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Alex Volkanovski Brands Rival Brian Ortega A 'Drug Cheat' During Heated Face-Off

Alex Volkanovski Brands Rival Brian Ortega A 'Drug Cheat' During Heated Face-Off

Tensions truly boiled over between the current UFC champ and title challenger when they went nose-to-nose in a fiery pre-fight face-off.

Max Sherry

Max Sherry

These two blokes clearly aren't on each other's Christmas cards list.

Alexander Volkanovski has taken another shot at Brian Ortega, this time labelling his upcoming opponent a "drug cheat" at their recent UFC 266 press conference.

Even if you didn't get round to watching the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter, it's no secret that these two just don't like one another.

And tensions truly boiled over between the current UFC champ and title challenger when they went nose-to-nose in a fiery pre-fight face-off.

The atmosphere seemed cordial inside the T-Mobile Arena, but that was until UFC president welcomed the headlining stars onto the star.

Staring deep into each other's souls, it wasn't long until the trash-talking began.

"I ain't scared of ya," Volkanovski said while White did his best to keep the pair separated.

The two then exchanged a few pleasantries with the microphone picking up more of what the Aussie was saying than what Ortega was.

The back-and-forth continued on, but it was Volkanovski who landed the knockout blow.

"I didn't know about you popping," he told Ortega.

"That s**t don't sit well with me. You don't deserve to be here. You're a f**king drug cheat - you don't deserve to be here. That's it. Done."

Instagram/@ufcanz

Clearly rattled by Volkanovski's comments, Ortega just stood there awkwardly and struggled to find a rebuttal.

Volkanovski was of course referring to Ortega's failed drug test from way back in 2014.

The American jiu-jitsu specialist was found guilty of using the steroid drostanolone on his UFC debut and was subsequently slapped with a nine-month ban.

The friction between the two featherweights has been bubbling under the surface for quite some time now.

Throughout The Ultimate Fighter show, Ortega continued to rub Volkanovski the wrong way with his "unprofessionalism" and tempers flared on a number of occasions.

Now, the Aussie finally gets a chance to teach his rival a lesson.

"I can't wait to put some hands on him. I've never been in this position. I've never had to spend so much time with an opponent. This is different," Volkanovski told reporters

"And with the long time off, I'm just eager to get back in there and have some fun in there. And on top of that I get to punch him in the face.

"He's unprofessional, he's got a bunch of yes-men around him, he's constantly late. I guarantee you he's f**king late to your interviews and whatnot.

"That annoys me. I'm professional and I'm all about that. He wants this belt - you can't be unprofessional, half-arsing it.

"I've seen a video of his coaches asking him, 'are you ready?' My coach is gonna be like, 'f**king get in there, let's go.' That's the difference between us.

"Some of the things he says when he's under the pump, maybe because he's not good in confrontation and he'll just say some real douchebag statements.

"Just little things like that, I just think he puts on a front and acts like he's all chill. I see through the bulls**t."

Featured Image Credit: UFC ANZ

Topics:ย press conference, Brian Ortega, UFC, Australia, MMA