Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev have been waiting a long time for this.
The middleweight contenders were at maximum intensity as they faced off ahead of their co-main event bout Saturday at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi. At Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins, Whittaker and Chimaev engaged in an icy staredown after stepping on the scale, neither man allowing themselves to move an inch or even blink.
Watch the faceoff below.
The two held their ground for some time before being separated and finally cracking a smile. Anticipation for the matchup is understandable given the potential title fight implications and the fact that Whittaker and Chimaev were previously scheduled to fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this past June, when an illness to Chimaev forced the bout to be postponed.
Whittaker instead defeated short-notice replacement Ikram Aliskerov. The former middleweight champion seeks a third straight win to secure another shot at championship gold.
Afterwards, both fighters were brief with their post-faceoff comments.
“See you tomorrow, guys,” Chimaev said. “I have nothing to say.”
“I’m coming for war tomorrow night,” Whittaker said. “I’m coming for everything. Hope you guys enjoy.”
Headliners Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway weren’t as aggressive with their faceoff, but Topuria had a lot to say to Holloway as he spoke to him for several seconds with Holloway just nodding along.
Holloway looks to become just the second two-time featherweight in UFC history (along with Jose Aldo). Like the co-headliners, neither Holloway nor Topuria were interested in dishing out any additional trash talk.
“No more talk, fight tomorrow,” Holloway said. “Let’s go, tune in.”
“Tomorrow night, once again, you’re going to see why I’m the best fighter in the world,” Topuria said.
Topuria heads into his first championship defense on Saturday after a resounding knockout of Alexander Volkanovski to claim the title at UFC 298 this past February.
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