Diaz and Penn scuffle at the weigh ins

Despite a mutual reputation for mad trash talk, BJ Penn and Nick Diaz were entirely repectful during the build up to tonights fight, with Diaz going so far as to label the Hawaiian his “favourite fighter.” They were so cordial that, given Diaz’s long-established need to hate whoever he is fighting, some worried the fight might lack fireworks.

Those worries were laid to rest at the weigh ins.

Penn and Diaz have trained together in the past, and Diaz finally found in there a reason to simmer.

“I’m not the one who signed first,” Diaz said. “I look at it like that. I’m not one to fight my friends or people I know. I probably wouldn’t have signed until they let me know it was all a go. They still had to talk me into it.”

When Diaz and Penn squared up at the weigh-ins, and Penn pushed his head under his rival’s nose, UFC presdent Dana White played bouncer as Diaz appeared to fling out a right hand.