While he has mentioned gaming a few times in the past, Adensaya’s strong passion for anime and manga has always managed to steal the headlines. He has started fights while standing in a stance inspired by Rock Lee from Naruto, he’s shown off his ability to form hand seals from the franchise, and even has the same stomach tattoo as the eponymous Naruto.
RELATED: Ghost of Tsushima Set the Gold Standard for Photo Mode
So, as he donned samurai-inspired attire, it could have been misconstrued as yet another tribute to his love for anime culture, but Adesanya himself admitted after the fight that it was a direct nod to Ghost of Tsushima. In the same breath, he also admitted to have not finished the game yet, instead opting to finish critically-acclaimed The Last of Us 2 first.
It’s also hard to ignore the music paired with his walkout. For his samurai-inspired ring walk, Adesanya chose to use “Somewhere I Belong” by Linkin Park. While Linkin Park may seem at first an odd choice to accompany a Ghost of Tsushima-inspired entrance, but the band is also inextricably tied with gaming and anime culture, having risen to stardom during a time when shows like Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, and Gundam were first making waves in North America. Linkin Park’s second album, Reanimation, even features a cover inspired by Mobile Suit Gundam.
Regardless of how fans feel about the ring walk, Adesanya has cemented himself again as a true gaming fan. Beyond his memorable entrance, his casual use of gaming lingo—opting to say “clocked” rather than “finished” when talking about the two games in his post-fight interview—is a small but revealing detail. It’s also perfectly on-brand for Adesanya, an admitted PlayStation fan who once openly bashed Xbox to have been currently finishing up two of the best PlayStation exclusives from 2020. Not only is Adesanya a real deal gamer, but his interview reveals he’s also an astonishingly loyal one as well.
Ghost of Tsushima is available for PlayStation 4.
MORE: Every Video Game Release Coming Soon For PS5 and PS4
