Friday’s most spirited staredown was no accident.
While masks covered the faces of lightweights Roosevelt Roberts and Brok Weaver at Friday’s UFC on ESPN 9 fighter faceoffs, the two were audibly bickering while standing nose-to-nose.
The two would continue to be heard going back and forth even after they left the stage.
It was an entertaining exchange, though it was a bit unexpected. Afterward, Roberts took to social media to explain the reasoning for his aggression while promising to make Weaver pay for some alleged transgressions.
Make no mistake my beef with @BWeaverufc is very personal, is nothing I hate more then a dog abuser, I want him to feel how it is to be locked in a cage like a dog and forced to fight to the death because this will be to the death.
Weaver recently posted a video of his dog with blood smeared across its face, adding the text “Will make it.” He later messaged another Instagram user who inquired about the dog’s injuries and said that he and his friend put their animals against each other, seemingly suggesting an organized dog fight.
“One of my homies thought his dog could take mine so we put them to the test lol mine won but lost a lil bit of his ear,” Weaver wrote.
Weaver recently told Bloody Elbow that there was a misunderstanding, and that he would never take part in the illegal act of dogfighting.
“I was really not thinking no harm was done because I know dog-fighting is illegal,” Weaver told Bloody Elbow. “A sanctioned dog fight. Where we brought them to each other and made them fight and betted money. That’s animal cruelty. I sent my dog to play with your dog because they lived together for a week.
“It bled a lot but it was just a little clip. A little clip on his ear. He didn’t even care about it. He didn’t even feel it.”
That explanation apparently wasn’t enough for Roberts, and the two made it clear to expect some vicious work in the cage Saturday night.
UFC on ESPN 9 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
Roosevelt Roberts promises 'fight to the death' with Brok Weaver at UFC on ESPN 9
