Bruce Buffer, the longtime ring announcer for the UFC, says retirement is nowhere on his mind as he prepares to work UFC 344 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday night.
Buffer, 69, has served as the promotion’s in-ring announcer since 1996 and became full-time the following year. In the decades since, he has called thousands of fights at hundreds of major events worldwide as the UFC’s profile has grown into a global phenomenon.
Asked by OutKick how much longer he intends to keep working, Buffer made clear he isn’t going anywhere.
“That seems to be a question I get a lot these days,” Buffer said. “I still got it. Unless everybody wants me to leave—and I understand — but I plan on being here. I told everybody I’m looking forward to UFC 400. That doesn’t mean I’m going to retire [then]. I can’t stand still. I physically and mentally put every ounce of energy I can into every night at work.”
With the UFC holding roughly one major event a month, UFC 400 wouldn’t arrive until the summer of 2031. Before that milestone, Buffer’s next assignment is Saturday’s card at Madison Square Garden, which he described as stacked with bouts for “hardcore fight fans.”
Buffer is also appearing in Bud Light’s new “Fight Night Feast” campaign, which pairs official UFC gloves, two tomahawk steaks, a Paramount+ subscription for streaming fights, and the beer itself. In the ad, Buffer plays a steak waiter.
“It sounds like a perfect night,” Buffer said. “I’ve always loved being self-deprecating, as they say. I love humor, and I love poking fun at myself. When Bud Light came to me, showed me the storyboards and we talked about it, I thought, ‘Oh, this is going to be fun. I could definitely get into this one.’ I have no problem being funny and doing whatever it takes.”
Commercial cameo aside, Buffer will be back in his familiar role at Madison Square Garden on Saturday — and expects to keep returning to arenas for years to come.
“I plan on doing this for at least another 10 years,” Buffer said.
Even so, he says he doesn’t coast on reputation or longevity.
“Every night is my very first night. I have to prove to myself, the fans, the powers that be, Dana White, you, and the fighters that I deserve this job,” Buffer said. “I want to go home knowing I deserve it. When I come out tomorrow night, Saturday night, that’s my first night. I don’t live on my laurels. I’m 69 now, but I’ve been an athlete my whole life. I train and want to keep going. I work around the greatest athletes in the world. They keep me going.”
