MMA

Nate Diaz says anyone who has a problem with the UFC creating a special "Baddest Mother F*cker" belt for his fight with Jorge Masvidal is a "bitch" and needs to "shut the f*ck up."

Nate essentially created the belt after his impressive victory over Anthony Pettis last month after a 3-year hiatus from fighting ... saying he and Jorge are the baddest in the game and should fight for a "BMF" title.

The UFC obliged and booked the fight -- they're even creating a special "BMF" belt just for Nov. 2 fight at UFC 244.

Some MMA fans and reporters have taken issue with the belt saying the UFC is making a mockery of the sport by creating meaningless WWE-style fake belts.

We asked Nate about those funless prudes and and clapped back with some savagery.

"If there's any hate or negativity towards it and if there's anybody who's hating on it, like some of these journalists in here, it's like 'cause none of you guys are no fighters, you're bitches, so shut the f*ck up."

Diaz added, "Tell me I ain't the best motherf*cker in the game and watch me fight the whole game."

Diaz also talked about Conor McGregor and the chances of a 3rd fight -- telling TMZ Sports it's probably gonna happen because they fight in the same bracket.

"Whatever is gonna happen is gonna happen. Time will tell."

Conor McGregor's getting closer to his UFC return ... Dana White says The Notorious will fight early next year, and his opponent could be Nate Diaz or Jorge Masvidal.

McGregor hasn't fought since being submitted by Khabib at UFC 229 in October 2018 ... and many fans have wondered if Conor would ever fight again.

The answer to that question is hell yes.

"Early next year."

Khabib rematch??? No, not yet ... according to Dana.

"That's possible too down the road. I think Conor would fight somebody else before that."

That somebody else could be the winner of Diaz-Masvidal -- who are fighting at UFC 244 on November 2 at Madison Square Garden.

Conor against either guy would be HUGE. CM and Nate's first 2 fights are some of the biggest in the history of the UFC.

As for Masvidal ... he and McGregor have been talkin' trash, and both have said they want the fight.

White's previously said Masvidal -- who fights at 170 pounds -- is too big for Conor ... but it looks like the boss changed his mind.

We also talked to Dana about Khabib's future ... and who the lightweight champ will fight next.

"Tony Ferguson is the fight that needs to happen. We've tried to do it 4 other times so hopefully, we can do it this time. But, that's the fight that makes sense."

Khabib's openly said he wants a super fight with UFC legend Georges St-Pierre ... and when we asked White about a Nurmagomedov-GSP fight, he left the door wide open.

"That can happen too. So, we'll see what happens with Tony. Ya know Tony's had opportunities before that he didn't take, so if he doesn't, I'd be interested in talking about GSP."

Tyron Woodley wants a crack at Khabib Nurmagomedov ... sending a message to the UFC superstar -- "We can meet at a catch weight!"

Woodley says he's just about ready to return to the Octagon after dealing with a hand issue -- and he's on a mission to win back the UFC welterweight title.

... and when that happens, Tyron says he would LOVE to fight Khabib -- a guy he has tremendous respect for as an athlete.

"I want to fight Khabib," Tyron said on 'The Hollywood Beatdown' ... "He's dope as hell, he's super dope. I'm a fan of his."

Of course, Tyron fights at 170 and Khabib fights at 155 -- but Woodley says he's down to meet at 165 pounds ... "for the right bag."

Woodley says Khabib has struggled to make 155 in the past and thinks it's only a matter of time before the Dagestani superstar moves up ... so why not take a fight with Woodley?

Plus, Tyron says the style matchup is perfect -- "I got the best takedown defense in the history of the sport."

But, before that can happen, Tyron says he's gotta beat up Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington ... two fights he wants BAD.

There's more in this ep of 'The Beatdown' -- Tyron calls out Kobe Bryant for calling out a little girl on the NBA star's youth basketball team.

He also admonishes Antonio Brown's entourage ... saying SOMEONE close to the NFL star needs to step up and help get his life back on track.

Rap star Action Bronson is a hardcore UFC fan ... and he's got some advice for Dana White when it comes to Conor McGregor's next fight!

Here's the current situation in the UFC ...

Conor wants a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Khabib ain't down, saying he'd rather fight a more deserving opponent like Tony Ferguson or Georges St-Pierre.

Dustin Poirier recently lost to Khabib and says the only fight that makes sense is a rematch of the 2014 bout with Conor. Conor wants Dustin to beg him to make that fight happen.

Meanwhile, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone is fighting Justin Gaethje on Saturday ... and there's rumblings that Conor could get the winner of that fight.

The UFC has previously tried to book Conor to fight both Cowboy and Justin ... but neither happened for various reasons.

Dana White has TRIED to book Khabib vs. Tony Ferguson on FOUR separate occasions ... but the fight always fell through, mostly due to injuries.

Sorry, Conor McGregor ... there's a "0.00% chance" you'll get your rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov -- so says Khabib's manager.

We spoke with Ali Abdelaziz (looking fresh in his Versace shirt) after Khabib's big victory over Dustin Poirier in Abu Dhabi this weekend ... and we had to ask who's next on the hit list!!!

Of course, Dana White has said he wants Khabib to fight Tony Ferguson -- the #1 ranked lightweight contender -- but Ali says Tony's not the priority.

"Georges St-Pierre is next," Ali tells TMZ Sports ... "If Khabib is going to fight for legacy, a fight with GSP would be a huge fight."

Ali says Tony has never been a champion -- while GSP is widely regarded as one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time ... so for him, it's a no-brainer.

Plus, Ali says there's WAY more money in a Khabib vs. GSP fight ... explaining, "People would care more!!!"

Ali tells us, Khabib could be ready to take that fight before the end of 2019 -- and he's confident Georges could be ready too.

As for Conor -- who recently tweeted about wanting a 2nd crack at Khabib -- Ali says Khabib has nothing left to prove ... and since he smashed McGregor so badly in the first fight, there's no need for a rematch.

"Not interested at all ... for what?!? We already beat him, we already whooped his ass."

Ali also says Khabib doesn't want to get involved with the "ugliness" associated with Conor ... an obvious reference to the racist and disgusting insults McGregor spewed while promoting the fight.

"We don't wanna go through with this Conor bulls**t again."

When asked specifically about the chances of a rematch coming together, Ali said bluntly -- "0.00."

Forget Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier ... the BEST heavyweight mixed martial artist is Bellator's Ryan Bader -- so says the man himself!!!

TMZ Sports talked to Bader -- Bellator's heavyweight AND light heavyweight champ -- before his clash with Cheick Kongo at Bellator 226 this weekend.

Ryan's been DOMINANT -- he ran through the promotion's HW tournament, beating guys like Matt Mitrione and the legendary Fedor Emelianenko ... prompting Bellator honcho Scott Coker to declare Bader "the best heavyweight fighter on the planet."

Guess what? Bader says his boss is right!!!

"I went through that tournament, I didn't get punched in the face one time," Bader tells us. "Why shouldn't I believe that? I believe I can beat anyone at any given time and that includes heavyweights."

"So, I don't think that's a crazy statement. You put myself and Stipe or Cormier in there, I do believe I can beat them."

Bader says he's hopeful that the future may hold some cross-promotional dream fight that'd pair him against the UFC's top big guys ... but before that, he's gotta deal with 6'4, 235lb. Kongo who was a part of one of MMA's craziest fights ever.

Remember this???

Dana White says BJ Penn will never fight in the UFC again after brawling in the street in Hawaii -- advising the Hall of Famer that he needs to get his personal life in order.

"He wont fight again. That's it. That's a wrap" White told ESPN's Brett Okamoto.

TMZ Sports broke the stories ... 40-year-old Penn has been at the center of TWO street fights in Hawaii over the past few months. Most recently, he got knocked out in a slug fest outside the Lava Shack on the Big Island in a fight captured on video.

So, was the Lava Shack fight the last straw for Dana?

"It's not even that this was the last straw, it's ... I didn't love him continuing to fight anyway, but when you have the relationship that he and I have and he's getting me on the phone begging me for another fight, begging me for another opportunity, it's hard for me to turn him down."

"But, after what I saw on that video, BJ needs to ... he needs to focus on his personal life, get himself together before he worries about fighting again."

Penn is on a 7-fight losing streak in the UFC -- but Dana had said he would let Penn take one last fight against Nik Lentz later this year. Clearly, that's not happening now.

As for BJ, he claims he was NOT the aggressor in either Hawaii street fight -- and insists he was trying to DIFFUSE the situation outside the Lava Shack before things escalated.

"What I saw in that video was sad," White added ... "And, I love the kid and I hope he gets his life together."

BJ Penn says he tried to WALK AWAY from the man he fought outside of a bar in Hawaii last month -- but claims the other guy snapped and attacked, leaving BJ to defend himself.

The UFC Hall of Famer is finally speaking out about that crazy incident outside of the Lava Shack on the Big Island where footage published by TMZ Sports showed Penn in a fist fight with another man. Penn was knocked down in the fight but eventually got up and smothered the man.

So, what happened? Penn told his side of the story to TSN ...

"I’m at a concert going to meet a friend that I’ve known since we were really young kids and I’m over there and an acquaintance of mine, he gets mad about something, you know something was said or it was an old past thing and then he wants to fight about it," Penn says.

"I was like, 'No, no, I don’t want to fight, we’re friends, everything is cool.' He even walks outside and I’m thinking, this is silly I’m going to go get him, calm him down and get him to come back inside and enjoy the concert, we’ve got some other friends there."

"I walk outside to go give the guy a hug and then he hits me twice and I’m like, 'No, calm down!'  I try to give him another hug and he hits me a couple more times and he hits me again."

"Finally my adrenaline picked up because he was hitting me so much so I said, 'Go ahead and hit me again.'"

Penn continues ... "I thought the guy would eventually just say forget it BJ, whatever, walk away, but he hit me -- and he hit me good and knocked me down -- and then when I got back up he tried it again and I just had to defend myself and that’s what you see in the second video."

Penn claims the videos were "edited" to cut out moments where Penn was trying to hug the other man. TMZ Sports did not cut a single frame out of the clips. We posted what we were able to obtain in its entirety.

During the TSN interview, Penn also touched on the OTHER recent bar fight he got into outside of a strip club on Oahu in June, another incident captured on video.

"There was another video on TMZ of me holding somebody on the ground ... I’m in the middle of a custody case right now and from that last one I already got a lot of flak from the custody evaluator, from their lawyer of course, from my lawyer."

"The last thing I want to do is get into any type of trouble, my custody case, me seeing my kids depends on all this stuff and it’s just really strange how things just happen and you never see this kind of stuff, but here I am in a custody case and this happened twice."

Cris Cyborg has found a new home -- the MMA superstar has signed with Bellator after parting ways with UFC.

"Hey Cyborg Nation fans, I'm very excited to announce that I'm going to be partnering with Scott Coker and Viacom -- I'll be fighting Bellator," the fighting legend says.

"And, you guys know I have a lot of girls that want to fight at 145 pounds and this means you're going to have a lot of fights per year and I'm very happy about that."

The 34-year-old had clashed with UFC honcho Dana White earlier this year -- and White had said he was going to release Cyborg from her contract.

"I will not match any offers, she is free and clear to go to Bellator or any of these other organizations and fight," White said back in August ... adding, "We’re out of the Cyborg business."

Well, Bellator wasted no time snatching her up ... and it seems pretty obvious Cyborg -- who's 21-2 as a pro -- will get an immediate title shot against Julia Budd, the reigning featherweight champ.

Budd is 13-2 with her only 2 career losses coming from Ronda Rousey and Amanda Nunes.

Seems Cyborg has her eye on more after that, 'cause she says she's hoping to be one of the most decorated fighters EVER once she arrives in Bellator.

"My goal is going to be the only female fighter holding four different major tiles in the same division and I know with you guys I can do that. And, I just want to say, Cyborg Nation, Welcome to Bellator!"

Ex-UFC fighter Melvin Guillard knocked out a man on the street in Colorado while working as a bouncer for a popular bar ... and TMZ Sports has now obtained video of the violent punch.

Guillard was working for the Ginn Mill in Denver back on June 15, 2018 ... when a scuffle broke out inside of the bar.

You can see in the video, bouncers wrestle with a man to get him outside ... when suddenly, another male approaches the commotion.

That's when Guillard goes after the guy, pushing him back with one arm ... before socking the dude straight in the jaw.

The punch immediately crumpled the guy ... and he lay lifeless on the sidewalk for nearly 30 seconds before bystanders were able to help him up.

The guy suffered undisclosed injuries in the attack ... and pressed charges -- with cops ultimately arresting 36-year-old Guillard for felony assault.

Guillard fought the charges in court for a year ... but he just cut a deal with prosecutors this summer to have the case closed.

As part of the agreement, Guillard pled guilty to one count of assault in the second degree -- but was only hit with probation -- plus fines and fees -- for the crime.

Guillard had been out of the professional fight game while his case played out in the court system ... but he made his return to MMA action last month in the Bare Knuckle Fight Championship. He lost to Isaac Vallie-Flagg via technical knockout.

Daniel Cormier should NOT hang up the gloves just yet ... not before seeking vengeance in a trilogy fight against Jon Jones ... so says former UFC star Jimi Manuwa.

Earlier this week TMZ Sports talked to Jimi -- a former UFC light heavyweight bad ass who beat dudes like Ovince St. Preux, Corey Anderson, and Jan Blachowicz -- about DC's future in MMA.

Manuwa says DC isn't done and deserves another big time fight ... and the perfect opponent is Jon.

"I don't know if he should f**kin' go out on a loss like that, ya know? I feel he should maybe do 1 more with Jones."

Remember, Cormier just took a devastating L to Stipe Miocic ... and he admitted he's mulling retirement.

It's not only Daniel ... Khabib Nurmagomedov recently told us that he and DC's coaches and teammates also want him to retire.

But, Manuwa disagrees ... and says the 3rd time could be the charm when it comes to Jones.

Wiz Khalifa had to bail on a concert on the eastern seaboard because of a bad foot injury -- specifically, he got jacked up while putting in serious work ... MMA style.

Sources connected to the Pittsburgh MC tell TMZ ... Wiz fractured his ankle Friday night during an MMA training session, which left him unable to perform during Saturday night's Hot 104.7's Hot Summer 2019 showcase in Westbrook, Maine.

He was one the headliners on the lineup -- performing alongside acts like A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Ally Brooke, YK Osiris, Big Freedia and others -- but because he couldn't make it ... DMX filled in for him last minute. Not a bad replacement.

Wiz took to social media Saturday to apologize to fans who'd purchased tickets in hopes of seeing him hit the stage, but promised he'd make it up to them in the future when he was healthy. He also made sure to thank DMX for stepping in on short notice.

If the MMA thing is catching you off guard, it shouldn't. He's been at this for at least a couple years now ... and he's absolutely taking training seriously. Just ask FOX's Jay Glazer.

Back in 2017, Wiz was filmed getting in an MMA sesh with Jay ... and the dude looks like he can absolutely throw down. He's even toyed with the idea of taking an actual fight.

What's crazy about this unfortunate setback for Wiz is that he appears to wear protective gear on his legs and ankles when he trains -- at least he did in this video here. He must've been kicking some serious ass to splinter a bone down there ... yowza. BTW, it should be noted ... we're told Wiz was NOT training with Jay in this instance.

We've never seen anything like this ... ever.

BJ Penn is getting a SERIOUS offer from the man he's supposed to fight in October -- with Nik Lentz telling TMZ Sports he wants Penn to come live and train with him to help get his life back on track.

Remember, Dana White said Penn's last ever UFC fight would be against Lentz later this year -- but after Penn was KO'd during a street fight in Hawaii, it seems the bout could be in jeopardy.

Lentz tells us he "needs" this fight to happen for the sake of his own family -- but also he cares about Penn and wants to help him get cleaned up.

"Clearly, there's something wrong here," Lentz says about Penn's recent altercations ... "You need to get your life together."

Lentz says he wants Penn to move out of Hawaii -- where he thinks Penn is running with the wrong crowd and it's dragging him down.

"There's people there that are not good for you."

Instead, Lentz says Penn should relocate to Florida -- where he can train at his gym and sleep in his home.

"I'm gonna teach you how to be a man because right now you're a monster" ... adding, "You can't be getting knocked out in front of the Lava House."

But, don't mistake Lentz's kindness for weakness -- Nik says he won't have mercy with Penn when they step into the Octagon.

"I'm going to help him more than he's ever been helped in his life," Lentz says ... "I'm gonna kick his ass for money at the same time, but I'm still gonna help him."

When it comes to street fights, Chuck Liddell has one important piece of advice for BJ Penn -- "It really isn't worth it at this point in our lives."

Liddell and Penn came up around the same time and are both members of the UFC Hall of Fame -- and both had a reputation for fighting ANY opponent, any time, any place.

But, after 40-year-old Penn got knocked out in a street fight in Hawaii this week, Liddell says Penn should probably take some time to think about his decisions.

In fact, when we saw Liddell leaving Rafi Anteby's birthday celebration at the Sofitel in L.A., we asked how he deals with potentially violent situations when he's out in public ... and Chuck told us he kills people with kindness these days.

"I usually have fun with them," Liddell says about hecklers ... "I usually just joke around with 'em. I have a good time."

UFC legend BJ Penn was involved in another bar fight in Hawaii -- this time, the 40-year-old was sprawled out on top of another man raining down punches, and TMZ Sports has the video.

Penn was at the Lava Shack on the Big Island on Tuesday when he got into it with another dude -- and in classic Penn fashion, the fight ended up on the ground. We have a pic of Penn at the bar earlier in the night. You can see the clothing is the same.

Penn had his opponent mounted -- and his legs were hooked in -- and he threw at least 4 ferocious shots to the other man's head ... and it looks like all of the shots landed pretty clean.

You can see several men in red "Security" shirts move in and try to break the whole thing up.

Unclear what started the fight -- but we're told law enforcement responded to the scene. It does NOT appear Penn was arrested and cops say they have no record so far.

The situation is similar to a fight Penn got into back in June on Oahu -- where he pummeled a man outside of a strip club while a group of people looked on.

Cops were called to that incident as well -- but again, Penn was NOT arrested or charged with a crime.

We reached out to Penn's camp for comment -- so far, no word back.

Penn is slated to fight Nik Lentz in the near future but no date has been set. Dana White has said the fight will be the last of Penn's legendary career.

Penn is a UFC Hall of Famer with victories over legends like Matt Hughes and Matt Serra.

Anthony "Rumble" Johnson's domestic violence case is closed ... the ex-UFC star just cut a deal with prosecutors and won't have to spend more time behind bars.

Johnson was arrested back on May 6 in Palm Beach County, Florida after his girlfriend told cops the former fighter roughed her up during an argument.

In police docs, Johnson said he DID pick the woman up to carry her to a different room because he was tired of arguing ... but he insists he never tried to hurt her.

Johnson was hit with a misdemeanor domestic battery charge ... and faced up to 1 YEAR in jail.

But, Johnson's attorney, Michael Walsh, tells TMZ Sports Johnson reached an agreement with prosecutors this month to enter a pretrial diversion program.

Walsh says Johnson will be required to complete an anger management course ... and once he's done that, the case will be dismissed.

Walsh -- who called the deal a "no-brainer" for Johnson -- says the 35-year-old has until Oct. 21 to complete the course ... although he could request an extension.

Johnson retired from fighting back in 2017 with a 22-6 record as a pro ... with wins over stars like Glover Teixeira, Ryan Bader and Alexander Gustafsson.