Dana White swiftly lunged in to stop any chance of Islam Makhachev and Jack Della Maddalena getting physical during a hugely tense UFC 322 staredown.
The former lightweight champion is stepping up to welterweight in bid to become a double champ by beating the Aussie this Saturday night in New York.
And while the pair have been cordial and respectful ahead of the huge Madison Square Garden headliner, both were in fight mode on stage.
After the pre-fight press conference, Makhachev, 34, and Della Maddalena, 29, were brought together for a face-off and locked eyes for 15 seconds before White tapped them both on the shoulder.
Neither of them wanted to be the first to look away in a perceived sign of weakness and began to turn to face the crowd.
Then it became apparent there would be a stand-off and they turned back to face each other again and continue the staring.
Jack Della Maddalena (left) and Islam Makhachev (right) shared a tense staredown
At that point, White sensed the tense situation could easily escalate quickly and jumped in between the fighters, with security on hand to slowly pull them apart.
This fight will be Della Maddalena’s first title defense after defeating Belal Muhammad to become champion back in May.
Makhachev, meanwhile, was forced to relinquish his lightweight title to fulfil his ambition of moving up to try and join the double champ club, of which there are only nine members in UFC history.
But the Dagestani still thinks the 155-lbs strap belongs to him.
He said: ‘I feel I’m still champion. I don’t lose my belt to anyone. I’m just coming to get second one.
He went on: ‘This is my dream. I’m very close to my dream. All my professional career, when I was lightweight champion, my dream was to become double champion. And two more days.
When asked about where victory would place him in the pantheon of greats, he added: ‘Oh, I don’t know, man. I’m not thinking about this right now. I’m thinking about the belt.
‘I spent all my life for just to be champion, and now I’m close to that dream right now.’
Dana White was forced to intervene to snuff out any chance of the situation escalating
JDM, however, believes the Makhachev scalp would put him right up among the very best in the UFC’s pound-for-pound list.
He said: ‘This is what I got in this sport for – big challenges, big moments. I’m excited for the challenge and I’m looking forward to it.
‘I’m going to bring this belt back home to Australia, no doubt.
‘Obviously, Islam’s a legend. A big win over him would be a big name on the resume and it would definitely put me up on the pound-for-pound list.’
Della Maddalena is known for his elite striking ability, while Makhachev has improved immensely in that area and is still one of the most formidable wrestlers in the organisation.
It will be fascinating to see how they match up in the octagon, with history at stake, especially for the Russian, as well as the belt this Saturday night.
