Israel Adesanya’s flair for the theatrical has never been quite so tangible as in his UFC 276 walkout. Ahead of the headlining fight on the main card, which saw “The Last Stylebender” successfully defend his middleweight title against Jared Cannonier, he walked into the arena mimicking The Undertaker’s famous routine, complete with black hat, an urn with Cannonier’s name on it, and The Undertaker’s theme song.
At the post-fight press conference, Adesanya discussed how he felt delivering this tribute before an audience that included WWE executives Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. “It just works, the theme for me. I’m an artist. It just works.
Adesanya on Elaborate “Undertaker” Walkout
Wednesday night is when we wrestle. Towards the end of the rounds, 12 rounds, towards the end, the last three or four rounds, I’ll chock on my playlist from YouTube, WWE Attitude from the Attitude Era. I have like 20 different tracks from superstars I admire and that would get me in that zone, and the Undertaker’s theme was one of them.
So as I was sitting down feeling it on Tuesday, it just made sense, and also big shout-out to the UFC production team because they were really accommodating and helpful to make it a show. This is the UFC. You want to give them a show. I said all week this feels like WrestleMania. Who’s undefeated at WrestleMania? The Undertaker, and I’ve been feeling dark all week.”
Adesanya continued, describing his feelings walking out to the Octagon. “I was very hands on. I felt like I was a producer today when I was at the arena. I was talking [to a producer] and just walked through and I happened to look at the screen, seen what it looked like on TV, seeing what it looked like in the arena and they were so accommodating, which I appreciate that. I like to put on a show and I like to entertain, and I did just that.”
Did he know that Vince McMahon and co. would be there to see his Undertaker tribute in all its glory? “It wasn’t a thing I planned. Like I said, the universe just provides and it’s a weird synergy, a weird crossover, but I like it because I grew up on that s***.
I hoped they enjoyed the show. I had an off night but still 5-0. It’s crazy, isn’t it?” One fan who appreciated the walkout was the Undertaker himself, who Tweeted his appreciation:
“The long walk many opponents know and fear … congrats @stylebender! #UFC276” What did you think of Israel Adesanya’s walkout? Let us know in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G77ir5I2R4E
