The stage was set. ‘Hype 2 Hype’ by Big Rulez was blaring on the speakers as Israel Adesanya walked out. Flaunting a cool swagger and a penchant for snatching the UFC Middleweight Champion title, the Kiwi-Nigerian took over defending champion and fellow Kiwi Robert Whittaker at the UFC 243. And now ‘Izzy’ looks to replicate the same during his UFC 305 fight against Dricus Du Plessis on Saturday. And what better way to get in the mood for victory than a killer walkout song yet again?

Which songs will Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis walk out to?

Israel Adesanya and champion Dricus Du Plessis will fight for the UFC’s middleweight title. And boy, will it be an electrifying showdown—especially for the intense animosity the two share. As they look to resolve who’s better than who at the RAC Arena in Perth, Adesenya—already known for his exciting and ever-changing choice of songs—is rumored to be out to ‘Angel Numbers/Ten Toes’ by Chris Brown.

His most recent fight at UFC 293 last year saw him enter the octagon to the groovy tunes of ‘Bring It Down (Battlezone) Remix’ by Fili Stylz and Tenashus.

Dricus Du Plessis, on the other hand, has been nothing if not consistent with his walk-out music. The South African walks out to the heavy metal anthem ‘Live It Up’ by Airbourne for his fights and is likely to continue doing so for UFC 305.

Notably, the duo has been entangled in a cultural dispute for quite a while now. In a now-infamous monologue, du Plessis had discredited Francis Ngannou, Kamara Usman and Adesanya’s UFC titles and asked, “Did those belts ever go to Africa? As far as I know, it came to America and New Zealand. I’m going to take the belt to Africa. I’m the African fighter in the UFC.As far as I know, it came to America and New Zealand. I’m going to take the belt to Africa. I’m the African fighter in the UFC.” He was then accused of disrespecting the ‘African Kings’ with Adesenya taking to X.

The tweet read: “I never discredited you as a real African, you tried to discredit 3 Real African UFC champions.” However, du Plessis didn’t retract his words and instead explained the reasoning behind his dig.

“If I could take time back, I would say exactly the same because I stated the facts. I 100 percent stated the fact that I am the African fighter that resides in Africa. And I want to be the first champion that was African-born, African-raised, African-trained and still resides in Africa…I’m not taking anything away from their heritage. Or saying they’re not African. Not at all. But they don’t reside in Africa and that’s facts. They didn’t train in Africa, they didn’t get their expertise of fighting in Africa. That’s where I get mine. My coaches, my team, everybody is African. So, yeah, I will not take it back,” he told The Sun.

The controversy has led to very real and very palpable hatred between the two men, which has been clear in the run-up to their fight. While this almost guarantees a riveting, action-packed fight, let us now look at the choice of walk-out songs for the other stars on the card.

What songs will the other stars walk out to?

Izzy’s New Zealand compatriot Kai Kara-France will fight Australian Steve Erceg in a virtual title eliminator for the flyweight title in the co-main event of the Perth card. Kara-France has walked out to the hip-hop beats of ‘Not Many’ by the Kiwi artist Scribe featuring Savage, although he also likes to mix his walk-out songs up. Erceg, on the other hand, sticks to the folk-rock tunes of ‘You Don’t Mess With Jim’ by Jim Croce, and will most likely use that song to enter the octagon against ‘Don’t Blink.’

For the exciting lightweight clash between Dan Hooker and Mateusz Gamrot, the former does not stick to one song, having walked out to 50 Cent’s ‘God Gave Me Style’ and ‘Son of the Dirty South’ by Brantley Gilbert and Jelly Roll. Gamrot, too, doesn’t stick to one song and mixes things up, having walked out to ‘My Song Knows What You Did In The Dark’ by Fall Out Boy previously.

Another riveting, potentially action-packed matchup will be the heavyweight bout between Tai Tuivasa and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. While the Aussie Tuivasa chose Missy Higgins’ hit ‘Scar’ for his last walkout, he has also used cult-hit ‘My Heart Will Go On’ by Celine Dion and Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl’ for his walkout.

What are your predictions for UFC 305? Let us know in the comments below.