There seems no shortage of tension heading into Israel Adesanya's middleweight title defence against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 on Sunday (NZ time).
The pair share top billing on the promotion's annual July 4 holiday weekend blockbuster at Las vegas, when 'The Last Stylebender' is highly favoured to defend his world championship belt for the fifth time.
On Friday (NZ time), fighters from the main card gathered for the official fight-week press conference before a raucous crowd at the T-Mobile Arena.
Adesanya and American Cannonier traded a flurry of barbs, before taking to the stage for their first staredown, which included a rare, tense handshake that threatened to boil over, as both fighters refused to release their grip, forcing the UFC's Sean Shelby to intervene.
The face-off concluded an entertaining 30 minutes of verbal warfare, with Adesanya engaging with middleweight contender Sean Strickland, who stole the show with his tirade at the champion.
Strickland faces Alex Periera on the undercard of UFC 276, with the winner set to become the next in line to challenge for the belt, should Adesanya defeat Cannonier.
Max Holloway was also vocal with his taunts towards Adesanya's City Kickboxing teammate and featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, as they prepare for their third meeting in the co-main event.
Kiwi Brad Riddell will also be in action on Sunday, taking on Jalin Turner on the feature bout of the preliminary card.
Join us at 12pm, Sunday for live updates of UFC 276: Adesanya v Cannonier
