Israel Adesanya entered the octagon to launch a racially-charged rant at Dricus du Plessis as the pair continued their squabble over African heritage.
The cameras quickly panned to Adesanya in the audience, who glared back at the lens before entering the cage to confront Du Plessis in a racially charged exchange.
The Stylebender and his entourage loomed behind Du Plessis as the South African reviewed the fight and spoke about all the work he’d been putting in.
Joe Rogan then introduced the 'great Israel Adesanya,' as Du Plessis was quick to reply: 'I don't know about great.'
Adesanya took the opportunity to poke Du Plessis by bringing up the roots of their rivalry, saying: ‘Relax, this is my African brother right here.’
He stood face to face with Du Plessis as he launched into a furious rant, using the N-word to mock him for his previous comments where he claimed he was the only true African of the two.
'I am African but I ain't no brother of yours,' said Du Plessis. 'What do you say to everybody in New Zealand?'
The Nigerian-New Zealand fighter, who was born in Lagos but moved to New Zealand at the age of 10, responded: 'I don't need a DNA test, I know where I'm from.'
When asked about the fight, Du Plessis began to respond before being interrupted by Adesanya, who said: 'Absolutely, it's an easy fight, it's easy money.’
The pair continued to exchange jibes before being separated by officials.
Du Plessis, who is from Pretoria in South Africa, has repeatedly questioned the African heritage of Adesanya and has criticised his decision to train outside of the continent.
'Did those belts ever go to Africa?' Du Plessis said previously.
'Myself and Cameron Saaiman, we breathe African air. We wake up in Africa every day, we train in Africa, we're African born, we're African raised, we still reside in Africa, we train out of Africa - that's an African champion, and that's who I'll be.'
Adesanya and Du Plessis will clash for the world title in Sydney, Australia on September 10.
