10 Greatest Entrances In UFC History
If only it was socially acceptable to walk into any room like this...
When somebody special walks into a room, you know about it.
Whether it's the way they walk or the energy they exude, how they burst into a scenario can have an unignorable effect on the people in that area.
Boxing, wrestling and MMA have all taken that idea and dialled it up to a hundred over the years, with fighters choosing to use their entrance as a way of intimidating their opponent or utilising the crowd to give them that added edge and support in the bout.
Nowhere is that more prevalent than in the current landscape of the UFC, where home crowds and innovative performance ideas have taken the pageantry of MMA to another stratosphere.
It's not all about flashing lights and fireworks; some of the greatest UFC entrances in history have been purely circumstantial. A nuclear crowd or impenetrable focus on behalf of a competitor have made for some iconic struts to the ring - GSP in Montreal rings a bell.
Regardless, UFC have consistently set the bar in recent years in their commitment to indulging in the creative sides of their athletes and setting up hometown fights that guarantee an explosion.
Now let's see who made the cut...
10. Mark Hunt (UFC Adelaide)
Mark Hunt was coming off the back of an unfortunate TKO loss to Fabricio Werdum at UFC 180 - stepping in for the injured Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez - and needed to produce a special performance in order to topple 2019's current Heavyweight Champion, Stipe Miocic.
When that kind of challenge is laid before you, a fighter must use whatever is available to them to add any additional edge to their aura and thus bolster their confidence in the process.
Mark Hunt is a proud New Zealander and UFC Fight Night 65 would just so happen to be taking part on his home continent, in Australia. It's storied just how vicious the Australia/New Zealand rivalry can be in other sports, yet in MMA, beggars can't be choosers, and Hunt decided to maraud into the arena and rope in a few buddies to perform a ceremonial Haka. The fans in attendance lapped it up.
The usually pumping music was replaced by intense chanting and gesticulating, while Hunt's icy stare pierced a hole through the camera. It wasn't enough to bring him victory but it sure as hell gave the people in the arena enough goose-bumps to make them believe he could pull off a much needed win.