Before Wang Cong faces off with her opponents, she dyes her hair green, paints her face white and draws a bright red grin from cheek to cheek.
Fans may assume Cong is paying tribute to Batman’s notorious arch-enemy the Joker, but the Chinese fighter says her persona is rooted in the joker playing card that inspired the comic-book villain.
The 34-year-old, who is on a four-fight win streak, says she can “feel the fear” in her opponents when she wears the face paint.
On Saturday at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City, Cong will be hoping she can invoke the same emotions in Brazilian Natalia Silva, when the pair fight for the vacant flyweight world title.
“It means the most powerful card, so I want to be the most powerful,” Cong tells BBC Sport.
“When I have paint on I feel crazy. It makes me perform better, it inspires me. There’s not much different between paint and no paint, this is my true personality.”
Cong has bewildered opponents at weigh-ins while wearing the face paint, and says she even adopts the Joker alias when using social media messaging back home in China.
She tossed an imaginary coin and pretended to shoot a gun before her fight against Gabriella Fernandes in 2024, while in July she bizarrely gifted Tracy Cortez a pack of fake eyelashes before the pair’s flyweight encounter.
Cong laughs as she reveals Silva can expect a “surprise” of her own before their fight at the Delta Centre, although she then turns serious as she pays tribute to her opponent.
Silva, 29, enters the contest on a 14-fight win streak across different promotions and is the favourite to capture the vacant title after Valentina Shevchenko was forced to vacate the belt last month through injury.
“She’s an incredible fighter, an eight-fight win streak in UFC, beaten three former champions, she has amazing footwork, distance control and kicks,” adds Cong.
