MMA

MMA star Phoenix Jones had a busy weekend -- winning his bout on Friday night ... and then BREAKING UP AN ATTEMPTED MURDER roughly 24 hours later.

Jones -- real name Ben Fodor -- was out in Seattle early Sunday morning when he claims he witnessed 3 men attacking another guy outside of a bar ... one of the attackers allegedly had a gun.

So Jones -- who moonlights as a real-life superhero -- says he jumped into action ... KOing the lead attacker who was allegedly pistol-whipping the victim while the other 2 men had been stomping his head.

Jones says he called police -- and when they arrived, they arrested the suspect.

On Friday, Jones scored a 1st round victory at the World Series of Fighting 23 event in Arizona.

8-year-old boxing prodigy, Evnika Saadvakass, doesn't need a speed bag to show off her quick hands ... cause a hunk of wood works just fine for her.

Right now she looks more like Laila Ali but if she works on her ground moves she could definitely end up being the next Ronda Rousey of the UFC ... heck she's been training since she was the age of 3 after all.

Don't push Ronda Rousey unless you're looking to get slammed to the ground ... that goes for guys too.

The executive producer of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" -- Andy Lassner -- learned that lesson the hard way when he got a little too chummy with the UFC champ ... seeming to get under Ronda's skin after giving her a push before their demonstration.

She didn't just take him down, she performed her famous armbar on him ... getting him to tap out a couple of times after he was unable to break free from the painful move.

She really is the best.

A female MMA fighter put the SMACK down on an alleged male attacker who tried to rob her in Brazil last night ... choking the guy into submission with her legs ... and it was caught on video.

The bad ass crime stopper is Monique Bastos -- who says she was on her way to jiu-jitsu training when she was attacked by two men who demanded her cell phone.

Monique told MMAFighting.com one of the men was able to run off with the cell -- but she managed to trip up the second guy ... and locked him up in a triangle choke.

The video is insane ... you can see the alleged attacker BEGGING for mercy. She held the guy for 15 minutes before cops came and arrested the suspect.

Unfortunately, Bastos says the situation was all too familiar ... as she had been robbed in the past.

"I’ve been through this a few times before, and it’s the second time I fought back."

MMA legend, Randy Couture, is a master of the octagon ... so most people wouldn't want to be in the ring with him ... unless it was covered in frosting like the one he gave his son for his birthday.

Randy's son, Ryan Couture, celebrated his his 33rd birthday at Andiamo Italian Steakhouse inside the D Casino in Las Vegas on Thursday night.

Pops gave Ryan -- who is also an MMA fighter -- a cake resembling the ring both are known for.

We're told things got a little messy when Randy smeared cake across his face ... but it was all in good fun.

Jon Jones is taking Dana White's advice to heart -- cleaning himself up and working with the community to get his life back on track ... and today, he mentored kids at a Boys & Girls Club.

The former UFC champ hit up the B&GC in Albuquerque, New Mexico -- where he talked to the kids about the importance of working hard to make their dreams come true.

But the best part -- one of the kids challenged Jon to play the UFC video game on Playstation ... AND CRUSHED JONES (who was playing as himself).

Sources close to Jones tell us ... Jon has been working hard to get his life back in order ever since his hit and run arrest --  doing volunteer community service and spending lots of time in the gym.

As for resuming his MMA career, we're told "nothing's out of the question" -- but he's been focusing a lot of his time on mentoring and coaching other fighters.

Jones is still suspended from the UFC -- but check out this recent video of Dana White (below) ... it's clear he's still a fan of the guy and if he keeps up the good work, we're guessing we haven't seen the last of him in the octagon.

51-year-old Ken Shamrock says there NO WAY IN HELL he's retiring from MMA after his fight with Kimbo Slice ... telling TMZ Sports he would take a rematch "in a heartbeat."

Shamrock says he's still recovering from that massive wound to his face in the loss to Slice during Bellator 138 last weekend ... saying, "The cut was to the bone so they had to do double layer stitches."

But despite the injury, Shamrock says he felt GREAT in the ring -- "I looked better than I have in ten years! Imagine now after I get some fights under my belt?!"

Shamrock says he feels he dominated the fight, but made one mistake that cost him the match ... and he plans to learn from the error in his next fight.

"There's no way I'm going to stop after one fight. I'm going to push the envelope some more."

We also asked about allegations that the fight was fixed -- Shamrock said the accusations are complete B.S.

As for a possible rematch with Kimbo -- "I would take that in heartbeat."

Age ain't nothin' but a number to Herschel Walker -- 'cause the NFL-turned-MMA-fighter tells TMZ Sports he's strongly considering getting back in the ring ... AT 53 YEARS OLD!!!!!

Walker is 2-0 is his MMA career ... but the last time he got in the ring was back in 2011 when he was 48.

Still, when we saw Walker in NYC yesterday, he assured us he's still training hard and staying in shape ... telling us when it comes to fighting again, "Don't rule it out! Herschel Walker may be fighting again soon."

#BadAss

UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum unleashed a featherweight version of a leg kick on an MMA reporter ... and it was still enough to send him to the ground in agony.

Aaron Tru has a history of allowing people to beat the hell out of him for no reason (check out the Ronda Rousey clip below) and this time he allowed Werdum -- who stands at 6'4" and weighs 232 pounds -- to kick him in the back of the leg.

It goes about how you would expect ... with Tru laid out in agony ... despite the fact Werdum claims he only used 40% of his strength.

Seems like he used 39% more than he needed to.

He's a martial arts expert ... but Jackie Chan says he's NEVER heard of MMA superstar Ronda Rousey.

Weird, considering Chan is also an action film buff ... and Ronda's been blowing up with roles in "The Expendables 3" and "Furious 7."

In fact, when Chan was cruisin' through Beverly Hills yesterday -- he told us he's still making MORE action flicks ... including "Rush Hour 4" -- and was having dinner with Chris Tucker to talk about the project.

She'd probably beat his ass in the end, but Ronda Rousey says she AGREES with Shaquille O'Neal -- that he could probably last 45 seconds in the Octagon before getting him to tap out.

Shaq made the prediction on "Inside the NBA" last week -- saying, "It's not a joke! I could last 45 seconds!"

So, when we saw Ronda at LAX this weekend -- we had to ask how she felt about the situation ... and she explains why Shaq is 100% correct.

BTW -- here's the tale of the tape:

Shaquille O'Neal:
Height -- 7'1"
Weight -- 325 lbs

Ronda Rousey
Height -- 5'7"
Weight -- 135 lbs

Bonus -- we also asked Rousey about the guy who tested a new "bulletproof cup" that some men could be wearing in MMA in the near future.

Here's that video, too ...

The Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight was so bad, it actively HURT the sport of boxing ... but it was GREAT for the UFC ... so says UFC octagon announcer Bruce Buffer.

Buffer -- the voice of the UFC -- was brutally honest about the fallout from the bout that was supposed to be the fight of the century ... saying it was a HUGE flop.

"When you create something with so much hype, you have to deliver. And if you don't deliver, then instead of getting a shot in the arm, you get a shot in the leg."

"That night was really a shot in the leg for boxing in my opinion and a shot in the arm for UFC."

So, why was it so great for the UFC? Check out the clip.

BONUS -- Buffer also addressed criticisms from people who say UFC fighters are underpaid ... saying Dana White has done a helluva lot to make sure the checks are bigger than ever.

Buffer also mentions how much Rampage Jackson got paid for his first fight back in the day ... and the number is pretty shocking!!!

David Spade thinks Ronda Rousey should say buh-bye to all WWE action for the sake of her career -- but he's got a theory about why she keeps pushing to be a pro wrestler.

Spade -- who's a big fan of the UFC and Ronda -- was out in L.A. when he told us what he thought about Ronda saying she's down to be the next big thing in turnbuckle tussling.

FYI -- the WWE has a long history of having MASSIVE stars from the combat fighting world throw down with them, including Floyd Mayweather Jr., Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali himself.

David says Ronda would be taking a "backwards" move if she followed in those footsteps. As for why she wants to do it -- he thinks it has a lot to do with how much ass she's kicking in the Octagon.

Tito Ortiz and Rampage Jackson have tapped out ... settling a lawsuit with a former trainer over some remarks Tito made a few years back ... and we're told the trainer got a little cash for his troubles.

As TMZ Sports first reported, Juanito Ibarra sued Ortiz back in 2009 after Ortiz and Rampage gave interviews saying Ibarra was a "thief."

The lawsuit dragged on for years ... until now. The sides have come to a settlement, which we're told calls for Ibarra to get some money from the deal.

In announcing the settlement, Ortiz said in a statement, "Juanito didn’t steal from or take advantage of Rampage and he didn’t mismanage Rampage’s money it was all accounted for. I regret the effect my words had on Juanito’s life. Juanito is a trainer and manager of superior skills and the fact is, he helped to make Rampage a champion. Anyone would be blessed to be taught by Juanito."

He just had surgery to repair his busted elbow last week, but UFC badass Anthony Pettis refused to let some stupid cast stop him from doing what he loves ... FIGHTING WRINKLES!!

Turns out, Pettis is a partner in a skin care company called Seacret -- which sells products infused with Dead Sea minerals that "help reduce fine lines and other imperfections on your face."

And Anthony is so passionate about the stuff, he hit up a seminar in Phoenix, AZ to promote the line ... just one week after reportedly having surgery to fix a torn muscle and ligaments in his right elbow.

One person who was at the seminar tells us ... Pettis told the group he vows to come back stronger than ever and battle his way back to the top of the fight game.

At the very least ... his skin will probably look good.

Ronda Rousey eats chicken wings. Boxer Danny Garcia immediately has sex. But Daniel Cormier says he has a different post-fight ritual planned for UFC 187 ... he's going to Mariah!!!

Since the UFC star is set to take on Rumble Johnson in Vegas this weekend ... Cormier says he plans on taking in a local show the night after the fight -- and he picked Mariah over Britney and Celine!

But Cormier says he's not usually a "Diva" kind of guy -- admitting he's OBSESSED with Boyz II Men ... and has basically become a regular at their shows!!!

Cormier's not joking ... he's a bona fide B2M'er ... and he's damn proud of it.

Check out the clip.