The UFC walkout has become one of the clearest places where fighters show people who they are before a punch is even thrown. That has always been true in some form, but it feels especially visible right now, as the promotion gears up for Noche UFC on Sept. 12 in Glendale, Arizona. The card — which UFC announced on Monday (July 20) for Desert Diamond Arena — is the latest installment of a Mexican Independence Day tradition the promotion launched in 2023. Before the cage door closes, there is a short window where a fighter can set the tone, claim a flag, salute a hometown, nod to family or turn an arena into a party. The song choice does a lot of that work.
In a 2020 feature on the promotion’s best walkout songs, UFC.com noted that fighters often choose music that reflects their “personality, culture, or motivations” — not just something loud enough to shake the building. That idea is especially useful here. A walkout song can tell the crowd where a fighter is from, what kind of mood they want to create and which audience they want to bring with them on the way to the Octagon.
That’s what links the 10 fighters below. Some lean on mariachi standards, some on salsa or dembow. The styles vary, but the intent is easy to spot: these songs do cultural work. They can project pride, familiarity, bravado or hometown feeling in a matter of seconds. In a promotion that increasingly knows the value of identity-driven spectacle, Latin music has become one of the most effective sounds in the room.
With that, here are 10 UFC fighters with Latin walkout songs — listed alphabetically by the fighter’s first name. It’s not a definitive ranking, but it’s a strong place to start.