Fight fans were divided between amusement and confusion after Ariana Grande cut an interesting promo for UFC 308 during her Saturday Night Live appearance.
Posing as Celine Dion and wearing a gray UFC jersey, Grande replaced the lyrics of “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now” with MMA references as a series of clips from various UFC events flashed on the screen.
Former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk and former welterweight star Mike Perry were profiled in the two-minute clip as users took to the comments section to voice their opinions.
‘I wonder how much Dana [White] paid, this shit is clean,’ wrote one user.
‘NFL: Taylor Swift, UFC: Hold My Beer,’ a second suggestedreferring to the attention that Taylor Swift has brought to American Football in the past year.
Fans were equally amused and confused by Ariana Grande’s bizarre UFC 308 promo on SNL
A third fan mentioned the sketch “Nobody saw that crossover coming.”
‘Everyone in the comments is missing the reference’ a fourth explained. ‘Celine Dion made a nice promo for the Cowboys Steelers. The contrast between what she said and how violent the sport is was what was funny.”
While many criticized the bizarre nature of the promo, others applauded the references in Grande’s script.
“Dozens of commentators, all bald and in the shiniest shirts,” referring to the commentary team of Daniel Cormier, Joe Rogan and Jon Anik.
“The commenters being bald was funny because of the facts,” one user responded.
At the end of the clip, Grande wore a UFC sports bra and UFC gloves and said, “I’m Celine Dion for UFC 308.”
Fan reactions to the clip included some wondering how much Dana White paid for the promo
Ilia Topuria will defend his featherweight title against Max Holloway at UFC 308 on October 26
The event logo and date then flashed at the bottom left of the screen.
UFC 308 takes place on October 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The card is headlined by the featherweight title fight between champion Ilia Topuria and BMF belt holder Max Holloway.
The event will also feature the middleweight co-main event between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev.