Hunt swings at Gallen during heated weigh-in

Mark Hunt has taken a swing at Paul Gallen ahead of their heavyweight clash, in what quickly became a heated pre-fight weigh-in.

Ahead of his first appearance in the square circle in 20 years, the UFC legend weighed in at 127.14kg while Gallen came in nearly 25kg lighter at 103.66kg.

But before the pair could face-off, the Super Samoan lunged at Cronulla Sharks great, shoving him into the advertising backdrop behind him.

Both men were promptly separated before Hunt came rushing back in with a wild left jab that narrowly missed Gallen amid the sea of arms pulling the two apart.

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When the dust settled the crowd were eventually afforded a face-off opportunity, with neither giving up an inch.

Gallen admitted he was taken aback by Hunt's antics, particularly with the pair having voiced their repsect for one another in the lead up to the fight.

"That's a bit shocking that," Gallen said of Hunt's swing.

"He's trying to intimidate me – we said from day one we'd be professionals, it'd be a respectful build-up, but that shocked me a little bit.

"As I've said from day one, I don't need any motivation … I'm just here to get the win, go home to the family and have some fun for Christmas."

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It appears as fight day nears, all decorum has been put to the side.

"Five years this has been in the making. He's been talking a whole lot of garbage, and now we're here. It's showtime for this guy, let's see if he can cut it," Hunt said.

"(His talk) increases my fire to put him to sleep."

Meanwhile, Tim Tszyu was his calculated self, giving away little as he came in at 69.46kg.

"Some people thrive on pressure, and I'm one of them," Tszyu said.