Things got heated when Khamzat Chimaev and Dricus Du Plessis faced off for the last time before their title clash in Chicago.
The time for talking is almost over in the ‘Windy City’, with UFC 319 set to go down from the United Center on Saturday night.
Du Plessis and Chimaev’s middleweight title clash in the main event has unsurprisingly grabbed most headlines and is as highly anticipated as any UFC fight this year to date. And to reach that point, the pair have not needed much animosity.
The two headliners have remained largely respectful toward one another, which was visible during fight week when cameras caught Chimaev running into Du Plessis.
One day out from their showdown, however, things got heated on stage.
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Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev have to be separated during last UFC 319 face-off
As is customary ahead of pay-per-view events, the athletes took to the stage on Friday for the ceremonial weigh-ins.
In addition to Joe Rogan announcing the official weight that each fighter hit on the scales earlier in the day, the stars of the upcoming card got to face-off in front of the fans one last time.
Du Plessis and Chimaev are both known for their intensity when eye-to-eye with their opponents, and that unsurprisingly made for a tense moment for UFC CEO Dana White and his promotion’s security team.
After coming close to a scuffle at Thursday’s UFC 319 press conference, things instantly got physical between the middleweight champion and his challenger Friday night, with the pair being quickly separated as Chimaev attempted to shove his rival.
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Dricus du Plessis sends booing Chicago fans a message in final pre-UFC 319 remarks
The two top middleweights have just hours to wait until they can get their hands on one another inside the cage. When they do, the reigning champion has vowed to put Chimaev to sleep.
While getting booed by a Chicago crowd that is firmly in the corner of the challenger, Du Plessis promised to win them over like he has many others by rendering ‘Borz’ unconscious and becoming the first to defeat him in professional MMA.
“He’s an absolute beast of an opponent,” Du Plessis told Rogan on stage. “But I can tell you this: I am putting that man to sleep.
“Whether it be on the ground, whether I am knocking him out; I am taking out your boy, and all of you will be cheering.
“I just know it, like every other time,” Du Plessis concluded, adding an evil laugh before walking off stage.
Chimaev showed similar confidence, proclaiming that the champ has “only one day left” and will be “dead tomorrow.”