Interview

Beneil Dariush has won 8 fights in a row, but if the UFC star extends that streak to 9, he'll earn himself a title shot against the lightweight champion ... all he's got to do is beat Charles Oliveira, one of the baddest men in the world.

TMZ Sports caught up with 34-year-old, #4 ranked Dariush a week before his UFC 289 co-main event scrap against current #1 contender "do Bronx" ... and asked him what a win would do as he continues his quest for the belt.

"The UFC said if I win this fight, I'm the number 1 contender, so yes [they told me I'll get the next title fight]," Dariush told us.

Dariush, who first fought for Dana White's organization in early 2014, has been fighting in every sense of the word for a title fight, and now he's finally on the doorstep.

Though, BD's supporters would argue he's long deserved the opportunity ... and it's hard to argue with his resume.

Beneil hasn't lost since March 2018. During his 8-fight win streak, he's beaten Tony Ferguson, Drew Dober and Mateusz Gamrot.

We asked Dariush if being so close to a title shot provided extra motivation ... and his answer may surprise you.

"To be honest with you, when it comes to motivation, I don't lack any. It's hard to add on to the motivation that I have right now," Beneil told us, adding, "My biggest motivation is knowing that God has given me a gift, and I'm not gonna waste it. I'm not gonna squander it."

There's much more with Dariush ... we talked to him about the stylistic matchup, pitting two Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts against each other, and whether BD believes the fight will stay on the feet, or go to the ground.

We also talked to Oliveira ... who is looking to earn another title shot himself.

Of course, Charles was previously the champion at 155 lbs. ... but lost to current belt holder Islam Makhachev in October 2022.

Now, Oliveira is ready to make another run at the title ... "I feel good, I feel happy, I'm ready, and focused on getting the win," Charles told us.

As for a title shot ... CO says he hasn't explicitly been told he'd be next with a win, but he believes it's pretty clearly what should happen.

"Nobody told me, I don't know about Ben, but I think that will happen. I think we both deserve it, whoever wins this Saturday should get a title shot."

If Aaron Rodgers wants to trade footballs for fist pumps this summer, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino is all for it -- telling TMZ Sports he absolutely wants to link up with the NFL star after the quarterback's "Jersey Shore" shoutout last week.

"I think it is a must," Mike said of a meetup with the new Jets signal-caller.

If you missed it, Rodgers revealed he has a big-time love for The Situation, Pauly D, Snooki and the rest of the JC cast last week ... when he explained to reporters after a workout that the show was one of his all-time favorites.

When Sorrentino got word of the high praise from Rodgers -- he said he and his 'Shore' mates went crazy over it.

"Everyone just had a big smile on their face," Mike said. "The group chat was lit."

Sorrentino told us he's a huge fan of Rodgers after watching him play on NFL Sundays over the years -- and now that he knows the feeling's mutual, he'd love to catch up in Jersey ASAP.

Machine Gun Kelly went absolutely bananas after one of Megan Fox's movie costars made an artistic request -- so says Tyson Ritter ... who was allegedly on the receiving end of this.

The All-American Rejects front man -- who also dabbles in acting -- was telling the wild tale on Ted Stryker's podcast Tuesday, where he recounted a moment he claims went down in Megan's trailer while they were shooting the film "Johnny & Clyde."

Tyson says he wanted to pitch something to Megan for her death scene -- which they were about to film -- and that included putting his fingers in her mouth ... which made sense in the context of the script, and which he thought would've been a cool thing to try on the fly.

Well, MGK certainly didn't take that ask very kindly ... according to TR, the dude lost it and berated him in front of Megan -- going "apes***," as Tyson describes, and from 0-100.

Tyson says he just sorta WTF'd his way out of it, and it definitely doesn't sound like the finger-in-mouth idea was attempted. However, some good did come from the confrontation ... Tyson explains that he was actually inspired by Kelly's burst of energy and emotion.

You see ... Tyson says he was working on another movie around the same time, and he was trying to figure out a way to approach a certain scene in which he also needed to go ballistic out of nowhere. After seeing MGK do it in the flesh in front of him, he says he did the same on set for his other movie ... and that it ended up making it into the flick.

T.J. Newman is on a journey from flight attendant to Hollywood scriptwriter -- she wrote a book that became a bestseller, and now her second novel is getting turned into a screenplay, creating a bidding war in the process.

T.J. joined us on "TMZ Live" and told us all about her new book, "Drowning," which comes out today ... telling us why her story is so coveted by movie studios and big-shot Hollywood producers.

Like her best-selling debut "Falling," T.J.'s new novel takes place on an airplane ... with the jetliner crashing into the ocean after taking off from Hawaii, trapping passengers in a cabin as it sinks beneath the waves. It's aviation's version of the famous "Poseidon Adventure."

T.J. says she wanted to write about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances ... and there was a bidding war for the movie rights, pitting Nicole Kidman against the likes of Steven Spielberg and Jerry Bruckheimer, plus the usual movie studio suspects.

In the end, Warner Bros. emerged victorious ... shelling out $3 million and bringing T.J. along for the ride as an executive producer.

This makes T.J. 2-for-2 in Hollywood -- her first novel, "Falling," is also being turned into a movie after flying off the shelves ... Universal Pictures paid $1.5 million for the movie rights to her best-selling debut novel, also winning a bidding war.

T.J. says she's actually writing the screenplay for "Falling" ... an honor she says is "bonkers" and a process that brings new challenges.

Hulk Hogan will never forget the impact pro wrestling legend Billy Graham had on his life, saying Graham's influence on his career is one of the main reasons he became one of the greatest icons in WWE history!

Hogan reflected on his relationship with Billy after the 79-year-old wrestling legend died last week, recalling how he would take his father to watch Billy's matches  ... and was captivated by BG's larger-than-life personality on the microphone and stellar physique.

"I want to be just like him," Hulk used to tell his dad, referring to Graham, as he watched in awe whenever "Superstar" would flex his biceps at events.

Hogan says he modeled his career after Graham, a former WWE Champion, and WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, aka "The American Dream."

"I stole a little bit from each of them," Hogan told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

Hogan said he and Billy became good friends over the years and shared a full circle moment  ... telling a story of how Graham came to watch him in the main event at Madison Square Garden after years of watching Billy headline shows.

"We just bonded and just got along great," Hogan said.

One of Hogan's career highlights was when he joined forces with Graham, a moment The Hulkster appreciates all these years later when he reflects on his wrestling legacy.

Katherine Heigl and Ellen Pompeo probably have a lot to talk about since famously parting ways on television over a decade ago -- and they'll do just that in the very near future.

The two actresses -- who once starred opposite each other on "Grey's Anatomy," before KH left the show in 2010 -- are set to be paired up for Variety's latest season of 'Actors on Actors' ... where stars interview each other and talk shop about their craft/projects.

There were a ton of other duos announced Saturday, but Kat/Ellen's stands out -- as these two haven't publicly sat down and talked for a very long time ... and this would mark the first time they've done so since Katherine exited 'Grey's' under controversial circumstances.

Fans of the show probably remember this time well -- Katherine asked showrunner Shonda Rhimes to be let out of her contract 18 months early ... citing harsh work conditions, which she aired out publicly at the time. Plus, she was blowing up as a movie star back then.

Of course, she was allowed to leave ... and her character, Dr. Izzie Stevens, was written off after 6 seasons. Katherine was a fan fave and a staple in the series, until she wasn't.

Since then, Ellen has walked the line when discussing Katherine's departure -- which she rarely has -- but in 2013 ... she offered a candid review of the saga to the New York Post.

She was quoted as saying, "When Katie left, it was tough. You could understand why she wanted to go -- when you’re offered $12 million a movie and you’re only 26. But Katie’s problem is that she should not have renewed her contract. She re-upped, took a big raise and then tried to get off the show. And then her movie career did not take off."

More recently, however, EP has actually praised Heigl for speaking up the way she did in the 2010s ... consenting that the hours were grueling and not conducive to a healthy workplace.

There doesn't appear to be any beef between the two ladies -- the same can't be said for Kat and ex-'Grey's' costar Isaiah Washington -- but people are undoubtedly interested to tune in to see them talk about the old days. BTW, the interview has already been shot.

A mysterious adoption more than a decade ago is getting the spotlight thanks to an upcoming docuseries ... about a Ukrainian girl who allegedly tried blending in as a small child and attempted to murder her new family.

Attorney Beth Karas joined us on "TMZ Live," giving us the scoop ahead of the first episode of ID's "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace" ... which follows an American fam that adopted Natalia back in 2010, only to discover she was MUCH older. A few years in the parents believed she wasn't 8 years old ... they were sure she was around 22.

Beth says Natalia repeatedly threatened her new family with knives and even tried poisoning them.

Natalia's child persona had folks split on whether she was a kiddo or fully grown -- she would interact with young children as if she were a peer but also displayed an adult side.

Her tale has often been compared to the horror flick "Orphan" ... which came out the year before Natalia's adoption and is based on a horrifyingly-similar story.

Joe Burrow's professional women's volleyball league just added some serious firepower ... Olympic legend Kerri Walsh Jennings has now come on board -- and she's bringing a team with her!!

Walsh Jennings -- a three-time Olympic gold medalist -- announced the move earlier this week ... and told TMZ Sports on Thursday she's absolutely fired up to partner with the Bengals quarterback and others in the new league.

If you're unfamiliar, Burrow helped launch the Pro Volleyball Federation earlier this year ... promising to bring super competitive, professional indoor volleyball games to cities throughout the country. Jason Derulo has already revealed he's in on the project, telling us back in February he's launching the league's Nebraska team.

Walsh Jennings, in addition to being an equity holder in the league, is bringing on a squad of her own in San Diego ... and she said with her, Burrow, Derulo and others involved, the org. has sky-high potential.

"What's clear is that the opportunity is ginormous here," Walsh Jennings told us. "The sport is so hungry for this elite, top, most-echelon place, and the time is now for women's sports."

Walsh Jennings says the goal for the league -- which will kick off its inaugural season in February 2024 -- is to ultimately have seven or eight teams. Right now, it's at six. Every squad, Walsh Jennings said, will have 14 players -- and signings will happen soon.

And, when it all finally comes together and they get to go head-to-head during a real season ... she promised she was going to be super competitive with Burrow and Derulo.

"Just knowing what I know of the other owners," she said, "I know we're all going to take this, carry this crown of being owners with a lot of pride, a lot of honor. And we're going to want to win."

Jeremy Corbell believes the U.S. military is covering up evidence of an eerie UFO sighting over a Marine base in the California desert.

The UFO expert and filmmaker joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live," to dig deeper into the bombshell footage he released this week showing a huge triangular-formation of lights hovering over the Camp Davis in Twentynine Palms, CA.

Jeremy says the Marines he's talked to all told him they could see the shape of an aircraft in the night sky ... and he says the fact the sighting happened over a Marine base means the government is sitting on tons of data that might reveal what was up there.

While skeptics were quick to dismiss the footage as flares, Jeremy says that's just not the case -- he says the Marines fired flares at the UFO to illuminate the craft, but when the flares got close, the UFO vanished into thin air.

Jeremy says there were at least 50 witnesses, mostly Marines ... but he's hoping other folks who were out in that part of the California desert that April night in 2021 will come forward with their own footage.

Hulk Hogan has endured 28 surgeries over the last decade after years of wrestling injuries ravaged his body ... but the WWE Hall of Famer tells us thanks to his THC and CBD use, he feels better than he has in 45 years!

"I always joke about I didn't get the memo that this stuff was 'fake' and after the 10 back surgery and two knees and two hips, it's just a situation of you do get hurt out there all the time," Hogan told Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

Hogan continued, flat out saying ... "I feel better than I've ever felt at 69 years old, I feel like I'm 25 again."

If you know anything about Hulk's physical ailments (Hogan's publicly talked about enduring horrific pain on a daily basis), it's truly an incredible comeback.

"It definitely helped me because as I said the slow walk back from the prescription drugs ended with me downing the Tylenol and the Advil and Aleve's and finally even that wasn't working for me," Hogan said.

"As I moved away from that and got into the CBD world, it really changed the game from my sleep to the inflammation, the way my wrists and my joints hurt, across the board, it helped me with my health."

In fact, Hulk is such a proponent of THC and CBD, he's actually launching his own brand with the company behind Mike Tyson's "Tyson 2.0" and Ric Flair's "Ric Flair Drip," Carma HoldCo.

"When I saw what Ric and Mike were doing, I instantly wanted to get on the team because you use CBD for energy, for sleep, for fitness -- it just made sense. It's a logical extension of where I already was but this is the safe way to approach things instead of that wild card way of doctor's prescription stuff. It just didn't make sense anymore."

Hulk's new partner, Chad Bronstein, Carma's President, also joined us to preview the new health and wellness brand ... which he says will feature not just CBD and THC products but also "functional mushrooms."

Gilbert Arenas says Ja Morant can move past his two gun incidents and salvage his legacy ... telling TMZ Sports all the young NBA star has to do is follow Kobe Bryant and LeBron James' blueprint and focus on being great.

Morant's on-court success is currently being overshadowed by his off-court issues -- which include his most recent weapon-flashing video that's resulted in a second suspension.

Agent Zero knows a little bit about what the Memphis Grizzlies guard is going through -- in 2010, he was suspended indefinitely by then-NBA Commissioner David Stern for admittedly bringing guns into the Wizards' locker room and having a standoff with his teammate, Javaris Crittenton.

Arenas was hit with a hefty suspension over the whole ordeal ... and he tells us it's something that tarnished how people view his own career, despite all his accomplishments.

"What do you want your legacy to be?" Arenas asked. "I did 99 things right. I did one thing wrong. Everybody remembers the one thing. No matter how many championships, how many scoring titles you win. They're going to remember this moment in this time."

Ultimately, Agent Zero believes Morant needs people in his corner who will hold him accountable and challenges the embroiled point guard to reflect on what he wants to be remembered for when he's no longer in the NBA.

Gil name-dropped Kobe and LeBron as perfect examples of guys who did it the right way ... explaining they sacrificed fun and certain friendships for their love of the game.

Arenas says Ja will have to cut ties with some people in order to get back to being considered superstar status like Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic and more ... but there's no doubt in his mind it can happen.

Gil spent 12 seasons in the NBA and has pivoted to being a media personality in retirement, talking all things hoops on his "Gil's Arena" podcast on the Underground Fantasy Content Network.

If Conor McGregor would ever throw down in a ring without gloves ... BKFC star Houston Alexander tells TMZ Sports the dude would be a problem!!!

Alexander -- a former UFC and Bellator fighter who's been brawling professionally without mitts since 2021 -- says Conor is so skilled with his hands ... he thinks there'd be no issues for The Notorious if he chose to eventually go from the UFC to the BKFC.

Of course, the topic came up because Conor sure appeared to be interested in making the switch after watching Mike Perry's BKFC fight against Luke Rockhold back on April 30.

You'll recall, McGregor stepped into the ring following the tilt ... and he seemed to be down to fight Perry without mitts at a future date.

Alexander clearly believes it'd be a great fight despite Conor's inexperience without gloves ... something that seems to be quite the compliment, considering Alexander doesn't feel that way about most MMA guys.

"If you've got MMA guys who just concentrate on just kicking or jiu-jitsu, please don't get in this type of sport," Alexander told us. "Because it's going to expose your boxing and you're going to get hurt."

As for Alexander's own fighting career ... the 51-year-old is still going strong -- he's got another big BKFC fight on May 19 against Jeremy Smith -- and he tells us he has absolutely zero desire to retire anytime soon.

Anthony Smith, the 5th ranked UFC light heavyweight, is fighting 7th ranked Johnny Walker this Saturday ... and while he doesn't think a win will earn him an immediate title shot, "Lionheart" believes it'll put him on a collision course with Alex Pereira, and set him up for a crack at the elusive belt!

"Two months ago I would've told you the winner gets a title shot. Alex Pereira really throws a wrench in that for all of us. I'd like to be able to tell you a win here gets me a title shot, but it probably earns me a fight with Alex Pereira."

Of course, 35-year-old Pereira, the former middleweight champion, recently lost his UFC rematch to Israel Adesanya ... and announced shortly after he'd move up to the 205 lb. division, where making weight will be significantly easier.

Pereira has not yet been added to the UFC's light heavyweight rankings (he's still #1 at middleweight) ... but it's clear Smith believes Alex is going to be fast-tracked to the front of the line.

For Anthony (who's won 3 of his last 4) to be the one to get the Alex fight, and presumably secure an opportunity to earn a title fight by beating him, Smith must defeat the 6'6" Walker, who is coming off two straight wins (Ion Cutelaba in 2022, Paul Craig in 2023).

Smith believes he's got the clear skills advantage over Walker, who at one time was considered a lock to be champ, but Anthony says that doesn't always equate to a win in the Octagon (check out the clip -- Anthony previews the matchup).

Lionheart also joked ... "Only in the UFC is your reward for beating Johnny Walker a tougher fight with Alex Pereira."

Despite Pereira's incredible power and kickboxing, Anthony is pumped for the would-be fight.

"I like it. I like Alex. I'm a fan. I think he has obvious holes in his game and I think that those are going to be exposed a little more at 205. But looking at it from the outside, I'm a fan of that guy. I love the style. I love his aura. He's got this serial killer aura."

First things first ... Smith vs. Walker goes down Saturday afternoon on ABC! 👊

"I think he's now 'Double C.' Maybe even just 'One C' now. Maybe he's just Henry. He's just Henry now. He's just Henry. I took his gold medal. I took his gold belt. I don't know, there's not much left."

That's 33-year-old UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, who just defended his belt (for a record 3rd straight time) against future Hall of Famer Henry Cejudo ... joining Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show on Monday (airs weekdays on FS1), and crowning Triple C with a new nickname.

Henry.

Of course, Cejudo's Triple C moniker derives from his propensity to win titles ... starting with his 2008 Olympic gold medal. A decade later Cejudo beat the legendary Demetrious Johnson for the UFC flyweight title, before defeating Marlon Moraes for the bantamweight strap in 2019.

Cejudo -- who many believe is in the MMA G.O.A.T. convo -- returned after a 3-year layoff ... and now that Aljamain beat an all-time legend, he's eager for fans to finally pay him the respect he deserves.

"'You're supposed to be the greatest of all time. So what happens when I beat you? What does that say about me?' So I need the fans to keep that same energy, the ones that were doubting me, and said I had no chance."

Aljo continued ... "He's a two-division champ and an Olympic gold medalist, and my wrestling 'sucks' compared to him. I'm like guys, I am now the Olympic champion. I beat the Olympian in a wrestling match. Four takedowns, baby. How many takedowns did he get?"

We also talked to Sterling about the judging ... which the champ believes was trash.

FYI, he officially won via split decision ... though Aljo thinks it should've been unanimous.

There's more ... Sterling also talked about his next scrap with rival, "Suga" Sean O'Malley.

Dana White indicated he wants that fight to happen on August 19 in Boston ... but Sterling says he has other ideas of when and where they'll settle the score.

As for Cejudo ... a parting shot from Aljo.

"I tip my hat off to Henry, but I think I did the universe a favor and finally ended the cringe."

Dr. Dre's OG secret rap weapon, The D.O.C., has been trying to get his life story out into the world, and thinks he's nearing the finish line after a bit of friction.

TMZ Hip Hop spoke to the "No One Can Do It Better" rapper in the wake of his outburst over the delay of his self-titled film, which screened during the Tribeca Festival ... damn near a year ago.

D.O.C. tells us the forces standing in the way of releasing "The DOC" have subsided, and he's now looking for a suitable distributor for the film. He wants fans to know it features appearances from Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Ice Cube and Dre that are life-changing ... to the core.

The Dallas rapper turned West Coast transplant, infamously damaged his vocal cords in a 1989 car accident, but has since resumed his rap career ... raspy flow and all. Just last month, he rapped on Codefendants' rap/rock mash-up track, "Fast Ones."

It's because he's gotten back on the mic, D.O.C. tells us he's at peace with not using AI to answer the "what if" on his career course -- even though his inbox is flooded with daily requests to license his voice for an AI recording.

Having been around during the glory and the gory days, we also got D.O.C.'s take on Suge Knight's claim Daz Dillinger actually produced Snoop's "Doggystyle" and let Dre take the credit.

Da Brat's wife Jesseca Dupart is attacking the notion they intentionally chose a non-Black sperm donor for their upcoming baby ... and her explanation is pretty in-depth.

On Wednesday, Jesseca came through with a boatload of receipts and broke the whole thing down. The couple recently conducted an interview where they openly admitted their baby's donor wasn't Black after realizing they had limited choices in the gene pool.

Brat also quipped one of the donors looked like Pinocchio's pal Jiminy Cricket.

So, yeah ... you can see how that got lumped into all the donors being cricket-faced killas!!!

Jesseca revealed her existing medical conditions also cut down her chances of carrying a healthy baby, and noted the lack of Black donors in general.

She even cited a Fox5 NY article from March that reports Black men make up less than 2% of sperm donors nationwide!!!

After weighing their options, Jesseca says she and Brat went with the best match, regardless of race.