From "Zombie" to "Lose Yourself:" The top walkouts in MMA and boxing
Before the first punch is thrown on Saturday, everyone watching will see the evening’s narrative begin to unfold. When Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou walk to the ring, what will come into view?
Fury is known for flamboyant walkouts, including one of the boldest ever by a prizefighter. Prior to his 2020 rematch with Deontay Wilder, Fury was carried to the ring while sitting on a golden throne. He was wearing a red robe fit for a king. An entrance like that positions a fighter, especially one nicknamed “The Gypsy King,” for an epic performance; Fury did just that en route to a seventh-round knockout.
Will Fury do something elaborate this weekend, suggesting that he’s uber confident going into his matchup with an MMA fighter who’s never fought a professional boxing match? Will Ngannou, true to his quiet nature, walk out looking like all business, or will he appear swept up in the moment? The fight may not begin until the opening bell rings, but the story of the fight does.
Walkouts have an illustrious history in combat sports. Fighters become defined by the song that plays as they step into the arena. Ronda Rousey, strutting with a scowl every time she headed toward the Octagon, embodied Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation.” Conor McGregor has long walked out to “The Foggy Dew,” and for his 2015 fight against Chad Mendes, the UFC arranged for Sinead O’Connor to sing it live in the arena as McGregor entered. But the boldest walkout of all — comparable to Fury’s — was by Israel Adesanya, who performed a choreographed dance on his way to the cage for his 2019 (successful) challenge for the UFC middleweight title.
Here’s a rundown of some of the most memorable walkouts that have entertained fight fans in the past 30 years:
MMA: Israel Adesanya’s choreographed dance at UFC 243
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A look back at Israel Adesanya’s memorable walkout at UFC 243
“The Last Stylebender” Israel Adesanya has one of the most unique walk-outs in the UFC.
Date: October 5, 2019
The former UFC middleweight champion shocked the world twice at UFC 243. First, as the then interim title holder, Adesanya collaborated with some childhood friends to perform a choreographed dance during his walkout into the Octagon. Many UFC fans believe this is the greatest walkout the promotion has had. Then, Adesanya followed up the entrance with a second-round knockout of Robert Whittaker to claim the unified title.
Boxing: “Prince” Naseem Hamed enters on a “magic carpet”
Date: Mar. 11, 2000
While Hamed’s WBO featherweight title defense against Vuyani Bungu may not have made the list of his most memorable performances, his entrance for that fight certainly did. Fans inside London’s Olympia London looked up to see “Prince” Naseem entering the ring on a flying “magic carpet” that was suspended from the ceiling. Hamed went on to knockout Bungu in four rounds.
Hamed, a boxing Hall of Famer, is one of the most charismatic fighters to emerge out of England and he played a major role in helping featherweight fighters earn more money in boxing.
MMA: The Gracie Train at UFC 1
Three words: The Gracie Train
The grand daddy of them all comes in at #2! pic.twitter.com/Wlnku75IJU
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) May 29, 2023
Date: Nov. 12, 1993
At the first-ever UFC event, Royce Gracie made his entrance in dramatic fashion. Accompanied by each of the family members that were in his corner that night, the Gracie’s lined up one-by-one with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them and marched into McNichols Sports Arena in Denver. The Gracie’s made the same entrance three times that night, ahead of each of the matches Royce took part in. He went on to win the tournament, submitting each of his opponents in under three minutes.
Boxing: Wladimir Klitschko’s stunning lightshow entrance
Date: Mar. 20, 2010
As a fighter, Klitschko wasn’t flashy. However, his ring walks certainly were. Klitschko was one of the biggest sporting stars in Europe and he is one of the biggest stars in heavyweight boxing history. For his fight against Eddie Chambers, Klitschko made one of the most impressive entrances boxing has seen. The walkout featured a light show, pyrotechnics and fireworks. It even featured a prefight hype full of Klitschko’s best punches entitled “The KlitschK.O. Show”.
MMA: Brian Ortega‘s “The Purge”-inspired walkout
“Commencing at the siren, any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for 12 continuous hours.”
Brian Ortega (@BrianTcity) puts the arena on notice ahead of his UFC 266 main event walkout and lands himself at #6 on our countdown of the greatest walkouts in UFC history! pic.twitter.com/yMdytqjFfv
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) May 25, 2023
Date: Sept. 25, 2021
Ortega went all out for his entrance in his second challenge for the UFC featherweight title. He and each of the people in his corner walked into T-Mobile Arena wearing dark masks, with LED across their eyes and mouth, inspired by the hit movie series “The Purge.”
Boxing: Roy Jones Jr. with Method Man and Redman
Date: Jan. 15, 2000
For his fight against David Telesco, the first-ever fight held in New York’s Radio City Music Hall, Jones had rappers Method Man and Redman perform their hit song “Da Rockwilder” during his entrance. At that time, Method Mad and Redman were two of the biggest stars in music, seeing them perform during a fight walkout was unexpected to everyone watching. Jones went on to beat Telesco by unanimous decision.
MMA: Sinead O’Connor performs “The Foggy Dew” live for McGregor’s walkout at UFC 189
It could only be one man…
Sinead O’Connor and Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) team up for the greatest walkout in UFC history! pic.twitter.com/Pi4KYut5HY
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) May 30, 2023
Date: Jul. 11, 2015
McGregor was on the verge of becoming one of the biggest stars the sport has ever seen, and this moment may have helped elevate his stardom. The Irishman — whose walkout music consists of a mix of the song “Notorious” by The Notorious B.I.G. and Sinead O’Connor’s “The Foggy Dew” — opted to have O’Connor perform live, elevated above a packed house inside MGM Grand in Las Vegas for his entrance. “The Foggy Dew” is a song about encouraging Irishmen to fight for the cause of Ireland.
Following the walkout, McGregor went on to beat Chad Mendes to claim the UFC interim featherweight title.
Boxing: Eminem performs during Terence Crawford’s walkout ahead of Errol Spence fight
.@TerenceCrawford got his wish and had @Eminem walk him out 📷 #SpenceCrawford pic.twitter.com/hRDu6mwGmm
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) July 30, 2023
Date: July 29, 2023
Countless fighters have walked out to Eminem’s hit song “Lose Yourself”, but only one has done it with the rapper himself. Crawford scored big twice that night, getting Eminem, someone who rarely makes public appearances, to introduce him during his walkout for an undisputed welterweight title fight against Errol Spence.
Crawford followed that entrance with a scorching seventh-round TKO win over Spence to become the undisputed champ and earn the top spot in ESPN’s No. 1 pound-for-pound rankings. This was one of the biggest fights that boxing has put together in recent memory.
MMA: Israel Adesanya pays homage to WWE’s The Undertaker at UFC 276
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Adesanya defends middleweight title in impressive showing vs. Cannonier
Israel Adesanya continues his dominant middleweight title defense run with a unanimous decision victory over Jared Cannonier at UFC 276.
Date: July 2, 2022
After performing what many believe to be the best walkout in UFC history at UFC 243, Adesanya had another viral entrance for his title fight against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276.
Inspired by WWE’s The Undertaker, Adesanya entered a blacked-out T-Mobile Arena with Undertaker’s theme music playing while holding an urn with Cannonier’s name engraved on it. Adesanya went on to beat Cannonier by unanimous decision.
Boxing: Deontay Wilder makes ring walk in a crystal-adorned costume
Date: Feb. 22, 2020
The most memorable walkout in boxing might be Wilder’s entrance for his rematch of a 2018 draw with Tyson Fury, but not for what you might think.
Wilder entered MGM Grand Arena donning a nearly 50-pound black suit that was covered in Swarovski crystals, but after absorbing a brutal seven-round beating by Fury, Wilder blamed the suit for affecting his ability to perform in the fight. He claimed that carrying the weight of that suit during the ring walk drained the energy in his legs.
MMA: “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung‘s final walkout of his MMA career
Date: Aug. 26, 2023
“The Korean Zombie” saved his best walkout for last.
In the last fight of his MMA career, Jung took on a fellow UFC legend Max Holloway. While the fight was full of entertainment, it was Jung’s entrance that stole the show that night. As Jung made his entrance into a packed Singapore Indoor Stadium, each of the members in the crowd were singing his signature walkout song, “Zombie” by The Cranberries as if they knew this would be the last time they saw him inside the Octagon. A truly electric moment.
