Israel Adesanya is not your typical fighter. The former UFC middleweight champion, of course, doesn’t fit into the mold of typical UFC champion fighters that have been set for the past three decades. A millennial through and through, the Yoruba loves anime, TikTok, and dancing, quite atypical for fighters in general, let alone UFC fighters, who are among the toughest of ’em all. And ‘Izzy’s uniqueness and flair are nowhere more clear than a few of his best-known walk-out songs.

As he gears up to face reigning middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis for his old title and to settle the personal score between them on UFC 305 this Saturday, let us look at the most memorable and epic walkouts of his career.

Israel Adesanya’s unforgettable UFC 243 title bout walk-out

Undoubtedly, the best-known walkout that Adesanya has made came in the most important fight of his career so far. ‘Izzy’ famously fought for the middleweight title only after a year in the Dana White-led promotion on UFC 243 in 2019. And to set the scene and show he meant business in his first title bout against then-champ Robert Whittaker, the former kickboxer would make one of the most iconic walk-outs in all of UFC history.

‘Izzy’ really enjoys dancing and even told reporters that “dance culture was my culture” before UFC 243. It was apparent that he did indeed enjoy dancing and the culture associated with it, as his walk-out was preceded by three dancers, two of whom were the ones who taught him to dance. The trio set the scene by breakdancing as ‘Izzy’ made his entrance a few minutes later.

However, instead of walking straight towards the octagon, the Kiwi-Nigerian joined the dancers, and showed that he indeed had rhythm by pulling out some sick, even acrobatic dance moves to the tunes of Big Rulez’s anthem ‘Hype 2 Hype’. And all of this to a packed, electrified, and cheering Melbourne crowd.

After this electrifying walk-out, ‘Izzy’ proceeded to electrify the crowd with a second-round knockout of Whittaker to emerge as the new middleweight champion of the UFC. The only other walkout that could even think of competing with Adesanya’s memorable UFC 243 walkout is the one at UFC 276 almost three years later.

‘Izzy’ channeled his inner Undertaker for UFC 276 walk-out

Adesanya, like almost every 90s kid, grew up watching the WWE, which he used to love and enjoy. You will remember the moment a star-struck Adesanya stopped a press conference midway as he caught WWE superstar Booker-T in the background. But nowhere was his love for the pro wrestling promotion (and one superstar in particular) more apparent than in his memorable UFC 276 walkout.

Taking inspiration from the ‘Dead Man’ himself, ‘Izzy’ walked out not only to WWE superstar The Undertaker‘s theme song to a dark arena but also donned the latter’s iconic black wide-brimmed hat and urn. Needless to say, the UFC crowd, too, went crazy just like the WWE crowd has gone countless times after the arena goes dark and the unmistakable gong announcing the ‘Dead Man’s entry.

‘Izzy’ went on to defend his title for the sixth time against Jared Cannonier on the Las Vegas card, but that victory was overshadowed by the former kickboxer’s indelible walk-out. Which of Israel Adesanya’s walk-outs are your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.