Israel Adesanya had WWE fans cheering for him at UFC 276 after he walked out to The Undertaker’s legendary theme song on his way out to face Jared Cannonier in the main event before eventually defeating “Killa Gorilla” via unanimous decision.
While Adesanya’s performance wasn’t the best of his career, his unique walkout — which has become a staple of “The Last Stylebender” to do something different each time — was up there with the all-time greats.
So what inspired Adesanya to pay homage to the now-retired WWE Superstar? It’s all because he’s been a fan of WWE and pro wrestling for as long as he can remember. In fact, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight champion says he will definitely try his hand at pro wrestling sometime down the road.
“Definitely, that’s something I’ll try my hand at later on,” Adesanya said told BT Sport after his win (via MMA Junkie). “Just for fun. I’m not saying it’s going to be a full-time job, but I’m definitely going to jump in the WWE, or something along that line, just for the entertainment factor.”
The Undertaker himself gave Adesanya his seal of approval, and Izzy’s walkout just so happened to take place in front of none other than WWE head cheese, Vince McMahon, his daughter Stephanie and Triple H, all who were sitting cageside taking in the action.
Adesanya definitely has the personality and charisma to be a WWE star, but it seems he is only interested in a one-off opportunity and won’t look to make a full-time gig like Ronda Rousey and other former UFC/MMA fighters before him have done.
For now, “The Last Stylebender” will continue his dominance over the UFC”s Middleweight division, with his next challenge likely coming against his kickboxing rival, Alex Pereira, who knocked out Sean Strickland in impressive fashion to shoot up the rankings and earn a shot at the title.