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Have you ever thought, “what would Mortal Kombat look like on ice?” If so, look no further than the Winter Olympics to see how it’d fare.
On Saturday, Georgian figure skaters Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava did a performance based on the popular fighting game, with Berulava dressed as Sub-Zero and Metelkina as Kitana. The entire performance, which you can see below, has some fun nods to the games: not only does the iconic theme song play, the skaters bounce back and force like idle animations in the earlier games, they incorporate basic attacks into their routine. It’s a good performance, and the judges seemed to agree, since it earned 75.46 points and the pair placed silver behind Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara.
Awesome performance! Mortal Kombat makes a special appearance at the winter Olympics! @MortalKombat @noobde pic.twitter.com/dD4DVJNIhd
— The Freelancer (@TehFreelancer) February 22, 2026
Mortal Kombat has been referenced plenty of times in popular culture, and usually in music or just by being played or referenced in movies or TV. It doesn’t always get a big sports push, though—unless you did band or went to football games in high school, in which case, you probably heard a version of the theme every now and again. Its inclusion here in the Olympics is pretty cool, and speaks to the franchise’s enduring legacy despite it likely being MIA for the next few years as NetherRealm works on its next game. At least we’ve got the second reboot movie in a few months.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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