via Jon Anik.”
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Buffer remained adamant about not breaking his no-cursing rule, and the UFC has confirmed that they will uphold it. In a recent interview with Kevin Iole, former ESPN anchor Jon Anik disclosed that he had been informed Miller would be fighting on the ESPN prelims. Given the significant platform, the announcer would also be prohibited from cursing during the fighter introductions.
Anik also added, “… Bruce Buffer and I got a text message from our producer Zack Candido yesterday and that said, ‘We’re gonna be on ESPN for Jim Miller so no chance’. So, there you have it, from Zack Candido and the UFC brass so it’s not happened on ESPN which doesn’t surprise you but there will be opportunities to introduce him as Jim f****** Miller and we’ll see if I take advantage of those opportunities.”
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However, it seems like both Jim Miller and John Anik did not outright reject the request. They hinted that they might fulfill Miller’s desire for a specific announcement at another event. Meanwhile, Miller is announced as A-10. But why is his nickname so technical?
Jim Miller’s nickname has a connection to the military
Ahead of the UFC 213 fight in 2017 against Anthony Pettis, Miller had spoken to Ariel Helwani where he talked about the origin of his nickname that is announced by Bruce Buffer every time he gets on stage. Miller explained that his nickname was inspired by the A-10 Warthog. He said, ‘The Warthog here and there, but it was always kind of because of the A-10 Warthog…”
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This is also the nickname of Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, a close air support attack plane used in the United States Air Force since 1976. Miller reasoned that he related to this aircraft because, like him, it may not be the most flashy but gets the job done. He admitted to coming up with the nickname himself, feeling that his real name was “a little bit vanilla” for hyping up the audience or brand marketing.