Why did Israel Adesanya use The Undertaker's theme song for his walkout at UFC 276?

UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya has a penchant for theatrics. 'The Last Stylebender' walked out to WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker's iconic theme song for his fight against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276.

During his appearance at the post-fight press conference following his win, Adesanya said that he felt the theme "just worked for him" as the Nigerian-born New Zealander used WWE entrance themes to push him through practice.

Check out Israel Adesanya's walkout at UFC 276:

In an almost-exact recreation of The Undertaker's walkout, Israel Adesanya wore the iconic hat and carried an urn with Cannonier's name on it to the octagon at UFC 276 while the iconic theme bellowed in the background.

Unbeknownst to 'The Last Stylebender', the UFC 276 main event was attended by WWE executives Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H (Paul Levesque).

Adesanya said the following about his iconic walkout at UFC 276:

“Wednesday night is when we wrestle. Towards the end of the rounds, 12 rounds - towards the end, the last three or four rounds - I’ll chock on my playlist from YouTube, WWE Attitude from the Attitude Era. I have like 20 different tracks from superstars I admire and that would get me in that zone, and The Undertaker’s theme was one of them."

Catch the full press interaction below:

Adesanya also noted that UFC 276 fight week was like WrestleMania. The WWE Hall of Famer had a 21-match undefeated streak until WrestleMania XXX in 2014.

Adesanya thanked the UFC for accommodating his request with the following statement:

"Big shoutout to the UFC production team because they were really accommodating and helpful to make it a show. This is the UFC. You want to give them a show. I said all week this feels like WrestleMania. Who’s undefeated at WrestleMania? The Undertaker, and I’ve been feeling dark all week.”

UFC 276 wasn't the first time 'The Last Stylebender' had an iconic walkout. At UFC 243, where he faced then-champion Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya had an incredibly choreographed walkout prior to beating Whittaker in the second round.

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Israel Adesanya on his upcoming bout with Alex Pereira

In an interview on his YouTube channel, Israel Adesanya touched upon his preparations for his upcoming UFC 281 bout, his reign as champion, his team City Kickboxing, and his history with Alex Pereira.

Adesanya said that his first kickboxing loss to Pereira affected him to a point where he made a mistake in their second fight. In the rematch, 'The Last Stylebender' decided to try and finish the fight instead of fighting for a decision victory, which he was well on course for. That decision resulted in him being knocked out.

Catch the full interview below:

Since starting his UFC run, Adesanya has claimed that he never kept an eye on Alex Pereira's career. With three wins in the octagon, the Brazilian has put himself in a position that means Adesanya will have to focus on him once again.

The middleweight champ claimed that he fights better when there's animosity between him and his opponent. With that, UFC 281 fight week is set to be heated.