Bruce Buffer

(Props: Cafepress.com/Buffer360 via bismanfightclub.)

Planning on attending UFC 100? If so, we hope you've been practicing your Fedor chant. And if you haven't yet planned your outfit, may we suggest this fetching Obama-inspired Bruce Buffer tee? Rumors of a possible "Buffer 360" at UFC 100 have spread like wildfire over the last few months; if we can hope hard enough and believe boldly enough, then maybe, just maybe, he'll pull it off. Joe Rogan has claimed that if Buffer lands the full rotation during the event, he'll shit his pants. What will you do?

(Buy the shirt here. And follow Mr. Buffer on Twitter here.)

(Props: the UG)

Bruce Buffer may be the last sure thing left in the UFC.  Here's footage of him introducing Anderson Silva at UFC 97 and making it into an event all its own.  Check out the hops on the Buff.  Who knew?  It used to be that Silva was guaranteed to give you your money's worth.  With him not wanting to "risk" his belt, those days may be over.  At least Buffer still knows how to deliver.

After the jump, Ken Shamrock prepares to make his UFC comeback against an opponent who's just his style.

(Props: MMA Mania)

Lots to point your eyeballs at today. First, there's the above extended trailer for the UFC's next pay-per-view event, #97 in Montreal on April 18th. The theme, of course, is "Redemption" — Anderson Silva wants to make up for his unsatisfying last performance against Patrick Cote, while Mauricio Rua and Chuck Liddell battle to regain their relevence. The best moment comes at the 4:41 mark, where Thales Leites says "He has to kill me, you know, or I will take this belt," and Silva gives the camera a look that says it all: Which do you think is more likely to happen?

Below: The best MMA-related video remix we've seen all year. In this take on the much-parodied "Hitler blowup" scene from Downfall, Adolf's underlings have to explain to him why Fedor Emelianenko won't be fighting in the UFC. It doesn't go well.

(Props: "Card" on the UG)

After the jump: Bruce Buffer hints that an unprecedented 360-degree Buffer Turn could be in our future, and Rashad Evans discusses his transition to movie-fighting on the set of Death Warrior.

Watch BRUCE BUFFER Talks UFC 94 BJ PENN VS GSP on RawVegas.tv

Upon first hearing this story of the genesis of the best intro ritual in all of MMA – I speak now, of course, of the Buffer Turn – and learning that it came about by accident, I admit I was stunned.  That’s like learning that the invention of the telephone was all just a screw-up, or that For Whom The Bell Tolls was written on cocktail napkins during a three-day drinking bender.  How can something so beautiful be the product of mere happenstance?

But it’s true, fight fans.  The Buffer Turn (and please, can’t we all call it that?  Buffer 180 sounds like a skateboard trick) may have been an accident, but it’s part of our lives now.  And thank God for that.

All this, and more, in Raw Vegas's talk with the man behind the microphone.  You may be asking yourself: does he ever take off that suit?  To which he would reply: does Superman take off his cape?  Not while he's working.  And as long as he's talking, Buffer is working, son.

Matt Hamill will be welcoming Rich Franklin back to the light heavyweight division at UFC 88 on September 6th, and he expects some fearsome striking from the former middleweight champ. But he trusts in his always-improving game, and knows he needs to face the best opponents available to earn his respect. Props to ESPN via FiveOuncesofPain.

Joe Rogan gives us a glimpse of the average UFC fight weekend for him, which generally includes a standup comedy performance on Friday night. A clip from his gig at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis starts at the 2:23 mark of this video, in which Joe does a solid Jim Brown impression and discusses his infamous "rape choke" commentary blunder at UFC Fight Night 13. Props to MMA Mania.