Sherdog’s 2022 Walkout Song of the Year

In the five years that Sherdog has run the “Walkout Song of the Year” category, no victor’s vote count has ever been overwhelming. Unlike other categories this year, for instance, where Michael Chandler’s foot to Tony Ferguson’s face claimed the lion’s share of the votes for “Knockout of the Year,” team members were divided on which one tune won them all over. Two top contenders easily proved themselves worthy of this illustrious award, only to fall just short of the finish line.

With fans crowding into arenas all around the planet to watch live fights again, walkout songs had more life and feeling than in recent memory. While in 2021 some Ultimate Fighting Championship shows poked their noses outside of the UFC Apex, more traveled abroad in this calendar than the one preceding it. This led to the return of some unorthodox and fun picks, fully releasing fans from the uncomfortable silence from the likes of Darren Till claiming the 2020 honors without any audio playing at all. Sometimes, fighters just want to have fun, and they did in 2022.

Matt Schnell got some laughs and good vibes by selecting “Fancy” by Reba McEntire at UFC on ABC 3 in July, with the fans in Nassau County enjoying the unorthodox choice. Adli Edwards attempted to shock the world at Bellator 277 while brimming with positivity and backed by “You Make My Dreams Come True” from Hall and Oates, as he battled Aaron Pico, only to get pummeled and put away in the third round. Corey Anderson reminded fans that he was still standing at Bellator 288, appropriately accompanied by Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” ahead of his rematch with Vadim Nemkov. Good tracks all, but a couple of others were just a level above.

Attempting to become the first two-time Walkout titlist, 2021 winner Peter Queally stuck to his guns in Ireland and rolled once more with “Zombie” by The Cranberries. Perhaps because some had remembered his same use of the song in 2021 and that the unique nature of its crowd control had already been achieved the year before, it did not win enough members over this time around. What followed, like his unsuccessful title fight against Patricky Freire in Dublin, was a dispiriting loss. A win is by no means essential to claiming the top walkout track, but it helps carry the vibe over the top.

By a whisker, Israel Adesanya’s World Wrestling Federation-inspired entrance to “Rest in Peace” by Jim Johnston, also known as the theme song for The Undertaker, landed in second place. The champion slowly marched to the cage sporting The Undertaker’s hat, carried an urn with Jared Cannonier’s name written on it and won over the hearts and minds of wrestling faithful that night. Had Adesanya lived up to that titanic entrance with an emphatic drubbing of Cannonier instead of a cautious performance, it might have edged him over the top. Instead of the funeral dirge, something more positive and upbeat won it this year.

The night was Feb. 12 at a UFC pay-per-view show inside the Toyota Center in Houston. In an unusual break from tradition thanks to an alleged scheduling issue, the commentary duties fell to Jon Anik, Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping instead of Joe Rogan on the microphone. Beyond a few slick submissions, the action was far from stellar, although it had begun to pick up on the main card. The soundtrack was far from hopping that evening, as well, with one of the few standouts being the choice of Douglas Silva de Andrade, who went with “Track 1” from the Super Nintendo game “Top Gear.” Everyone was waiting for their local representative in the co-main event, as Derrick Lewis rarely disappointed Texas crowds. The A-side of that second-to-last fight was Lewis, which meant that his opponent out of the blue corner walked out first. When that happened, the energy in the building changed in an instant.

“Everybody got up dancing, and I started rocking my shoulders side to side,” commentator Daniel Cormier noted that night. Tai Tuivasa, the proud outlier that traditionally selects 1990s or early 2000s pop singalong songs, went a little earlier in his repertoire. He has claimed in past interviews that his predilection of these tunes stems back to listening to jams in the car with his mother. No matter the reason for its selection, the Toyota Center was rocking. The reason? “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper.

“Tai Tuivasa knows how to pick a walkout song,” Cormier remarked as Bisping laughed and said he loved Tuivasa. “What Tai Tuivasa also knows how to do is fight.”

The knockout performed by Cannonier over a fatiguing Derek Brunson had energized the audience to a degree in the fight that preceded it, but this was something entirely different. The crowd sang along, which is something that typically only happens in the case of the aforementioned “Zombie,” Neil Diamond’s dreaded “Sweet Caroline” or “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” by the Dropkick Murphys. Fans were on their feet, laughing and belting out the beloved 1980s tune. In hostile territory, against the ultimate fan-favorite in Derrick Lewis, Tuivasa had done the impossible: He had won over the crowd.

To get a building of 17,872 rabid fans, most of whom are local to the venue and likely hometown supporters of “The Black Beast,” on your side, is nothing short of remarkable. Any opponent of Lewis would have likely been showered with boos that night, but not Tuivasa. It did not hurt that the stock of the Aussie was higher than ever, with four straight blistering knockouts earning him a crack at the brick-fisted Lewis. The energy, perhaps surprisingly, could not quite be matched with Lewis’ usual of “Tops Drop” by fallen Houston rapper Fat Pat. That in itself was a feat—to beat Lewis in audible crowd support in a home game.

The next six minutes and 40 seconds played out in exciting fashion, with momentum shifts and fun heavyweight striking action. Tuivasa appeared as game as they come, challenging the UFC’s all-time knockout leader to throw down in the pocket and trade the heaviest of leather. Although plenty expected that “Bam Bam” would oblige Lewis in power-for-power exchanges, few thought that Tuivasa would be the one left standing when the dust settled. One ferocious elbow on the inside turned the tide completely in Tuivasa’s favor, as it was Lewis who lifelessly collapsed to the mat.

It is impossible to know how the crowd would have reacted to Tuivasa had he selected a different, more generic track. Much of his appeal stems from his likeability, which comes out in part thanks to his walkout music selection. As was the case for his choice of Lauper’s famous tune, most of his past entrances have come as songs never before heard ahead of a UFC fight. Tuivasa had defied the odds and knocked Lewis out at home, beating him at his game and even putting the crowd in his pocket. When Ciryl Gane claimed the interim heavyweight throne against Lewis by stopping him in Houston in 2021, Gane was the enemy from start to finish. Tuivasa, on the other hand, was cheered after separating Lewis from his consciousness.

One masterful evening from Tuivasa, orchestrated from the very start with his unique music selection and concluding by chugging beer out of multiple shoes, had made pushed him from a fan-favorite to a star. The burly “Bam Bam” could lose several more fights, all violently, and still receive ample love from the fans, no matter where he travels. The Aussie brought fans together in that building in song, and even though it was not the emotionally powered echo of “Zombie,” Tuivasa touched hearts and minds at the Toyota Center. Bringing joy to even his most ardent detractors, Tuivasa rightfully earned the nod for the 2022 Sherdog.com “Walkout Song of the Year.” If he keeps at it, more might be in his eventful future.