2. Genki Sudo vs. Damacio Page | K-1 Dynamite 2006 (Dec. 31, 2006)
As I noted in a previous entry on this list, Sudo is the king of this category for me. His walkouts were in a class of their own, featuring multiple dancers, elaborate costumes, and long, complex choreography. The best were works of art. It's no surprise that after Sudo retired from MMA at just 28 years old, he had a successful career as a singer, dancer and entertainer. He had many classic walkouts, but No. 1 on my list was the final fight of his career against Page. Remember all the cool aspects of previous entries? Multiple professional dancers? Culturally inspired costumes? Dancers doing crazy backflips? Dramatic, theatrical music? This entrance had all of that. In fact, describing every part of it like I have past entries may take as many words as the previous nine entries combined. Suffice to say that Sudo is wearing the costume of a forest god, complete with mask and multi-colored feather headdress, and is brought into view of the audience on top of a throne carried by half a dozen retainers, all in costume. Unlike past entries, I have no clue what any of this refers to, only that it's awesome. What then follows is a dance more elaborate and creative, with more moving parts, than all the previous ones combined. At its climax, smoke is blowing on either side of the dance troupe, with a stream of sakura blossoms flowing down from the arena. Knowing that it was the last time Sudo would ever treat MMA fans to his majestic entrances gives it an extra bittersweet feeling. One can only hope that one day MMA will discover another showman of such caliber, though it may take decades.
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