Issue 064
July 2010
While the overwhelming majority of fighters seem content strolling to the ring or cage to some appalling rap music or generic metal, there are some who take their responsibility to entertain far more seriously. True, any fool can buy an outfit from the local costume shop and prance his way down to the ring or cage, and it’s certainly a great way to get noticed, but to make an entrance that’s truly spectacular takes planning and a good sense of humor. This month Andrew Garvey salutes five of the most memorable entrances in MMA history.
1 Tito Ortiz vs Elvis Sinosic
(UFC 32, June 29, 2001)
Nowadays, UFC entrances tend to be plainer than a Cold War Bulgarian pin-up, but the promotion featured some fantastic and elaborate entrances in the early days of Zuffa’s ownership. Stomping down the entrance ramp (remember that?) to the sound of Limp Bizkit shouting about ‘breaking things’, after and amid an ear-splitting, eyeball-melting fireworks and light show, Ortiz then proceeded to lay waste to challenger Sinosic in the first round. Somewhat implausibly, such spectacular UFC entrances were done away with in 2003 after a company study apparently showed they confused casual fans into thinking they were watching pro wrestling. More likely, it was a cost-cutting measure for a then-cash-strapped promotion which in any case wanted to look as ‘legitimate’ as boxing. A crying shame, that.
2 Kazushi Sakuraba vs Kevin Randleman
(Pride: Final Conflict,
November 9, 2003)
In the days before the fight, beloved Japanese fighting legend Sakuraba decided Randleman reminded him of iconic video game character Donkey Kong from the classic Super Mario series. Leaving aside the ever-so-slightly racist overtones of that one, Sakuraba and the ever-valuable Pride FC production crew put together a classic entrance that featured Mario music and graphics on the big screen and Sakuraba himself walking to the ring sporting a huge Mario moustache and trademark red hat. Mario then went on to beat Donkey Kong with a third-round armbar in a fight that provided less than one millionth of the entertainment value of the ring entrance.
3 Genki Sudo vs Eric ‘Butterbean’ Esch
(K-1 Premium Dynamite!!, December 31, 2003)
The sadly retired ‘Neo Samurai’ really set the bar for elaborately choreographed entrances in MMA. This list could easily be filled with Sudo’s pre-fight entertainments but just one, his routine prior to fighting and beating spherical novelty boxer Butterbean, serves as a fine example. Inspired by a scene in the 1989 baseball film ‘Major League’, Sudo appeared in baseball outfit, complete with some kind of smoke-spewing backpack, while his cheerleaders danced around spelling out Sudo’s unique message of peace and love through the medium of pom-poms. And finally, to prove just how much cooler Sudo is than almost everyone else on the planet, he didn’t look like a demented uncle at a wedding once he started dancing either. Freakshow fight, fantastic entrance.
4 Muhammed ‘King’ Mo Lawal vs Ryo Kawamura
(Sengoku 7, March 20, 2009)
Several fighters have done the ‘hot dancing girls’ entrance but few have done it with as much style as newly crowned Strikeforce light heavyweight champion and elite collegiate wrestler ‘King’ Mo. Even without giant video screens or firework extravaganzas, for his win over Kawamura, he made tremendous use of dry ice, a few lights, a crown and some extremely flexible dancers wearing a few sequins and very, very short shorts. Now, if only his current employer, Strikeforce, would see fit to properly feature his entrances on their TV shows (ludicrously, cut from his first appearance for the company and given a few scant seconds in April) they might have a genuine new superstar on their hands.
5 Tom Lawlor vs CB Dollaway
(UFC 100,
July 11, 2009)
Former pro wrestler and TUF8 contestant Lawlor is acutely aware of the responsibility to entertain those fans who have paid handsomely for their seats. Mocking Dolloway’s ‘Doberman’ nickname, Lawlor came out to insufferable bark-along novelty hit ‘Who Let the Dogs Out?’ While that would have been enough for most fighters, Lawlor also had training partner Seth Petruzelli on a lead, crawling around on all fours, and showing admirable commitment to his role, panting and scratching behind his ear like, well, a dog. Anyone not amused by Lawlor’s irreverence would be even more appalled at him pulling off the upset win with a guillotine choke and pocketing a huge ‘submission of the night’ bonus.
