MMA

UFC fighter T.J. Dillashaw has broken his silence on his cheating scandal -- finally admitting, "I messed up."

The former bantamweight champ tested positive for EPO -- a banned substance -- before his January title fight with Henry Cejudo. He's accepted a 2-year ban and won't be eligible to fight until Jan. 2021.

"I'm having a hard time trying to forgive myself for this," 33-year-old Dillashaw said ... "Which I SHOULD have a hard time."

"But, I got to man up to what I did."

Dillashaw initially played dumb about the positive test -- saying he would look into how the positive test came about.

But, now he's admitting he knowingly cheated -- and says he understands all of the criticism and scrutiny that comes his way.

Dillashaw says he vows to return to the sport and wants to prove to his 15-month-old son that he can come back after making a tremendous "mistake."

"This is who I am. I'm a fighter ... and I'm gonna have to fight my way through this one."

While he's on the bench, Dillashaw has already had surgery on one shoulder and will get surgery on the other soon.

UFC star Israel Adesanya says a fight with Jon Jones "does tickle my loins" -- and he's warning the light heavyweight champ, "I already killed one G.O.A.T. and I'm hunting the next."

Of course, before Israel can fight Jones, he's gotta get through Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 on Saturday (on ESPN+ PPV) in a huge middleweight interim title bout.

But, if he beats Kelvin, there's a path to Jon Jones -- who's already told TMZ Sports he's very "excited" about a matchup with "The Last Stylebender."

When we spoke with Jon back in March, Israel was already on his radar -- and he told us, "I've got a feeling me and him will eventually fight each other."

Israel says he doesn't want to think TOO much about Jones because he's gotta stay focused on Gastelum ... who's chalked up some pretty impressive victories over guys like Michael Bisping, Johnny Hendricks and Tim Kennedy.

Israel's resume ain't too shabby either -- back in February, he defeated UFC legend Anderson Silva, the "G.O.A.T." he was referring to earlier.

By the way, the fight's going down in Atlanta -- home to one of the most famous strip clubs on the planet ... and if Israel beats Kelvin, he's already got a plan to celebrate!!

The UFC 236 card is insane -- it also features Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier ... but you can only watch it on ESPN+ PPV, which you can order by clicking this link.

If Conor McGregor wants another boxing superfight, Vasyl Lomachenko says he'll be his huckleberry ... telling TMZ Sports, "I can beat him easy."

Lomachenko is widely considered one of the best boxers on the planet -- he's the unified lightweight champion of the world ... and hasn't lost a fight since 2014.

Loma has a fight this Friday against Anthony Crolla on ESPN+ -- but he's an OVERWHELMING favorite and expected to beat the ever-loving dog snot out of the 32-year-old Englishman.

So, once he rolls through Crolla, ya gotta think Vasyl is looking for a payday fight -- and Conor McGregor would definitely get him the millions of dollars he wants.

And, the good news for Vasyl ... he thinks it'll be the easiest work of his career -- essentially saying Conor's boxing skills are "amateur" at best.

"I enjoy this fight," Loma said about possible McGregor matchup ... "I will go through this guy. No problem."

The big question ... what does Conor want? He "retired" from MMA but nobody believes he's done fighting for good. And, he seems to want another shot at a pro boxing match after losing to Floyd Mayweather.

TMZ Sports has obtained new footage showing Conor McGregor swatting and smashing a cell phone in front of the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami ... right after doing his famous "Billionaire Strut."

The footage is being used in the criminal case against the UFC star stemming from a March 11 incident.

The footage begins at 5:21 AM showing Conor leaving the hotel with an entourage while Ahmed Abdirzak follows him out while recording McGregor on his cell phone.

At one point, McGregor reaches out to Ahmed as if he was going to shake his hand -- but then pulls back and violently smacks the phone out of the guy's hand.

Conor then stomps on the phone a couple of times before picking it up and walking away.

McGregor was arrested later that day and has since been charged with felony robbery and misdemeanor criminal mischief. If convicted on all counts, Conor faces up to 6 years in prison.

Conor has pled not guilty on all charges. A trial is scheduled to begin in May.

Ahmed Abdirzak filed a lawsuit against Conor over the incident -- but later struck a settlement with the UFC fighter and dropped his suit.

Could you imagine Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov as FRIENDS?!?!

Max Holloway can ... telling TMZ Sports the UFC's most bitter rivals need to end their war and team up for good.

First off, Max is FIRED UP to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 236 this Saturday on ESPN+ PPV -- he's seeking to avenge a 2012 loss to Dustin when Max was making his UFC debut.

And, while Max was freezing his butt off promoting the fight, he had the perfect solution to fix one of the most bitter rivalries in the history of combat sports.

Of course, Conor and Khabib have been trashing the hell out of each other for MONTHS -- with Conor recently insulting Khabib's family and religion ... and Khabib firing back with insults of his own.

Yeah, it's bad.

In fact, things have gotten so bad between the two, UFC honcho Dana White says he got involved and called for the fighters to cut it out already.

Enter Holloway ... who says Conor and Khabib need to take all of that energy and use it FOR GOOD.

"These guys got a big platform, they should talk about more important stuff ... like the climate change."

He's not joking -- Holloway believes climate change is a serious issue that affects EVERYONE ... and if CM and KN teamed up, they could make a real impact.

As for Holloway vs. Poirier II, Max says things will be much different this time around -- telling TMZ Sports he's got a game plan built for success.

UFC star T.J. Dillashaw has just been hit with a 2-year suspension for failing a drug test before his January 19 title fight against Henry Cejudo.

Dillashaw tested positive for Erythropoietin -- aka EPO -- which is a synthetic hormone that's considered a cleaner alternative to blood doping, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has announced.

EPO is often used by athletes to increase oxygen transport and aerobic power, according to USADA.

Dillashaw has accepted the suspension -- which means he won't be eligible to fight until Jan. 2021.

Dillashaw provided the dirty sample on Jan. 18 -- one day before the fight.

What's even worse for T.J. ... he lost the fight against Cejudo in a 1st-round stoppage.

The 33-year-old fighter had issued a statement on the situation last month saying he was "disappointed" and was trying to figure out what happened.

"While words can't even begin to express how disappointed I am at this time, please know that I'm working with my team to understand what has occurred and how to resolve this situation as quickly as possible," Dillashaw said at the time.

After the positive test, Dillashaw relinquished his UFC bantamweight title so he could "deal with the matter."

Before the Cejudo fight, Dillashaw had defeated Cody Garbrandt twice.

UFC superstar Daniel Cormier says he wants to fight Brock Lesnar in the Octagon ASAP -- telling Dana White, "What are you waiting for?! Get this sh*t on the books!!!"

Of course, Brock got destroyed by Seth Rollins at WrestleMania Sunday -- a storyline many people think was written with the intention of freeing Lesnar up to go fight in the UFC again.

Which brings us to Cormier ... who had previously talked about retiring on his 40th birthday (which happened a couple of weeks ago) -- but now that Brock's in the picture, DC says he wants all the smoke.

"It’s the fight I want," Cormier tells TMZ Sports ... "I think everyone wants to fight Brock. We all want to fight Brock."

Cormier is the reigning UFC heavyweight champion -- and recently relinquished the light heavyweight championship.

He added, "It's the fight. That’s the fight that needs to happen. You know, he’s a former UFC champ, All-American in college. This guy's very, very deserving of a fight, and he’s gonna get it. Hopefully."

Dana White has previously told us he wants to make the fight happen -- but so far, nothing's official.

Cormier is trying to light a fire under White's ass to get the deal done.

"Dana get on the phone right now. If you haven’t called him yet, do it today!! What are you waiting for?! Get this sh*t on the books. Let’s get this on the books!!"

As for Brock, Cormier has a message for him too after his defeat at WrestleMania -- "Lick those wounds ... 'cause I got some brand new ones waiting for ya."

41-year-old Lesnar was a beast during his UFC heyday -- winning the heavyweight title in 2008 with a victory over Randy Couture.

But, he hasn't fought in the UFC since 2016 -- when he beat Mark Hunt in a fight that was later overturned after Brock flunked a drug test.

Will Lesnar take one last fight before riding off into the sunset??? Stay tuned.

Conor McGregor is reportedly under investigation in Ireland -- again -- after allegedly punching a man Saturday in a pub in Dublin.

The UFC superstar was at the Marble Arch pub in Drimnagh (a suburb of Dublin) when he was approached by another patron who thought Conor was acting like a jerk, according to the Irish Mirror.

The patron reportedly talked trash to Conor about his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov saying, "The Russian battered you" ... and that's when Conor snapped and punched.

We called Ireland's Garda Síochána -- the country's police force -- who wouldn't identify Conor by name but did confirm an investigation of an alleged April 6 incident at the Marble Arch.

"No arrests, matter under investigation."

We also called the pub -- but an employee hung up on us as soon as we asked about Conor.

Calls to McGregor's rep have not been returned.

It's just the latest in a long list of legal problems for Conor ... who's also facing criminal charges for an alleged incident at a Miami hotel last month.

He's also reportedly being investigated in a rape probe in Dublin stemming from an alleged incident at a hotel in Ireland back in December. Conor's rep has called the report a "rumor."

Cris Cyborg just got back from a philanthropic trip to Uganda -- where the UFC star says she was dangerously close to an American tourist who was kidnapped at gunpoint.

Cyborg was building water wells in Uganda for the Batwa Pygmies with fellow UFC fighter Justin Wren -- and during the trip, they learned an American woman and her tour guide had been abducted.

Officials say Kimberly Sue Endicott and her safari guide were ambushed Tuesday by 4 men with guns while traveling in a car through Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Endicott and her guide, Jean-Paul Mirenge Remezo, were taken near the border of the Congo where her captors used her cell phone to demand a $500,000 ransom.

Ugandan officials -- along with help from U.S. forces -- freed the two on Sunday. They appeared unharmed.

So, when we saw Cris on Friday -- before Endicott was freed -- we asked her about the situation ... and she essentially told us she's LUCKY she wasn't abducted as well.

"I can not stop thinking about [Endicott]," Cyborg told us ... "because I was really very close with her. Like, REALLY close."

Cyborg says she left Uganda one day after the kidnapping -- and she's been praying for Endicott and her guide ever since.

Ultimately, Cyborg says she's still VERY glad she went on the trip because her work helped out so many people.

FYI, Justin Wren has been very involved in helping the Pygmies for years with his "Fight for the Forgotten" foundation ... whose mission is to bring safe drinking water to 2 villages in need.

As for the kidnappers, they're still on the loose. President Trump tweeted about the situation on Monday morning:

Conor McGregor has one less legal issue ... the man suing him in the Miami phone smashing incident has dropped his lawsuit against the UFC star and all signs point to settlement.

As we previously reported, 22-year-old Ahmed Abdirzak sued Conor for battery, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress over the March 11 incident at the Fontainebleau hotel.

Abdirzak claims Conor "flew into a rage and punched [Abdirzak's] smart phone out of his hand" before "stomping on the phone repeatedly." Abdirzak was demanding north of $15,000.

Part of the incident was captured on video and posted by TMZ Sports.

Now, court records show Abdirzak has filed new documents to dismiss his suit against McGregor with prejudice -- which likely means the two reached a settlement agreement.

It's smart money for Conor considering he's worth a fortune and could easily cut a check to put the matter behind him.

McGregor is still facing criminal charges for the incident -- including felony robbery and misdemeanor criminal mischief. If convicted on all counts, Conor faces up to 6 years in prison.

His case is due back in front of the judge later this week.

McGregor doesn't seem too bothered by the situation -- he's been partying all over the world, feuding with his UFC rivals and watching WrestleMania.

Before he filed his lawsuit, Abdirzak appeared on "TMZ Live" in March and told us he hadn't decided if he was going to sue, insisting he just wants "justice."

Conor McGregor was so impressed with Becky Lynch's victory over Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania ... he might be one step closer to joining her in the ring.

Lynch defeated Rousey and Charlotte Flair in the main event Sunday night -- earning both the WWE Raw AND Smackdown belts ... leading Conor to dub her the sport's first "Champ Champ."

"Congrats to Irelands Becky Lynch, the WWE’s first Champ Champ," McGregor wrote.

"Wow! What a match these ladies put on! Ronda Rousey is something special in that ring, as is Charlotte Flair of the Flair dynasty!"

That's when the tease came ...

"Stephanie McMahon you are right, I could not do what these athletes do. Or could I... "

McGregor hasn't exactly had the best relationship with WWE -- in 2016, he went off on a bunch of the wrestlers as "p**sies" who could never win a real fist fight.

"For the most part, those WWE guys are p**sies," McGregor said at the time ... "They're messed up p**sies if you ask me."

He did, however, praise Vince McMahon and Triple H at the time.

So, will he or won't he???

We recently shot Steph McMahon who told us she would love to sign Conor to a WWE contract ... if he's serious about wanting to get in the ring.

Conor's future seems to be a mystery -- he "retired" from MMA in a tweet last month ... but then told Khabib Nurmagomedov he would see him back in the Octagon.

Tito Ortiz is coming out of retirement and will fight MMA this year ... we know, deja vu all over again.

TMZ Sports saw Tito -- who last retired days after dominating Chuck Liddell in November (a fight he came out of retirement for) -- at LAX earlier this week ... and we asked him about Conor McGregor hanging up his gloves.

That's when Tito dropped some retirement news of his own ... as in, he's comin' back.

"I'll probably fight in October," Ortiz told us.

"After I fought Chuck last year, I thought it was gonna be my last one. But, my body's intact, everything's fast, everything's great. Sparring's been good. Training's been great. So, let's do one for fun."

So, who's The Huntington Beach Bad Boy fighting?

Charlotte Flair is WWE royalty and Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch ain't ... and by the end of their triple threat match at WrestleMania, both Ronda and The Man will "bow down."

That's according to Charlotte ... who told TMZ Sports the other 2 WWE Superstars are NOTHING compared to her.

"I think both of them are gonna bow down to the Queen, and I've done more in the last 7 years than they've done combined."

The crap talk leading up to the WM35 main event has been INTENSE ... and there's a lot on the line for all 3 women.

Earlier this week, Ronda told us the match was a "do-or-die moment" for her.

Lynch was a guest on "TMZ Live" the following day ... and responded to Rousey's comments -- saying she thinks Ronda will actually QUIT WWE if she loses Sunday night.

It wasn't all crap talk ... Flair also talked about her reaction when she learned she'd be headlining WM ... and the significance of the 1st all-female main event.

"Obviously wanting to let all the girls know this wouldn't happen without them. There's so much depth in our division. And, then obviously the women of the past," Flair says.

Great news for Shawne Merriman ... if Batista is too busy to take him up on his fight offer, there's another WWE superstar willing to take his place -- Bobby Lashley!!!

As we previously reported .... the ex-NFL All-Pro linebacker is getting into the MMA game with his own promotion, Lights Out Xtreme Fighting ... and called out Dave freakin' Bautista for a fight in the process.

TMZ Sports spoke to Lashley about the potential matchup ... and while he thinks that's cool and all, Bobby's got a better opponent in mind ... himself!!!

"Shawne Merriman, if he wanted to do it, sure. Call me up. I'll train, I'll fight. I would do it."

Look, Bobby ain't a scrub -- not only is he a wrestling champ, but he's also got a 15-2 career record in MMA.

So ... you still think this is a good idea, Shawne???

Betcha didn't see this coming ... Cris Cyborg -- who had a heated rivalry with Ronda Rousey -- says she's PUMPED to watch Ronda.

TMZ Sports saw Cris at LAX on Friday ... and asked her if she planned on watching her former foe at WM35.

"Yes, I will. I'm gonna be very excited."

That's not exactly shocking ... 'cause Cyborg's a big time wrestling fan -- but what she said next was.

"I think Ronda's doing great. She's showing girls from MMA can do it same thing."

Cris and Ronda had beef for years ... and although they never stepped foot in the Octagon together, there was no shortage of crap talking.

Forget a Kamaru Usman rematch ... Tyron Woodley says the fight he REALLY wants is with Donald Trump's hair!!!

"Dana, set it up. Tyron Woodley versus Donald Trump's hair, UFC whatever the f**k."

OKAY, Woodley's just playin' around ... but it doesn't make his rant over Trump's hair any less HILARIOUS!!!

The UFC superstar was cruising through his TV channels when Trump popped up ... signature hairdo on full display for the cameras.

Woodley's reaction? "What the f**k are you doing, bruh?"

Tyron continued, "He should wear a bandanna, man. It's terrible. It's so f**king horrible. I hate your hair, man. I don't know you, but I hate your hair. I want to fight your hair."

For his part, Trump knows the look ain't exactly great ... the Prez admitted during a speech last year, "I try like hell to hide that bald spot, folks. I work hard on it!!"

As for Tyron ... he's reportedly agreed to rematch Robbie Lawler in late June.