Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov are escalating their verbal duel.

The latest volley in the ongoing rivalry saw Dvalishvili kick things off by vowing he will “smash” the undefeated Nurmagomedov should they meet in the octagon. Dvalishvili recently became bantamweight champion with a commanding decision win over Sean O’Malley at UFC 306, and Nurmagomedov is in pole position to be his first challenger coming off of an important win over Cory Sandhagen that improved his pro record to 18-0.

See Dvalishvili’s social media shot below, along with Nurmagomedov’s response.