Celebrity Feuds

Luke Rockhold says Khabib obliterated Conor McGregor so easily -- the Irish superstar doesn't really deserve a rematch ... but he'll do it if the price is right!!!

Luke is Khabib's teammate -- and was in the cage to help restore order after all hell broke loose at UFC 229.

Rockhold explained that Conor and his team crossed a line with all of the offensive trash talk -- and the bus attack -- leading up to the fight ... and he understands why Khabib flipped out after his victory.

"I think some things aren't for fight promotion," Rockhold says ... "Conor traveled across the world with a gang of people and attacked and broke into an arena to attack Khabib with weapons."

"So, I think people are over-stepping their boundaries and attacking Khabib on this front. He jumped a cage. One of Conor's teammates was antagonizing him and yelling at him after a fight, which was, you know ... you beat your guy, it's pretty much time to shut your mouth."

As for rematch talk, that's where Luke really went in on Conor ...

"The funny thing ... a rematch is usually, they're close fights. It wasn't really a close fight."

"If people wanna see it, if the UFC wants to pay for it, I know Khabib will enjoy a record breaking number, like I said before. It's gotta be record breaking numbers if he wants a rematch."

McGregor has already said he wants a second crack at Khabib -- so, we're guessing the UFC will step up and make it happen.

8:40 PM PT -- The AMA's have come and ended without the face-to-face many fans were hoping for ... and it's because Nicki wasn't there. A source close to Minaj had told us the rapper flew in to L.A. Monday for Tuesday's show and was getting ready just hours before it started. However, a production source tells us Minaj was never, at any point, scheduled to appear. Guess the showdown will have to wait.

Cardi B and Nicki Minaj will be on the same turf tonight for the first time since Cardi chucked her shoe at Nicki and ended up with a huge lump on her head ... TMZ has learned.

Both ladies will be attending the AMAs Tuesday night in L.A. -- Cardi's a scheduled performer ... but we've learned Nicki will be there too. It's unclear if she'll take the stage though.

As you'll recall ... the last time the rappers were in the same room together, Cardi beelined it for Nicki and hurled a shoe at her, calling her a "p***y." Now, more than a month later, the 2 will be seated in the Microsoft Theater in L.A. Interesting to note, Cardi is up for 8 awards, Nicki was not nominated for any.

It's unclear how close they'll be seated to each other, but we know neither Cardi's team nor Nicki's made any special request to avoid each other.

Dana White says the Nevada State Athletic Commission is talking about keeping Khabib Nurmagomedov's entire fight purse from UFC 229 -- $2 MILLION -- over the post-fight brawl.

"They took his whole purse right now and they're talking about keeping his purse," the UFC honcho said on "TMZ Live."

"You should not be able to keep his whole purse."

Dana is referring to the post-fight melee at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas -- when Khabib choked out Conor McGregor and then jumped out of the Octagon to fight Conor's teammate, Dillon Danis.

A brawl ensued and cops rushed in to break things up.

Now, White says NSAC will undoubtedly hit Khabib with a fine -- but it should be closer to $250,000 ... not $2 MILLION.

White says he also thinks Khabib will get suspended -- and believes he deserves to be shelved for 4 to 6 months.

It's possible White could go around the Commission and book Khabib to fight outside the United States -- but Dana made it clear UFC will NOT do that. They will stand behind whatever suspension is doled out.

White also explains the difference between Conor's bus attack incident in New York and Khabib's crowd attack in Nevada -- and why it will be treated differently by the two governing boards.

As for Conor's fighting future -- Dana says he's still figuring that out ... but clearly likes the idea of Tony Ferguson being in the mix.

Conor McGregor wants a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov ASAP ... and he's already hitting up Dana White to make it happen.

Just days after suffering a brutal loss at UFC 229, White says Conor called him to set up another fight with the Russian superstar -- but it doesn't sound promising.

"He has to go before the (Nevada State Athletic) Commission, we have to see what's gonna happen with Khabib with this whole mess," White told "First Take" on ESPN. "But, Conor McGregor has already called me wanting a rematch."

It probably won't happen until we find out if Khabib will be punished by the NSAC. But, it sounds like Dana's got his eyes on someone else for Nurmagomedov first.

If you thought Deontay Wilder was taking a shot in the wallet by fighting Tyson Fury and not Anthony Joshua, bite your tongue. 'Cause Wilder says he could make SERIOUS money his next time in the ring.

Like $100 million serious.

Deontay sat down with the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show and when he was asked if he was bummed he wasn't fighting Joshua -- the biggest fight in the sport -- he broke some news.

"People always think the money is in Europe and it's over there. The money is not, it's here, because of the cap that they have there."

Wilder claims that there is a revenue cap on fights in Europe that doesn't exist stateside, and because of that -- plus the INSANE interest his matchup with Fury is generating -- he could make more here.

"Pay-per-view here we can do 59 all the way up to 100."

He's talking about millions of dollars by the way, and he's so jazzed about it he could barely talk.

Khabib Nurmagomedov apologized for attacking Conor McGregor's coach after pounding the crap out of Conor to retain his title, admitting it was revenge for the Irishman's smack talk against him.

Khabib professed remorse to reporters, but also tried justifying his anger. He made it clear ... he reached a boiling point because Conor attacked him, his religion, his country and his father. He also referenced Conor's bus attack back in April, which resulted in criminal charges and injured 3 fighters. Khabib said he's only human, and he snapped.

For his part, Dana White was furious at Khabib and crew for the 2 attacks, saying they are all in "big trouble." He says Khabib's looking at a suspension and even raises the possibility of visa issues for the Russians.

The champ did not explain why Dillon Danis -- Conor's jiu-jitsu coach -- was Khabib's target.

Khabib, championship belt in hand, apologized to the Nevada Athletic Commission and added his father was going to "smash me" when he saw him.

We got video of one member of Khabib's team as he was arrested and cuffed.

Insane Clown Posse's Shaggy 2 Dope attempted to do something truly crazy this weekend to fellow rocker Fred Durst ... a running dropkick -- which totally crashed and burned.

Fred was performing with his own band, Limp Bizkit, Saturday night at the 2018 Rock Allegiance Festival in Camden, New Jersey when Shaggy tried rushing him on stage with a WWE wrestling move that completely backfired. The dropkick ended up dropping Shaggy more effectively than it did Fred ... and security quickly dragged him away to the side stage.

Fred was hardly rocked by the kick, which came up just a bit short, and he calmly announced to the audience ... "What a p***y. Couldn't even pull it off." As the stage handlers attempted to contain Shaggy, it appears another person in ICP's camp got into it as well.

7:30 AM PT -- Joe Rogan says Khabib was provoked by Conor's jiu-jitsu coach Dillon Danis after Danis was hurling insults at him.

7:30 AM PT -- Conor's pregnant girlfriend and child were whisked out of the arena and they looked scared.

7:10 AM PT -- Dana White said Khabib's paycheck for the fight will be withheld until an investigation by the Nevada Athletic Commission is completed.

7:00 AM PT -- Conor decided not to press charges, so the 3 men were released.

10/6 10:43 PM PT -- Dana White says 3 members of Khabib's team have been arrested for brawling after the fight.

Unclear which members were arrested and what they've been charged with. Dana suggested the charges are serious, and the guys might be deported and barred from coming back to the U.S.

White also says he spoke with Conor -- and he wasn't hurt in the aftermath, but he's bummed out about losing the fight.

Khabib Nurmagomedov just dominated Conor McGregor at UFC 229 -- making the Irishman tap -- and then jumped out of the Octagon to attack Conor's team.

Remember, Conor and his band of thugs attacked Khabib's bus at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn back in April -- after an incident between Khabib and Conor's teammate, Artem Lobov.

Conor famously threw a steel dolly at the bus -- while trying to provoke Khabib to step outside and fight.

Conor was arrested for the attack -- Khabib said if Conor wanted to fight, "send me the location."

The two have been threatening each other in public ever since. Conor recently said he would have killed Khabib if he would have stepped off the bus.

But, Saturday night, Khabib was the better fighter -- dominating Conor in basically every facet of the fight at UFC 229 in Vegas.

He ultimately choked Conor out in the 4th round -- and once Conor tapped, Khabib appeared to spit on Conor and then jumped outside of the cage and attacked Conor's team.

You could see Khabib brawling in the crowd with Conor's pal, Dillon Danis -- one of the guys who was with Conor when he attacked the bus.

Someone jumped inside the Octagon and attacked Conor.

Security raced to the scene and tried to restore order.

French Montana feels strongly ... Khabib should NOT be suspended for jumping out of the Octagon after beating Conor McGregor's ass and then attacking Conor's coach, because that's what fighting is all about.

French is a hardcore Khabib fan, and brags he won $100,000 on the fight! He calls Khabib his brother and doesn't understand how anyone would doubt a guy who fights bears ... real bears!

Former O-Town member Ashley Parker Angel says he suffered an injury that kept him from making big bucks on Broadway, so he's asking a judge for a break ... according to new legal docs.

Angel claims he severely hurt his back in May while working on the famed musical "Wicked," so he lost his role and was not earning his normal paycheck for nearly 2 months. He says his injury resulted in a financial loss of more than $26,000 ... so he can't afford his monthly child support payment of $1,836.

On top of that, Ashley says the custody situation with his 12-year-old son, Lyric, has changed. He says he now splits custody with Lyric's mom, Tiffany Lynn Rowe, 50/50 ... but is still paying custody like she has him 90 percent of the time.

Angel adds the nature of his acting work is very fickle and with all of his other expenses, he pretty much lives paycheck to paycheck ... especially since he's unemployed after losing his "Wicked" gig.

Rowe calls B.S. though -- according to the docs -- claiming Angel has other sources of income than the musical ... including from a supplement company he launched last year. She also accuses him of treating child support as optional, and says it's his own fault he doesn't save money for the downtimes in his employment.

Nate Diaz is rooting for Khabib and Conor to BOTH lose at UFC 229 -- saying he already "slapped the sh*t out of both of 'em" ... and neither one deserves to be champ!

That said, Nate also believes Conor is the favorite to win ... because "Khabib is scared for his life."

Diaz says it simply comes down to fight style -- noting Khabib "fights like a scared little bitch" on the ground while Conor will stand up and trade blows like a beast.

"I think Conor has got a way better fight style."

Nate also says Khabib hasn't proven himself against any real quality opponents -- "That fool ain't fought nobody."

Diaz makes it clear he's not rooting for either guy -- he wants a double knockout, so they both lose.

The big question ... would Nate take a 3rd fight against Conor to settle the score once and for all?

"I ain't fighting no trilogy. He already got his ass whipped. He can fight everybody else. I got shit to do too."

Rick Ross can rap all he wants over 50 Cent's "In Da Club" and Fiddy can't do a damn thing about it ... according to the federal judge who just dismissed the case.

50 sued Rick, way back in 2015, for using the music from 'Club' on the mixtape, "Renzel Remixes." The rappers already had plenty of beef -- remember, 50 had to fork over $7 mil for posting Rick's baby mama's sex tape.

So, you can see why 50 Cent would be pissed about da Boss using his 2003 hit track.

However, Rick's attorney Leron Rogers says the judge in the case tossed the whole thing because, basically ... 50's got no dog in this fight.

The judge said Fiddy does not own the copyright or master recordings for the song. Those all belong to Shady/Aftermath Records, so it was dismissed without merit.

Machine Gun Kelly's crew beat the crap out of the actor who mouthed off to the rapper at an ATL bar -- and the just-released video shows the brutality.

TMZ broke the story ... actor G-Rod called Kelly a "p***y" for a tweet referring to Eminem's then 16-year-old daughter as "hot."

The surveillance video is from the confrontation at the hotel 2 hours later, and you see a member of Kelly's posse run up behind G-Rod, put him in a bear hug, pick him up and body slam him. Not for nothing, but G-Rod goes about 230 lbs.

Three other men from MGK's crew then come up, stomping and punching the crap out of him. You don't see Kelly in the video.

One of the guys is MGK's drummer -- his name is R00K. Another is a guy who goes by the name Slim.

G-Rod was badly injured and told TMZ he will drop the criminal investigation he launched as well as a lawsuit if MGK fights him in the Octagon.

His response to the surveillance video: "Real f**king manly of this BITCH!!! Tell him I'll take him plus 1 of his goons to get him to my weight class!!! And I'll drop all charges!!" MGP***Y"

Cyhi the Prynce has a half-a-mil message for Joe Budden -- if you wanna talk smack, be ready to back it up with a rap battle for all the cheddar. In other words, put up or shut up!

We talked to Kanye West's GOOD Music labelmate Tuesday after he and the ex-Slaughterhouse MC got into a Twitter feud where Cyhi challenged Joe to battle, and put $500,000 on the line.

The war of words comes after Joe mocked Cyhi for hyping Kanye's recent album releases -- and reportedly saying Cyhi probably couldn't ante up the $500k. Well, clearly Cyhi's got the money ... 'cause he told us he's absolutely serious.

He's also positive he'll destroy Joe thanks to the "word of God."

We all know the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore was contentious, but few knew how Dubya's dad really felt about his opponent ... until now.

Moments in Time is selling a letter the ex-POTUS wrote to his friend and former congressman Dan Rostenkowski on October 9, 2000 -- about a month out from election day. It's going for $12,500 ... so if you're a history buff, bust out your credit card.

In the letter, obtained by TMZ, Mr. Herbert Walker very clearly expressed his disdain for Gore, saying, "You can just imagine how proud we are of George W and how nervous we are about the election. I have gotten so I can't stand Al Gore."

He continues ... "I sit on the sidelines pained when the press or Gore attack. It is far worse when it's your son who is under heavy incoming fire, Danny, far worse!"

While H.W.'s derision for Gore seems to stem more out of anxiety from the race than the guy himself, there's no question that Bush Sr. was no fan. As you might know, his kid ended up going on to win the election ... but only after the Supreme Court weighed in 5-4.

Cardi B is ready to go at Nicki Minaj yet again ... this time through a brand new track which she's got in the works with her foe's ex.

Sources tell TMZ Cardi recently stepped into the studio with none other than Meek Mill to lay down some material that'll be used in a forthcoming song. We're told they cranked out hooks and verses -- all of which is fair game for a final product that's yet to be released.

Unclear on who the featured artist would be, but we do know that Meek's got an album in the works right now. Sources also say the content Cardi and Meek recorded has the potential to be a huge hit ... so, clearly, expectations are high.

Adding insult to injury, the new duo were seen being friendly last week at the Billboard 2018 R&B Hip-Hop Power Players party in NYC ... where Meek was given the Impact Award.

While we're told the collab happened a few months ago, the timing is nothing short of less-than-perfect for Nicki ... who's in the middle of a good ol' fashioned beef with Cardi.

Their NYFW fight earlier this month left Cardi with a fat lump on her eye ... and a lot of ill will between the two. That hasn't prevented them from being in the same vicinity though since then.