UFC 213, the second half of this week’s double-header, goes down July 8th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. While headliners Amanda Nunes and Valentina Schevchenko have their signature walkouts, many fighters do not. Some that do may have picked songs that just don’t fit their brand. That’s where I come in as MMASucka.com’s resident musicologist. I’ll help pick more identifiable songs for these poor athletes to enter to, to help them better stand out. And I’m doing it publicly for you, the audience’s, reading pleasure.

The Walkout Consultant: UFC 213

Thiago Santos

What he last walked out to: Information Unavailable

What he should walk out to next: “Thy Will be Done” – Unearth

Knockout artist Thiago “Marreta” Santos has a problem. Not even the hard-working staff at MMAJunkie.com, whose Fight Tracks articles I use to research the Walkout Consultant, could find out what he walked out to at UFC Fight Night 105. That means he’s essentially at the mercy of my whims here. For “Maretta,” I feel like a track with hard-hitting intro section would compliment his in-cage style well. With that in mind, I suggest Uneath’s “My Will be Done.” Listen below.

Rob Font

What he last walked out to: “Lorde Pretty Flacko Jodye2” – A$AP Rocky

What he should walk out to next: “At the Helm” – Heiroglyphics feat. Del tha Funkee Homo Sapien

Rob Font suffers from the same problem that many fighters do: That’s the idea that walking out to trap music is somehow intimidating or inspiring. I’m not quite sure how a song where the first verse is a guy rapping about getting frisky with a woman in a crackhouse is supposed to strike fear in anybody. That’s not even something to brag about. So what should the bold Mr. Font choose instead? I suggest he trade in the traphouse for some braggadocios Bay Area hip-hop. “At the Helm” by Heiroglyphics and Del tha Funkee Homo Sapien fits that bill perfectly .It’s better to brag about having skills and a mission than it is to be getting a hummer from a woman jonesing for a fix, right? Listen below.

Gerald Meerschaert

What he walked out to last fight: “Rubber Band Man” – T.I.

What he should walk out to next fight: “Welcome to the Machine” – Shadows Fall

Simply looking at the Gerald “The Machine” Meerschaert, one could be forgiven for thinking he should be at a Mumford and Sons concert instead of fighting in the cage. To make things more odd and counter-intuitive in terms of branding, he walks out to one of T.I.’s more upbeat numbers about making money slinging drugs. Doesn’t quite seem to fit. So, given that Meerschaert is “The Machine,” I propose a change of pace. In keeping with his nickname, I’d like to suggest Gerald walk out to to Shadows Fall’s cover of Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine.” The plodding grind of this song would compliment Meerschaert’s mat-based attack quite nicely. Listen below.