A mixed martial artist walking out to Eminem is nothing new.
We haven’t compiled all-time stats, but we’re willing to bet more fighters have entered the octagon to the sounds of Slim Shady than any other major artist. It’s likely the songs that have been heard at UFC events more often are The Who’s “Baba O’Reily,” which accompanies a highlight reel on the big screens inside arenas before pay-per-view main cards begin, and STEMM’s “Face the Pain,” which will apparently survive a nuclear holocaust along with spiders and cockroaches.
Eminem’s music is so ubiquitous at UFC events it’s even spawned the urban legend of “The Eminem Curse,” the theory that fighters who walk out to his music are doomed to lose their fights.
Whether or not that’s true, Eminem in the UFC is here to stay, and UFC 257 will provide a first: His music is being used to promote the event itself.
Eminem himself recently tweeted a promo of his music being used to push the highly anticipated main event between former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor and former interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier set to his track “Higher.”
You can check it out in the video clip below (via Twitter):
Survival mode! #Higher #UFC257 @ufc @DustinPoirier @TheNotoriousMMA pic.twitter.com/RKdQVlGITB
— Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) December 29, 2020
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