Israel Adesanya overcame Dana White’s initial reluctance to create one of the most unforgettable walkouts in UFC history.
Adesanya danced his way to the Octagon at UFC 243 in 2019, bringing the Australian crowd to its feet before knocking out Robert Whittaker in devastating fashion.
He was subsequently crowned the new UFC middleweight champion, and the record-breaking main event remains etched in the memories of MMA fans ever since.
“It was just about expressing myself,” Adesanya explained on Pound 4 Pound with fellow ex-UFC champions Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo.
“I said to Dana, ‘Let me do this entrance,’ he was like, ‘No,’ so I said, ‘Fine, whatever.’
“That was my show – the biggest show – it was sold out. Biggest attendance, biggest gate, I was like, ‘I’m gonna do this my way, or no way.’”
Over 57,000 fans packed into Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium for UFC 243, which still holds the record for the most attended card in the company’s history.
Adesanya was entering enemy territory too, as both New Zealand representatives threw down in an all-Oceanic region affair.
Whittaker was born and raised a Kiwi, but he fights out of Australia, while Nigerian native Adesanya moved to the South Pacific island when he was young.
“So I Dana, ‘I’m doing this. Trust me. It’ll work,’ he was like, ‘Alright, kid.’ and let me,” ‘The Last Stylebender’ added.
“Some fighters have told me, ‘How did you do that?’ Because the pressure is on you for the fight, but for me, it took my mind off the fight.
“I had already done the work, so I knew what I could do. The night before the fight, I went to the stadium and did rehearsals – I ran through it three times.
“I walked into the Octagon, shadow boxed a little bit, visualised going out into the cage and doing my thing after I’d won.
“I was in bed watching [the rehearsals] thinking, ‘This is going to be sick. Replay. This is gonna look cool. Replay,’ and I just couldn’t wait to do it and it hits, and it’s going to go viral and crazy.
“I wasn’t even worried about the fight. So, for me, ‘I like cool s***.’ Dancing, I find it expressive and cool.”
Adesanya made his way out in the Aussie arena after longtime friends Jay and Jessy, who taught the two-time champion how to dance, introduced the legendary walkout.
The now 35-year-old walked out of the tunnel and wowed fans with an inch-perfect routine that included flips and tricks you would expect from a pro.
“So when it came down to it…I was like, ‘We’ve done this already, this is deja vu,’ it was just so easy.
“The flip, and then walking out I did this move and didn’t even know where it came from,” Adesanya concluded.
“My body just went to Goku. Those moments I sit in it, I like those moments because you have to bask in it.
“Everyone was yelling at me but I didn’t even care. I’m going towards this guy and I’m going to take him out. That’s it.
“Then, when I hit that punch…you’re not meant to throw a hook from that position…it worked. It landed, and we made history.”
The fight started fairly evenly, until the final ten seconds of round one when Adesanya dropped Whittaker with a right hand that nearly had him out cold.
Luckily for Whittaker, the bell sounded almost immediately and both men came out firing once again for round two.
Whittaker began to find his feet, but Adesanya was able to reply with his own slick combinations.
As we approached the last two minutes, Whittaker, looking beaten up, seemed to be the sharper of the two, as he attempted constant high kicks to try and finish his opponent.
However, with just 90 seconds on the clock, Adesanya finished the fight in incredible style.
As both fighters went to trade, Adesanya slipped Whittaker’s attempt which allowed him to lean back, counter with a right hand, and instantly follow up with a left that cracked the later to send him into a dancing daze.
Referee Marc Goddard was quick on the scene as Whittaker flopped to the canvas, and the Briton subsequently waved off the fight.
Adesnaya went on to defend the belt five more times before dropping it to Alex Pereira.
He is now fresh off three consecutive defeats in White’s promotion with his most recent coming against Nassourdine Imavov in February.
‘The Last Stylebender’ has been training with retired Navy SEAL David Goggins for his UFC return as he eyes up a rematch with Sean Strickland, who he shockingly dropped the 185lb belt to in September 2023 after winning it back from Pereira.
