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Dana White and the UFC are hosting one of their most ambitious cards ever at the Sphere on Saturday -- and that's saying something for a guy who built an entire "Fight Island" -- an event the UFC honcho tells us wouldn't be happening without Tom Brady!

White joined Babcock on TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) this week ... where he revealed TB12 was the inspo behind the first-ever Sphere sporting event.

"I went to the Sphere with Tom Brady. He invited me to come to U2 with him. Had Brady not invited me, I wouldn't even have been to the Sphere yet. It's almost like this was meant to be," the UFC CEO said of the mega event.

Sylvester Stallone is hard at work on an upcoming book about his rise to superstardom ... and he says Woodstock was a big moment for him.

The "Tulsa King" star joined us on "TMZ Live" and we asked him for an update on his memoir, and got his thoughts on the new season of his hit Paramount+ series.

Sly says his novel is going to be about his journey from being most likely to end up in the electric chair to a movie icon ... and he explains how a trip to New York during Woodstock in 1969 made him realize he needed to make his mark on the world.

"Vanderpump Rules" alum and producer Randall Emmett is saying goodbye to his beautiful L.A. house ... the place he and Lala Kent used to call home ... because he just sold the property.

Randall's real estate agent, David T. Kessler, tells TMZ ... the reality TV star closed escrow on his estate Wednesday for $4.35 million.

The new owner, we're told, isn't a celebrity though ... instead, the buyer is a retired businessman.

Gleb Savchenko is pumping the brakes on steamy romance rumors about his "Dancing With The Stars" partner Brooks Nader ... telling TMZ they're just friends.

The longtime dance pro tells TMZ ... while Brooks is cool and fun, he’s not into her romantically, and he’s not focused on dating anyone right now.

In case you didn't know, every season, 'DWTS' loves to play up his flirty nature, so this really isn't anything new.

Diddy's fighting back against the massive $100 million default judgment leveled against him this week ... claiming he never received a copy of the lawsuit -- and, even if he had, the statute of limitations ran out years ago.

The controversial music mogul filed the emergency motion to set aside the massive judgment Thursday ... saying the plaintiff, Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, never served him with a lawsuit -- and, he didn't know he had to handle the matter until news outlets started reporting on the judgment.

Worth noting ... Diddy's lawyers aren't just trying to get the case thrown out for failing to serve him properly -- they're denying all wrongdoing wholeheartedly. They say the "facially implausible allegations are completely fabricated."

Donald Trump pushing a wild conspiracy theory about Haitian immigrants eating Americans' cats and dogs in an Ohio town has prompted folks to flood the local police force with inquiries ... to the point where the cops are having trouble investigating actual crimes.

Police in Springfield, OH tell TMZ ... the department is getting double the amount of daily calls -- which was already in the hundreds! -- from concerned citizens across the country, all asking the same thing ... are immigrants really eating people's pets?!?

Cops say the increased call volume started after Trump pushed the debunked conspiracy about Haitians in Tuesday night's debate against Kamala Harris ... when he said immigrants were eating cats and dogs in the city, which he called out specifically.

Chad McQueen, who famously played Dutch in the 'Karate Kid' movie franchise, is dead ... TMZ has learned.

Chad died Wednesday at his ranch in Palm Desert, CA as a result of organ failure ... according to his longtime attorney, Arthur Barens.

We're told he had an injury a few years ago which led to progressive organ failure and ultimately killed him.

Kendrick Lamar's viral new song validated Dee-1's unyielding message that hip hop culture has sunk into Hades -- and the New Orleans-bred rapper is etching it as a career-changing moment!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Dee on Thursday, just hours after Kendrick shouted him out on the song being dubbed, "Watch The Party Die."

Kendrick seemingly mutes himself with the somewhat cryptic bars, "I want to be empathetic, my heart like Dee-1 but I would ___" ... and Dee thinks the Compton lyricist was metaphorically saying he would blacken his soul to combat the evils of the world, and decided that silence would be the best punchline to end the rhyme.

Dave Grohl’s cheating scandal and secret love child might’ve rocked everyone else, but his ex-girlfriend is still solidly in his corner to support him.

Jennifer Finch -- Dave's ex from the '90s -- is stepping up to defend the Foo Fighters frontman through all the drama, calling him a top-tier dad and friend -- telling us she got a front-row seat to his family dynamic while touring with them recently.

Jennifer -- who was part of the punk rock band L7 -- assures us Dave's doing everything he can for his family, giving it his all in spite of the messy situation.

Astronaut Nicole Stott says folks who are cynical over seeing a billionaire complete the first-ever civilian spacewalk need to cool their jets ... because it's actually to everyone's benefit.

Nicole, who did her own spacewalk in 2009 at the International Space Station, tells TMZ ... billionaire Jared Isaacman bankrolling a historic spacewalk is good for humankind in the long run, and it will help us eventually reach Mars.

The way Nicole sees it ... private space exploration is vital toward our goals of going further into space than ever before, and while the average person can't pay for a trip into orbit right now, it likely will be affordable in the future.

Happy Birthday, Jayden James!!! It's time to celebrate, both your adulthood and the fact child support from Britney Spears will not end on this special day.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the original child support order in the Britney/Kevin Federline divorce provided that child support payments would cease on the 18th birthday of Jayden, the youngest son, OR when he graduates high school, WHICHEVER IS LATER. We've learned Jayden will graduate from high school in Hawaii in November -- it's an early graduation -- so the child support payments will continue until then. That means Britney will make payments in October and November, and then it all stops.

We're told the original child support order was $20,000 a month. But, in 2018, it went up to $40k a month, partly because Kevin pretty much had the kids all the time, and there were additional expenses as the kids got older.

Johnny Wactor's mom is devastated over the potential 5-year sentence one of the suspects in her son's murder case is facing ... telling TMZ she believes he's got zero remorse for his alleged role in the crime.

Scarlett Wactor tells TMZ she fears Leonel Gutierrez, 18 -- who pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and grand theft charges in connection with the case -- was merely charged with whatever was available for his alleged participation. But, she thinks that's not good enough.

Scarlett believes he'll probably only end up serving 1-2 years due to prison overcrowding ... and then will walk free to live a full life -- something Johnny will never get the chance to do.

Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean is all for celebs diving into politics -- a hot topic seeing as how Taylor Swift’s recent endorsement of Kamala Harris has made quite a powerful impact.

We caught up with the singer at LAX ... and he tells us he believes everyone, including big-name stars, has a right to their own opinion, especially if they use their platform for good, and have a positive message.

He admits he's not one to make grand political statements, but he's not shy about who he's backing -- check out the video to see who’s got his vote!

Wyclef Jean is not amused by Donald Trump's bizarre debate tangent about Haitian immigrants supposedly eating household pets -- and tells TMZ Hip Hop that America needs to strictly focus on the facts this election!!!

Wyclef says, "I will be forever grateful for my family’s life, for having a fair chance to live what is called the 'American Dream.'"

"One of our greatest assets in America is that we are a country of immigrants," Clef says. "I speak from the heart when I say, Haitian people living in the U.S. are good neighbors and good people. We care about humanity. We care about our neighbors."

Nikki Bella wants to keep her son with her ... asking for legal and physical custody of her son Matteo in her divorce from Artem Chigvintsev.

The former WWE star cites irreconcilable differences in the dissolution docs ... citing August 29 as the date of separation, the day Artem was arrested for felony corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant.

Bella checked the box to block the court's ability to award spousal support to either of them.

JoJo Siwa has nothing but respect for Taylor Swift after she decided to publicly endorse Kamala Harris for president ... but she isn't ready to follow in her footsteps.

We caught up with the entertainer at LAX after the debates, where the "Dance Moms" alum applauded the pop star for speaking out ... and noted the singer's endorsement will likely have an impact.

As she put it ... "The Swifties rule the world at this point."