These Fighters Had The Best Walkout Songs At UFC 280
The bonuses for UFC 280 for FOTN (Fight of the Night) and POTN (Performance of the Night) have all been awarded accordingly however there are some of us who passionately believe that the choice of walkout music a fighter uses to make their entrance to the cage deserves its own bonus category,
Given that a good walkout song has the power to hype up the crowd, inspire good fighter performances, and even influence the event’s beverage sales, a bonus category for a proper walkout makes sense.
A good walkout song deserves to be rewarded-or at the very least, acknowledged. With that being said, here are our staff’s picks for the fighters who had the best walkout songs for UFC 280
1. Sean O'Malley "Superstar" by Lupe Fiasco
UFC 280 was Sean O’Malley’s moment to transform into the superstar that he has long been saying, he would become if he face-planted Petr. O’Malley even inked himself with a face tattoo of a star, so it’s only fitting that he would walkout to “Superstar” by Lupe Fiasco. O’Malley has a history of only walking out to hip-hop artists and this song fits right in with his brand. Even though he didn’t face-plant Yan, and inched out Petr with a controversial decision win, O’Malley’s stock has risen even as a result. So yes, the kid is a superstar and if you didn’t know about him before, now you know!
2. Katlyn Chookagian, "Where The Hood At" by DMX
Katlyn is a full-blown Jersey girl and if you’re from the east coast, you know what that means. New York locals have long referred to New Jersey as the “armpit of New York,” in other words, it’s “the hood”. The hood is always a little more dangerous than the rest of the city and Jersey girls are known for being ready and willing to get into a fistfight on sight. They are tough people. They don’t take sh*t and they don’t back down so this song makes sense for a dominant striker like Katlyn, on so many levels. Besides that, who doesn’t get riled up at the sound of DMX’s voice?
3. Abubakar Nurmagomedov: “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio
This was an interesting song choice for Nurmagomedov to walkout to, given his strict Dagestanian Russian and Muslim background. Most Dagestanians or Russians in general walkout out to songs from artists from their own country or to traditional folk songs. Classic hip-hop artists rarely show up in the walkout tracks of Muslim fighters-especially one that doesn’t really have a theme related to fighting. It seems Nurmagomedov was giving a nod to Coolio in tribute to his recent passing as if it was Nurmagomedov’s way of saying that he was a fan of the late rapper and wished for Coolio to spend eternity in a “Gangsta’s Paradise”.
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