The final staredown between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev ahead of Saturday’s UFC 319 main event proved to be incredibly tense.
Despite both fighters keeping things respectful during their backstage encounters throughout fight week, Dana White had to separate the two headliners during Friday’s weigh-in.
After the champ stepped off the scale, he and Chimaev wasted no time before getting physical, with the No. 1 contender even attempting to get a quick shove in at the last second.
Several alternate angles have since been uploaded:
Needless to say, today’s staredown was far more tense than yesterday’s.
Following Thursday’s fight week press conference, Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev met on-stage for a staredown, where the No. 1 contender appeared to say something that got under the champ’s skin.
Dana White quickly stepped in, separating the two, while security guards on hand seemed ready to jump in at a moment’s notice.
The tension from yesterday’s press conference staredown seemingly boiled over into today’s weigh-in staredown.
DDP and Chimaev Promise Fireworks at UFC 319
Following his tense staredown with Dricus du Plessis on Friday, Khamzat Chimaev spoke with Joe Rogan for his on-stage interview.
With anticipation continuing to build for tomorrow’s fight, the No. 1 contender dropped a chilling prediction for the champ:
“[I’m] just gonna go f*** this boy up. One day. He has only one day left, he’s dead tomorrow.”
On the flip side, despite fans in attendance booing him, Dricus du Plessis vowed to finish Chimaev and win over the crowd on Saturday night.
“He’s an absolute beast of an opponent but I can tell you this, I’m putting that man to sleep. Whether it be on the ground, whether I’m knocking him out, I’m taking out your boy and all of you will be cheering I just know it, like every other time.”
Lerone Murphy and Aaron Pico Have Tense Co-Main Event Staredown
In addition to the tense staredown between tomorrow’s headliners Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, the staredown for tomorrow’s co-main event bout between Lerone Murphy and Aaron Pico also wound up delivering fireworks.
While the two kept things respectful, and things didn’t escalate to the same level as they did in the DDP-Chimaev staredown, the high-stakes nature of the bout was reflected in the tense staredown.
Heading into the fight, Murphy has made it clear that he’s planning to go out and make a statement worthy of cementing his place as the No. 1 contender. Since joining the UFC in 2019, Murphy has gone 8-0-1 inside the Octagon, rattling off wins over Josh Emmett and Dan Ige over the past 12 months.
On the flip side, Pico is heading into the bout eager to both establish himself as one of the top featherweights on the roster, and secure himself a title fight with Alexander Volkanovski. The famed grappler is heading into his UFC debut with a 13-4 pro record after having extended his win streak to three with a first-round TKO win over Henry Corrales on the PFL vs Bellator card last February.
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