UFC Announcer Bruce Buffer Talks MMA and Poker Connection at PSPC
Poker and MMA go hand-in-hand, both requiring discipline, competitive drive, precision and discretion. On top of that, the two realms overlap a good deal in terms of demographics, a major reason for the recently announced partnership between PokerStars and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®).
One person heavily involved in both of these worlds is Bruce Buffer, the veteran voice of the world-famous UFC Octagon. Aware of Buffer’s robust history as a poker player and in light of their recent sponsorship deal, PokerStars invited Buffer to play in the $25K PSPC on a Platinum Pass freeroll.
Buffer obliged and came out to the Bahamas to announce the kick off of the biggest $25K in history, and also to take his shot in it.
UFC-Poker Connection
The renowned MMA cage announcer sat down with PokerNews’ [Removed:139] before the start of Day 2 and shared some of his thoughts on the UFC-PokerStars deal and the links between poker and MMA.
“I think it’s a brilliant move and a brilliant partnership for many reasons. The demographic with the UFC with the 18 to 34 crowd which are big in the poker world, they’ll be more embedded into this. We just signed a big deal with ESPN so we’re going to be on more TV sets and more eyeballs than ever, so the timing is perfect.”
As a longtime poker player in the Los Angeles and Las Vegas areas, Buffer is atuned to the parallels between the worlds he fluctuates between.
“There are a lot of mental similarities between fighting and poker: when to be offensive, when to be defensive, when to go in for the knockout - which means you’re either going to get knocked out or you’re going to knock out your opponent, whether it’s for the chips on the table or you knock ‘em out in the Octagon.
“In business and in life, poker is a parable to many things,” he continued. “I truly believe that and I’ve been a very passionate lover and player of poker for many years.”
For someone as passionate about poker as Buffer is, the chance to play in the PSPC was an exciting one.
Finished Day #1 with 71,100 chips & the average chip count for remaining players is 80.477. 1,015 started & 754 l… https://t.co/NmdHvKu0h3
— Bruce Buffer (@brucebuffer)
Though he got through Day 1 with a healthy stack, he wasn’t as fortunate here on Day 2 as he busted in the third level of the day. You can watch the interview with Buffer from just before the start of Day 2 below: