Ranking The Worst MMA walkout songs of all time

MMA fans will always remember classic walkout songs such as Darren Till’s In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins, or Robbie Lawler’s Hold On I’m Comin by Sam and Dave. When done right, these songs can become iconic and give fans chills that can be remembered forever.

Sadly, this isn’t always the case and for every MMA fighter with great taste in music, there are also many more who have a strange taste, to say the least. Here, we’ve combed through the history books to find the worst MMA entrance songs ever. From cringy to inappropriate – if you read this list then you’ll either want to laugh or cry.

Mike Perry – Halo by Beyonce

When it comes to MMA, there are very few characters with the same level of charisma as Mike Perry. Love him or hate him, it’s fair to say that he’s entertaining. In 2020 at UFC 255, he came out to Halo by Beyonce.

Now, Halo isn’t a bad song, but it’s certainly not meant for an MMA setting – not even in an ironic way. Midway through his ring walk, Perry realized that Halo was playing and looked momentarily confused, before singing along.

The story goes that Perry had requested the Halo theme song which would have been pretty epic. However, he got Beyonce instead. The reality is, that it was probably a marketing gimmick by Perry who has been known to pull various PR stunts. Overall, this was one of the more lighthearted song choices on the list.

Miesha Tate – Roar by Katy Perry

Put simply, Katy Perry songs should be made illegal inside an MMA arena. It’s nothing personal, but Katy Perry is a bubble gum pop musician whose music is aimed toward teenage girls. For everyone else, she’s seen as corny but harmless within her niche.

Still, Katy Perry and MMA just don’t add up. Imagine standing in the cage waiting for your opponent – only to hear Katy Perry being played. Even if it was a prime Khabib, you wouldn’t feel scared. With lyrics such as ‘I went from zero to my own hero’ it’s not hard to wonder why…

Renan Barao – All I do is win by DJ Khaled

Firstly, DJ Khaled is known for being corny. Having said this, he doesn’t really appear much on his own songs, apart from the odd ad-lib. In fact, this song is quite inspiring and is pretty solid as far as MMA songs go.

The problem with this pick was based on the context. In short, this music was played after Barao had come off the back of a loss. Was this song choice ironic? Sadly it probably wasn’t and Barao would retire with a 34-9 record. Whilst this isn’t a record to be laughed at – you can’t claim ‘All I do is win’ with this in mind.

Julio Paulino – The Climb by Miley Cyrus

Julio Paulino had a solid MMA record, retiring in 2017 with a record of 23-5. However, it seems that his fighting skills far surpass his taste in music. You would think being from the Dominican Republic, he’d have good taste in music as this is a big part of the island’s culture.

However, in one fight he decided to come out to The Climb by Miley Cyrus. Whilst Cyrus may not have the same level of corniness as Katy Perry, she’s not far off. Let’s be honest, it’s a weird pick and you can see what Paulino was thinking in terms of lyrics but it just didn’t work.

Michelle Waterson – Let it go (Frozen soundtrack)

Michelle Waterson may have been an Invicta Champion, but her choice of walk-out music was that of a day one white belt. In one Invicta bout, she came out to Let it go from the Frozen soundtrack. This may be a hit with young kids, but isn’t really something you’d associate with an MMA crowd.

Thankfully, this song was dropped by Waterson by the time she reached the UFC as this would have probably gone viral for the wrong reasons. This is one of the few times where a fighter is probably grateful for featuring on a smaller promotion.

Chuck Lidell – UFC 43 Walkout music & video

Back in 2003, it’s fair to say that the UFC was still finding its identity. During this period, it almost mimicked WWE in some areas. Step forward UFC 43 – also known as UFC Meltdown. The title alone sounds like a Vince McMahon brainchild and this saw Chuck Lidell face Randy Couture in the main event.

For some bizarre reason, Lidell came out to WWE-style entrance music with a strange video that accompanied it which was based on his ‘Iceman’ persona, blue face and all. Whether this idea was Lidell’s or some kind of UFC marketing guru is unknown – but what is known is that it was possibly one of the cringiest entrances ever in MMA history. Sadly for Lidell, the fight wasn’t much better and he got knocked out by Couture.

Carlos Newton – Bootylicious by Destiny’s Child

Nostalgic MMA fans will always favor Carlos Netwon due to his exciting fights in the early 90s PRIDE era back in the day. So, we won’t be too harsh on Carlos Newton due to his services to MMA. But…and this is a big but (excuse the pun), he did once walk to Bootylicious by Destiny’s Child.

In fairness, Bootylicious is actually a decent song, but it’s not really appropriate for MMA. The inclusion of Bootylicious was probably done as a joke more than anything – but still, it’s not really a funny joke if no one gets it.

Rory McDonald – Various

Whilst many of the aforementioned fighters are to blame for their dodgy taste in music, the same cannot be said for Rory McDonald. In fact, Rory McDonald’s story is obscure as it is funny. Early on in his UFC career, McDonald moved state to live and train in Montreal. At this point, he changed his phone number. However, the UFC kept his old number and would text him before matches, asking what song he wanted to be played.

The person who now had Mcdonald’s previous phone number must have realized this without giving the game away. Each time McDonald fought, a different, inappropriate song was played. Songs included Rihanna and other pop hits that weren’t exactly suited for MMA.

According to McDonald, he didn’t pay too much attention to the song choices and brushed it off as a minor annoyance. Remember, although this wasn’t too long ago it was still long enough ago before the internet put everything under a microscope.

One day, McDonald was talking to a UFC producer who said they couldn’t play his choice of music – which was Nickleback. McDonald then got into a conversation about his song choices and after a bit of confusion, they realized his phone number hadn’t been updated. This will go down as one of the stranger events in UFC history and whilst it wasn’t Mcdonald’s fault, he’s still had some of the worst walkout music that MMA has ever seen.