Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira had a tense conversation during their initial face-off before their upcoming lightweight title bout.
The two fighters, aged 28 and 35 respectively, are set to compete for the vacant 155-pound title on Sunday morning as the main event of UFC 317 in Las Vegas.
Topuria, the Georgian-born Spaniard, is aiming to become only the tenth fighter in UFC history to hold championships in two different weight divisions.
Meanwhile, fan favorite Oliveira is looking to regain the title he lost due to missing weight before his fight against Justin Gaethje in May 2022.
The fighters previously had an unexpected encounter at the UFC Performance Institute on Wednesday when they ran into each other in the sauna.
However, they had a better opportunity to size each other up after the pre-fight press conference at the T-Mobile Arena early Friday morning.
After shaking hands, the pair engaged in a tense stare-down.
A heated discussion followed, which led to Oliveira removing his glasses as Topuria spoke.
Topuria, who remains undefeated, previously won and defended the featherweight title (which he has since given up) by defeating MMA legends Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway last year.
He intends to become a two-division world champion in a similarly decisive manner.
Regarding their fight in Las Vegas, he commented: “Charles is a great fighter.”
“I`d say he`s a legendary fighter, one of the few still active in the UFC.”
“But honestly, his style is a perfect match for me to knock him out in the first round.”
“Because he lacks mobility, he doesn`t move much.”
Percy Harlow