UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer explains the story behind 'It's Time!'

Bruce Buffer explains how he came up with his pre-fight catchphrase.

Veteran UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer’s energetic style makes every UFC main event feel like an epic occurrence, and his signature phrase “it’s time” has become iconic. During a conversation with ESPN’s Stan Verrett, Buffer broke down how he came up with it.

“Every day when I used to wake up, I’d look in the mirror and I’d always used to go ‘it’s time. I want to have the best day ever.’ So when I first started announcing in the UFC back in 1996, I’d start off the show saying ‘it’s time for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.’

And then I changed that and I put it at the end because I figure… OK, the fighters have been training for 6-to-8 weeks, the fans have been sitting here watching for 4-to-6 hours, the main event is happening now, it’s time. This is where it’s all going to come down, this is where you lay it all on the line, let’s do this.”

Buffer will be back in the octagon Saturday night for UFC 244, headlined by Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal.