Michael Buffer

Did you know?!

1. Big break

   Buffer began as a ring announcer in 1982. The next year, he announced every boxing match that Bob Arum's Top Rank promoted on ESPN, giving him a national identity when announcers were hired strictly locally.

2. A change of course

   Buffer held a variety of jobs, among them selling cars. At 32 he started working as a model, and at 38 he became a ring announcer.

3. A role that slipped away

   Buffer's exclusive contract with World Championship Wrestling stopped him from announcing for other wrestling organizations, which forced him to give up announcing for the UFC after only UFC 6 and UFC 7.

4. 

   Beyond film

   Buffer's voice turns up often in music, among them the opening track of Tupac Shakur's All Eyez on Me. That recording had been meant for a different song, "Let's Get Ready To Rumble", left off the finished album.

5. Beyond film

   Buffer announced the 2008 World Series of Poker final table, starting the heads-up play between Peter Eastgate and Ivan Demidov with a modified version of his trademark line: "Let's get ready to shuffle up and deal."