Have you ever heard of a tradition where an athlete drinks from a worn shoe? They call it ‘Shoey’ and this tradition is far older than you think!  It is estimated to be older than the 20th century and was also done in some medieval cultures. You will be surprised to know that drinking from shoes was both used as a celebration and as a punishment in the past! Drinking champagne from a woman’s shoes became very popular in the 20th century and was a symbol of decadence. Primarily this word is used in Australia and has become a huge sensation in the sports world.

Australian Moto GP rider Jack Miller commemorated his first exclusive class victory by drinking champagne out of his shoe. Since then, Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo, an Australian, has also performed shoeys on the stage. However, this tradition was not restricted to Formula One or basketball and football. UFC fans got to see this tradition live inside the arena thanks to one fighter who started the whole custom in the combat world. it was none other than ‘Bam Bam’ aka Tai Tuivasa!

Who was the first fighter to start the shoey celebration in UFC?

The Australian heavyweight fighter Tai Tuivasa was the first athlete to start this tradition inside UFC. Now that we know he is an Australian, it does not seem surprising because Shoey is very common in Australia. He was the first fighter to bring it to the UFC at UFC 221 after winning over Cyril Asker.  Even though this practice was also associated in Chicago, USA in the 20th century, this particular word can be credited to the Australians. The tradition mainly involves a winner, drinking alcohol from a shoe that was worn before.  Everyone from Harry Styles to the Australian Cricket Team has done shoeys.

Tuivasa might have been inspired by his fellow countryman Daniel Ricciardo who is a famous Formula One driver and has also performed shoeys on the podium. Surprisingly It seems like the heavyweight fighter is spreading this tradition all over the fight world because Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone did the same in 2019 and drank beer from cowboy boots! At UFC 234, Tuivasa urged Cerrone from the stands to do a Shoey, and the latter could not resist the request from the Australian fighter.

Tuivasa continued the tradition at UFC 254 as well after winning over Stefan Struve. He prefers doing it with beer, but since it was not allowed at the time in the venue he decided to make do with following the tradition with the Nelk Boys backstage. The fans love every single time that the fighter celebrates this way, and he said this as an Australian thing. He even spoke about the tradition with Ariel Helwani once and asked for Helwani’s shoe but the latter refused jokingly.

On top of that the most iconic thing that he did was to involve Dana White in it!

Dana White does a shoey!

It was reported that Joe Rogan apparently did not like the tradition, and even said that it was ‘disgusting’. He even refused the heavyweight fighter who proposed the celebration with the color commentator during UFC 225. However, the UFC CEO was down to celebrate this way. Tuivasa even decided to make a brand after his celebratory action named ‘Shoeyvasa’ that sells shoe drinking utensils. ‘Bam Bam’ decided to hand, his newly launched product to the boss During UFC 271  press conference. The UFC head honcho did not even hesitate before celebrating the event after drinking from his shoe.

Tuivasa has exposed this tradition to fighters and even more UFC fans, and this has become his signature. Many fighters like Alexander Volkanovski, and even Israel Adesanya have praised this tradition and complimented the unapologetic Australian fighter. While speaking to Aaron Bronsteter he was asked about how he got to know about the Shoey.

He said, “Australians can’t know because you see that stuff when you’re young, you know, growing up in a rugby community and football. Groups of boys, I think, a few silly things happen when a few of the boys get together. I didn’t start drinking until I was around 18 or 19 so I was a good boy.” He has even gone to the extent of involving fans in the celebration by doing shoeys from fans’ shoes! Now that he is fighting at UFC 305, against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, do you think he’s going to continue the tradition if he wins?