Security had to intervene to separate Conor Benn and Ryan Garcia during a heated news conference in New York, after the pair traded insults ahead of their welterweight fight in Las Vegas on 12 September. The confrontation escalated when Benn threatened to "smack those glasses straight off" Garcia's face, prompting the American to shout an expletive back, after which Benn tried to lunge at Garcia before being restrained. The incident follows a similar clash between the two at the UFC 329 weigh-in days earlier, underlining the animosity building ahead of their bout.

Benn, 29, dismissed Garcia as a "spoiled brat" and "influencer" who is "not a fighter", referencing Garcia's 2023 defeat by Gervonta Davis, while Garcia, 27, hit back that Benn "ain't good enough" to beat him and take his belt, and predicted he would stop Benn inside five rounds. The exchange grew personal, with Benn questioning Garcia's Mexican heritage and shouting at him in Spanish, while Garcia suggested Benn's father, former world champion Nigel Benn, would end up stopping the fight. Benn is now promoted by Zuffa Boxing, backed by UFC's Dana White and Saudi Arabian capital, whose boss initially tried to hold Benn back before security fully intervened.