Israel Adesanya may have divided fans with his UFC 276 performance against Jared Cannonier, but he earned the praise of a WWE legend for his entrance.
Never short of flair, 'The Last Stylebender' paid tribute with an Undertaker-inspired walkout, including his famed theme music and props.
The Kiwi-Nigerian was shrouded by smoke at T-Mobile Arena and carried an urn labelled with his opponent's name, which was a notorious gimmick for the WWE star.
From the early 1990s, the Undertaker's former manager, Paul Bearer, would carry the urn as they walked to the ring, which became a regular feature for the next few decades.
Adesanya is no stranger to creative entrances, with WWE and UFC fans alike fawning over his latest walkout stunt on social media.
He even got the approval of the Undertaker himself.
"I thought it was great," he told MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. "He’s not only a great fighter, he’s an awesome entertainer as well.
"Tyson Fury gets knocked down and sits up like the Undertaker, and Adesanya uses my walkout. Pretty damn cool."
Adesanya recorded a comfortable decision victory over Cannonier and looks to already have his next opponent lined up in the form of former Glory kickboxing rival Alex Pereira.
The Brazilian produced a highlight-reel knockout on the main card at UFC 276 .
"Look, we know who’s next," Adesanya said, calling out Pereira. "Trust me, the first time I told you, it was an error on my part spamming the right hand and that was in kickboxing.
"It's easy to knockout, what's the hillbilly's name [Sean Strickland], because he was parrying the jabs, but like I said at the press conference, the next time I put you on skates, you're going to get frozen like Elsa."
