Video: Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev exchange icy stares in face-off before UFC 308

Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev have been waiting for this for a long time.

The middleweight contenders delivered peak intensity as they faced off ahead of their co-main event bout on Saturday at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi. At Friday's ceremonial weigh-ins, Whittaker and Chimaev stared icily downward after stepping on the scales, neither allowing themselves to move an inch or even blink.

Watch the faceoff below.

The two held their ground for some time before being separated, finally smiling. The anticipation for the duel is understandable given the potential impact on the title fight and the fact that Whittaker and Chimaev were scheduled to face each other last June in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, when Chimaev's illness forced the fight to be postponed.

Whittaker instead defeated short-notice substitute Ikram Aliskerov. The former middleweight champion is aiming for a third straight win to secure another shot at championship gold.

Both fighters then kept their post-faceoff comments short.

“See you tomorrow, guys,” Chimaev said. “I have nothing to say.”

“I’m going to war tomorrow night,” Whittaker said. “I come for everything. I hope you like it.”

Headliners Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway weren't as aggressive in their faceoff, but Topuria had a lot to say to Holloway as he spoke to him for a few seconds and Holloway just nodded along.

Holloway looks to become just the second two-division featherweight in UFC history (along with Jose Aldo). Like the co-headliners, neither Holloway nor Topuria were interested in spewing more trash talk.

“No more talking, fighting tomorrow,” Holloway said. “Let’s go tune in.”

“Tomorrow night you will see once again why I am the best fighter in the world,” Topuria said.

Topuria enters his first championship defense on Saturday after comfortably defeating Alexander Volkanovski to capture the title at UFC 298 last February.