The Most Intimidating Walkouts in the History of MMA
We can all recall at least one intense MMA walkout that raised our heart rate and gave us chills all over the body. I mean, there’s nothing like seeing a confident fighter making a walk to the cage. They usually have that aura of menace around them which suggests “s***t is about to get real and someone is about to go down inside the cage”
Fight fans tend to slip up on the importance of walkouts and what they mean in combat sports. Fighters use these couple of minutes to further intimidate, show how ready they are, or rattle the focus of their rivals. As we are about to see below, some of them are/were really good at it. And they were able to win some of their fights even before the action has even started.
In this article, we are counting down, perhaps, the greatest walkouts in MMA history. We are bringing you the most intense ones that have produced the desired result. Yes, some walkouts we have taken below have had a huge impact on the opposite side.
Darren Till singing with the home crowd
Event: UFC Fight Night 130
Darren Till walking out at UFC Liverpool might not be the most intimidating thing ever. But, it is truly one of the most beautiful things that will make your day better. The connection you can feel between him and the crowd is utterly amazing.
There is and always will be something special when a fighter does a walk in front of their home crowd. It always gives me chills to see their friends and family members as they follow them into the battle. There’s nothing like it.
At UFC Liverpool, Till was coming off a dominant KO win over Donald Cerrone. And, the win over Wonderboy would lunch him into the title contender position. I mean, there was a lot of pressure on the Englishman.
As always, Till was looking confident while walking out of the tunnel. But it all went to another level when he heard a roar of the home crowd and the words of his favorite song “Sweet Caroline”.
I mean, this walkout left us speechless and it put a huge smile on our faces. Even if you are not a fan of Till, you have to take your hat off to the Englishmen and Liverpool fans. Till went on to deliver and put on a statement by winning the biggest fight of his career against a tough rival.
🎵 Song: Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond
Colby Covington against the world
Event: UFC on ESPN 5
Colby is a very polarising person who always finds a way to get under people’s skin. The approach and method he uses to create attention might not be of your taste. But, we can’t deny he is creating a lot of attention and getting the results.
The hype and pressure behind the “UFC on ESPN 5” event was huge. And, Colby needed to deliver to secure a shot at the 170lbs title. He talked massive trash leading up to a fight, insulting and pissing off all people around the world.
I am convinced that the majority of fans who bought PPV did that just to see Colby losing to Robbie Lawler. But from the first moment his walkout song started, we knew Colby was more than ready to put on a show. You could see and even feel the amount of pressure Colby was dealing with during the walkout.
He was taking deep breaths while trying to keep his focus on what’s ahead rather than the crowd boing. The song of WWE star Kurt Angel called “Medal” playing in the background just adds to the intensity of the moment.
Luckily for him, Colby managed to keep his focus on the task ahead, and put on a stellar performance.
🎵 Song: Kurt Angel-Medal
Chris Weidman shocking the world
Event: UFC 162
Leading up to his first fight against Anderson Silva, no-one gave Weidman any chances whatsoever. I mean, he was about to step in against a man on a 16 fight winning streak in UFC and arguably the greatest fighter of all times. For many MMA fans, Weidman was just another victim and in for a bad night at the office.
But, Chris was able to turn tables around with a very intense face-off during the weigh-ins. He was in Silva’s face, talking some trash and looking really confident. I mean, you could see he was not intimidated by “Spider” at all. I think this was a moment when Silva also realized this kid wasn’t a joke.
Just a day after, Weidman would make the walk to the cage looking like a fighter who is ready to shock the world. When I saw it on TV the first time, his walkout was just an average one for me. I too truly believed he was about to get destroyed by Silva.
However, when you look at it now, you can see that Chris wasn’t faking it. He walked out with a poker face while wearing the American flag around his shoulders, and “I won’t back down” song playing in the background. It was all pointing out that Chris was in to represent his country and pull the biggest upset in the history of the sport.
🎵 Song: I won’t back down by Tom Petty
GSP makes a comeback
Event: UFC 74
GSP is one of the best MMA fighters in history and Canada’s beloved fighter. He truly is the face of the Nation. His UFC fights in Canada were huge and every walkout very intense. But, we think GSP’s best entrance was the one at UFC 74 that took place in Las Vegas, Nevada.
At the time, GSP was coming off a loss to Matt Serra and was on a mission to regain his title. People were interested to see which GSP is going to show up and how the loss would affect him. But from the first second his walkout started, you could see GSP’s self-esteem was not under any question. As always, he was wearing a kimono and headband, proudly representing Karate and his native Canada.
As he was taking a walk, GSP showed various emotions, all suggesting that Koshchek was in for a bad night.
🎵 Song: Rohff- Dirty Hous
Wanderlei Silva legendary walkout at PRIDE
Event: Pride Final Conflict 2003
Silva is widely known as one of the most intimidating fighters in the history of the sport. In his prime, he was one of those fighters who were there to hurt and get hurt regardless of the result. And this is why people were crazy about him.
Silva was a pure fighter and synonymous with violence inside the MMA ring or a cage. From walkouts to faceoffs, Silva was all about showing his toughness and getting under his opponent’s skin.
Coming into his first fight against Rampage, the Brazilian was at the peak of his prime. Even though Ramage was intimidating in his own right, Silva was just too good for him.
When “Darude — Sandstorm” hit and Silva began rising on a lift, we all knew we were about to see some brutality. I mean, the PRIDE entries were much better from what we have now. Walkouts were very important back then.
And let’s not forget, “Sandstorm” was a megahit at the time!
Silva went on to knock Rampage out in the first round. This fight marks the start of one of the biggest rivalries in MMA history.
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Naoya Ogawa
Event: Pride Critical Countdown 2004
Fedor has always been a man of few words and a person who has never shown any emotion whatsoever. I mean, it takes a special mindset to walk out in front of 90.000 people in the arena during PRIDE FC, looking like you have just woken up. And we know this may sound weird, but this was what made Fedor so intimidating.
Fedor was by far the most violent fighter of his era, and yet, he was so calm and relaxed outside of the ring. He may look sleepy while walking out, but you knew he was about to push that killer button as soon as the fight starts.
That contrast between the violence inside the ring and calmness outside of it was what made Fedor so special. And the aura of invisibility goes to another level when you think he once was on a 27 fight win streak.
Fedor’s walkout against Ogawa is an ideal instance. Despite being a Japanese superstar, Ogawa was no match for Fedor at the time, and the entire world knew what was going to happen. To make matters worse, Ogawa walked towards the ring wearing a T-shirt that said: “I’m a chicken” and he did look nervous.
Fedor ended the fight by submitting Ogawa inside the first minute.
📬 Get weekly updates straight to your inbox
💬 💬 💬 💬 💬 💬
We also have a chat room! (We use Discord) join here
Martial arts unleashed is the fastest growing Martial Arts Publication and media company in the world with almost 1 million followers across the unleashed network. Give us a follow on medium for weekly articles.
