Video: Daniel Cormier, Phil Hawes get into heated verbal altercation at UFC Austin

Just seconds after Phil Hawes finished Deron Winn with strikes at UFC Austin, the veteran middleweight picked another fight with UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier.

Cormier, Winn’s longtime teammate and mentor, was also calling the action on Saturday and barely made it into the cage before Hawes starting shouting at him.

“You picked the wrong pony!” Hawes shouted at Cormier. “Yeah, you dog. You know what I’m talking about. I’ll cool off and then next week you can fight me.”

Check out the verbal altercation below via Twitter user @BakankyBro.

Cormier verbally fired back at Hawes, and referee Herb Dean eventually stepped in between them to ensure the altercation didn’t turn physical.

“I don’t pick fights,” Cormier said in response. “Be respectful. You didn’t beat me. I don’t pick fights.

“Look at what happened. Why would I want this fight? You can do it better than that, don’t do that.”

Cooler heads eventually prevailed, and Hawes turned back to Cormier to shake his hand; he added “I apologize” to the former two-division UFC champion.

It’s not clear why Hawes sought out the confrontation other than Cormier’s close relationship with Winn, who suffered a brutal TKO loss in the fight in Texas.

While they were shouting at each other when the fight ended, Cormier composed himself and interviewed Hawes after his victory without any further incident.