It’s always the walkout songs that provide last-minute hype for fights. Well, of course, Bruce Buffer’s announcements have a hype of their own. But walkout songs account for the stylish introduction of the fighters making the walk to the Octagon while telling a story about the fighter along the way. After all, these songs are what make waves of cheers through the crowd as the fighters step into the arena to finally face their opponents.
And the same is true for UFC 312. Most fight fans have shown excitement about the rematch between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland, as well as the co-headliner bout between Zhang Weili and Tatiana Suarez. But the rest of the card has failed to raise the hype around the overall event. And that’s where the walkout songs would come in. Let’s take a look at what the fighters have chosen to walk out to at UFC 312.
Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland’s walkout song
The last time Du Plessis fought Strickland, it was to win the middleweight championship title. This time around, he’ll be the one defending the title. And to intimidate the title challenger before stepping onto the Octagon to defend the middleweight belt for the second consecutive time, ‘Stillknocks’ chose a thunderous tune to enter the Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia.
And it seems, for this event, the South African middleweight champion is going with his regulars. Dricus Du Plessis always walks out to Airbourne’s heavy metal tune Live It Up blaring through the arena’s speakers, keeping fans at the edge of their seats. No doubt, he walks out to this song to make sure that his opponents know that he is there to win. But he also walks out to South Africa’s National Anthem. Coming to UFC 312, we can expect him to walk out to either one of the songs.
Sean Strickland, on the other hand, plans to take the middleweight throne back from the South African champion. And it’s his all-American traits (mustache included) that have already garnered the respect of fight fans. But he still needs to strike fear in DDP’s heart. For that, he might walk out to his signature walkout song at UFC 312 which could be the metal version of When Johnny Comes Marching Home by Megaraptor. The perfect way to hype up the American fans, don’t you agree?
Now, let’s shift our focus to the co-main event. Zhang Weili is all set to defend her women’s strawweight championship title against Suarez. While we have to wait for fight day to get the outcome, we can certainly make guesses at their walkout songs.
What is Zhang Weili and Tatiana Suarez’s walkout song?
The Chinese strawweight champion tends to stick to her culture. Wearing red and yellow to her fights, she represents her country by carrying the Chinese flag on her shoulders, and even with her walkout song. Ever since she made her debut in the UFC, ‘Magnum’ has been walking out to Swordsman & Sea of Laughter by Huangshan from the 1992 movie Swordsman II. The song reflects the lore of Chinese warriors from the Ming Dynasty, reflecting the struggles against oppression.
Meanwhile, Suarez has usually chosen an Indie Rock tune as her walkout song. To be more specific, she often walks out to Heads Will Roll by Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Needless to say, the 2009 song has all the elements of striking fear into her opponents, especially with a song title like that. On top of that, her undefeated professional MMA record and extensive grappling techniques further add to the intimidation factor. And we can expect the same at Qudos Bank Arena.
But these aren’t the only bouts that have excited the fighting community. There are a couple more fights that arguably have the potential to raise the fighting world’s entropy. Let’s take a look at the walkout songs of these fighters.
Walkout music of Justin Tafa, Anshul Jubli, and others
The fight between Anshul Jubli and the Aussie newcomer Qiullan Salkilld is one of the bouts that the fans are waiting for. The proud Indian fighter walks out to the notes of Ronin by Jade. It’s indeed a great choice to intimidate an opponent with the home-field advantage. But nothing much is known about Salkilld’s walkout songs. He’s a debutant after all.
Justin Tafa will probably walk out to the rhythm of Tama Samoa by RSA Band Samoa. The song reflects on his roots lying in Samoan culture. It’d be pretty interesting to see how Tallison Teixeira, his opponent interprets it. Jimmy Crute will supposedly enter the arena with Wrong One by Seth Sentry blaring out of the speakers, while his opponent, Rodolfo Bellato will choose Aonde Nos Chegou by MC Menor e MC Dede.
Which walkout song is your favorite? Do you think these songs can raise the lost hype around UFC 312? Drop down to the debate section below and let us know what you think.
The post UFC 312 Walkout Songs: Which Song Will Dricus Du Plessis, Sean Strickland, Zhang Weili, & Others Walk Out To? appeared first on EssentiallySports.