Viola Davis: 'I could whoop Meryl Streep's behind in a street fight'

Now that all the nominations have been announced and the 84th annual Academy Awards are all but set, speculation over who will win, who will upset and who will be snubbed is in full force, and gauntlets are definitely being thrown.

Glenn Close, Viola Davis, Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams and Rooney Mara are the nominees in the Best Actress category, and The L.A. Times reported that the competition is really a two-way race. Streep and Davis are considered the two favorites in the category, and it's unclear which will come out on top.

Streep was nominated for her portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. This nomination is the 17th for the actress (a record), although she has only won twice, and has already won the Golden Globe in the same category for the role. Davis, on the other hand, received her first ever Oscar nomination for her role as domestic Aibileen Clark in The Help.

The two actresses worked together and were both nominated for their roles in Doubt, and the two are longtime friends. But The Huffington Post reported that Davis joked to CNN that she was ready for a showdown with her competition.

"Friendly competition — although, I can whoop Meryl Streep's behind in a good, old fashioned street fight," Davis told CNN. "Now, as far as the Oscars, I'm not sure about that."

The talk is all in good fun, and a true rivalry between these real-life friends is completely nonexistent. Just in case though, watch out for these two on the red carpet. It would be a shame for those fancy outfits to get ruined over a little statue.