Dolly Parton tragically passed away at the age of 80 today. The iconic singer, song-writer, actress, business-woman, and philanthropist was hospitalized in Nashville on August 21, and passed away today after a brief battle with cancer.
It remains to be seen if the “Jolene” singer was a fan of MMA, but she has many fans in the sport, most notably UFC’s Cody Brundage. The former LOC Middleweight Champion and LOC Light Heavyweight Champion has used Parton’s “9 to 5” single as his walk-out song, which was recorded in 1980 for the comedy movie and TV series of the same name.
Brundage (12-9-1), who defeated Andre Petroski via TKO at 0:44 of the second round on May 16 at UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Costa, spoke to MMAJunkie in 2022 and was asked about why he chose Parton’s “9 to 5” to walk to the Octagon to.
I just love it. It gets the people going. I feel like what we do is so serious. You’re already at the max confrontation, max anxiety. I feel like it’s something a little lighter. I don’t have to be fired up, I’m already fired up, I’m about to get into physical altercation with somebody so… Dolly just kind of lightens the mood a little bit, allows me to focus in, the crowd loves it, they all start laughing and enjoying themselves a little bit. I’ve had that song since I was an amateur, so I’m just going to stick with it,” Cody Brundage said.
Conor McGregor is among the celebrities paying tribute to the 11-time Grammy Award winner on social media today. UFC’s first-ever Irish-born champion shared a @CatholicVote tribute, and included his own six-word tribute to Parton.
May God rest your amazing soul! [folded hands emoji] [red heart emoji],” McGregor wrote in the tweet below.
Dana White also shared a tribute to Parton today, declaring her to be a national treasure. Ahead of tonight’s DWCS event, UFC’s President & CEO took to his Instagram Stories with a reaction to Parton’s passing.
NOOOOOOOO!!!! National Treasure. RIP Legend,” White wrote in the screenshot below.
