Earlier this month, it was announced that top ranked lightweights Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson would be stepping into the Octagon at UFC 209 on March 4th for a highly anticipated lightweight matchup for the interim lightweight strap. That fight will serve as the co-main event on the card behind a welterweight rematch between Tyron Woodley and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, who will be fighting for Woodley’s welterweight strap.

While the event is still nearly two months away, UFC President Dana White mediated staredowns for both bouts this week. While Woodley and Thompson struggled to keep straight faces, Nurmagomedov and Ferguson struggled to keep things under control, forcing UFC President Dana White to intervene so things didn’t get out of hand.

Back in November of 2016, Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson squared off in the co-main event of UFC 205, where the pair fought to a majority draw which saw Woodley retain his welterweight strap in a 5 round scrap that was scored differently by the fight community, with some giving the scrap to Woodley, and others scoring it for Thompson.

In the co-main event, Nurmagomedov and Ferguson will square off in a highly anticipated fight which took the UFC quite some time to make after Ferguson initially planned to hold out for more money. Fortunately, after some uncertainty, the UFC was able to make the bout official.

Catch both of the staredowns above!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/19/2017.