MMA

UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell -- one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time -- says he's finally "officially retired" from fighting ... for now.

The 50-year-old legend has been undecided about his fighting career for a while -- despite losing to Tito Ortiz in his last performance in Nov. 2018.

In fact, as recently as October 2019, Liddell told ESPN he was "undecided" about his future as a fighter.

But when we saw Liddell at LAX, he told us straight up, "I'm officially retired right now ... for now."

The former UFC lightweight champ had an amazing career -- with a 21-9 pro record ... including two historic wins over Tito Ortiz and two wins over Randy Couture.

Chuck was a pioneer in the world of MMA and is widely credited with helping to grow the UFC into the juggernaut it is today.

So, what's next for The Iceman?! Chuck says he's always been interested in the WWE ... and has tremendous respect for pro wrestlers ... "That would be a lot of fun!"

In the meantime, Liddell is still training like a maniac at Jay Glazer's Unbreakable Gym in West Hollywood where he works out with the likes of Wiz Khalifa and Demi Lovato!

UFC superstar Yoel Romero says he's not even close to retirement -- despite the fact he's about to turn 43 years old -- telling TMZ Sports he's got another 10 YEARS left in the tank!

The Cuban-born middleweight star is gearing up to fight Israel Adesanya at UFC 248 in Las Vegas on Saturday ... and Romero says he's laser-focused on winning Israel's belt.

There's no bad blood between these two ... Romero says he loves everybody, but he's ready to take care of business when they step in the Octagon on March 7.

As for his UFC future, Romero tells us he thinks he's good to go for another decade ... and made sure to show off his abs to let us know he means business!

We've done some digging and from what we've found, the oldest person to take a UFC fight is Randy Couture who was 47 years old when he battled Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 in 2011.

Couture lost that fight but had won a previous 3 matches. Randy was 46 years old when he defeated James Toney.

To our knowledge, it doesn't appear anyone over the age of 50 has ever competed in a UFC fight.

Khabib Nurmagomedov says he's down to fight Floyd Mayweather ... but The Eagle is floating the idea of a mixed boxing/MMA match!!

"Like maybe 11 rounds boxing, 1 round MMA," Khabib tells TMZ Sports.

Of course, Khabib and Floyd have flirted heavily with the idea of a fight for years ... with Nurmagomedov's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, telling us TBE has been "begging" for a scrap.

In fact, Ali says they even got a $100 MILLION offer from some powerful Saudis to put on the fight in the Middle East!!

But, talks haven't advanced between the two sides ... and when we asked Khabib about it this week -- he says it's because he straight-up doesn't want a boxing-only matchup.

"If he want to fight, come to UFC!" Khabib says. "This is real fight. You know, I'm not boxer. I'm not, like, just wrestler. I'm MMA fighter."

If the two somehow do agree to a bout ... Khabib is VERY confident he'll emerge victorious -- insisting 43-year-old Floyd is just too damn old.

"He almost like my father's age, you know?" Khabib says. "I don't understand how I'm going to punch his face."

Seems a Dominick Reyes vs. Jon Jones rematch is on the horizon -- with UFC honcho Dana White saying DR earned a second crack at Jon after that legendary battle in Feb.

Oh, and another clue a rematch is in the works ... Dana had lunch with Dom's manager Tiki Ghosn in Bev Hills and yeah, they were definitely talking business!

Of course, Jon emerged victorious in his UFC 247 fight with Reyes -- though a bunch of fans and fight experts think the judges got it all wrong by giving Jones the unanimous decision.

So, what's the best way to settle things once and for all? LET 'EM RUN IT BACK!

Dana seems to be on board ... telling us, "I think [Reyes deserves a rematch]. You'd be crazy not to think he deserves a rematch."

Ghosn added, "I think there's a very good chance of that!"

As for Jones, he's got options -- but he seems to be the most interested in a fight with light heavyweight contender Jan Blachowicz.

There's more with Dana ... we also talked to the UFC boss about everything from Conor McGregor's next fight and a possible Khabib vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing match.

Tito Ortiz's win over Alberto Del Rio has been reinstated by a Texas athletic commission ... days after they took away the MMA legends victory and ruled the fight a no-contest.

45-year-old Ortiz DOMINATED 42-year-old Del Rio during their December 7th fight ... submitting the former wrestling star by rear-naked choke in the 1st round of the fight.

All was cool until earlier this week when the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation abruptly announced Ortiz's win had been stripped ... with no explanation why.

However, on Friday, the TDLR told TMZ Sports they reversed course ... after an investigation proved Ortiz didn't break any rules.

"A urine sample provided by Jacob 'Tito' Christopher Ortiz on Dec. 7, 2019, at the Combate Americas MMA event showed a potentially disqualifying substance that Ortiz claimed was prescribed by a physician. Pending the outcome of the TDLR inquiry into whether the substance was indeed prescribed by a physician, TDLR marked the fight results as 'No Contest.'"

"TDLR confirmed with the physician that the item was prescribed to Ortiz. TDLR has reinstated Ortiz’s victory in the Dec. 7 bout."

We know what you're thinking ... what's the drug in question? So far, those details have not been released but we'll have more here as the info becomes available.

Khabib Nurmagomedov says Conor McGregor's victory over Cowboy Cerrone was LAUGHABLE -- claiming Conor shouldn't be praised for beating a washed-up old man.

It's clear the hatred between Khabib and Conor is still VERY real -- with the Dagestani superstar taking shot after shot at Conor and Cowboy while hyping up his April 2020 fight against Tony Ferguson.

Khabib says Tony is a tougher opponent than ANYONE he's fought in the past -- especially Conor -- and that's when he lit up McGregor for agreeing to fight Cerrone back in January instead of a more worthy fighter.

"He's not high level," Khabib said about Cowboy ... "Of course he has a big name, but his time is finished."

Of course, Conor destroyed Cowboy in just 40 seconds. Cowboy didn't even land a shot.

"Cowboy always loses all his main event fights, always. I don't remember when he win. In last 10 fights, I think he's lost 7 times."

For the record, Cowboy -- a surefire UFC Hall of Famer -- has lost 6 of his last 10 fights ... 7 of his last 11.

Khabib says Conor is simply ducking tough fighters like Justin Gaethje because he simply doesn't want that smoke.

Meanwhile, Khabib says he's laser-focused on making his legacy by fighting the very best guys around ... and Tony Ferguson checks all the boxes. The two are set to throw down at UFC 249 on April 18.

"I compete with guys like Barboza, dos Anjos, Conor, Poirier, Iaquinta. All of these guys not tough like Tony Ferguson."

A 9-year-old boy who said on a heartbreaking video that he wanted to kill himself after being bullied is getting a lift from the MMA world ... he's taken ONE Championship officials up on their offer for free training lessons.

Quaden Bayles -- an Australian with Achondroplasia dwarfism -- went viral this week after his mom posted a disturbing video of him breaking down in tears after being bullied.

In the footage, Bayles tells his mother, "I wish I could stab myself in the heart. I want someone to kill me."

Thousands of people -- including celebs all over the globe -- reached out to show their support for the boy ... with ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong even offering free MMA lessons.

FYI -- ONE is one of the top MMA organizations in the world ... with stars like Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez fighting for the promotion.

Turns out, Bayles was super down for the training ... 'cause just hours after Sityodtong posted his message -- the ONE honcho says Bayles' family gladly accepted the offer!

"I just spoke to his amazing mom, Yarraka, over the phone," Sityodtong said Friday. "She has graciously accepted my invitation to come to Singapore for an all-expenses-paid vacation so Quaden can learn martial arts at EVOLVE."

"Our instructors will be sure to bully-proof Quaden. If he wakes up from his nap, we plan to FaceTime tonight. Yarraka said that he might sleep through the night. If so, we will FaceTime tomorrow. Let us all take the opportunity to show little Quaden how much the world cares."

Quaden is also set to make an all-expenses-paid trip to Disneyland in the coming months after a GoFundMe for the boy raised more than $230,000 in less than a day.

Dana White is going to bat again for his pal Donald Trump ... stepping to the podium at POTUS' campaign rally Thursday and saying, "We gotta win this election again!"

The UFC honcho and Trump have been great friends for years ... and when No. 45 invited White to speak at his event in Colorado Springs, Colo. this week, Dana jumped at the opportunity.

White flew on Air Force One with DT ... and when Dana stepped to the podium in front of thousands of Trump supporters, he raved about his longtime buddy.

"I've known this man for 20 years," White said. "We’ve actually become even closer since he's become the President of the United States."

White added, "This guy is so loyal and such a good friend. Every time I see him, I saw him today, when I met him on Air Force One, the first thing he said to me is, 'How is your family?'"

Dana continued, "I see a lot of things from Mr. Trump that the public doesn’t see, and the people who surround me every day see how this man treats me as a friend and other people he's friends with."

"He's a fighter, he loves this country, he's doing great things for this country, and we gotta win this election again, ladies and gentlemen!"

Of course, White's public support for Trump is nothing new ... Dana spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2016 when Trump was officially nominated.

Conor McGregor WILL get a victory in a rematch with Khabib ... so says Becky Lynch, who tells TMZ Sports she believes Conor's got a whole new strategy for The Eagle!!

"I think he's been working," the WWE superstar says. "You saw it in the last fight. He's got a new game plan, his head is firmly in it and I think he wins it."

Becky admits she is biased -- she's from Ireland, after all -- and tells us, "Of course I'm going to say me countryman!"

But, The Man clearly believes Conor's got a real shot regardless.

"I think he's got that dedication," Becky says. "He backs it up, man. He backs it up."

The last time Conor and Khabib squared off in the Octagon ... things didn't go so well for the Notorious, who lost after he tapped out in the 4th round.

And, it remains to be seen if Khabib will even get in the cage a second time with Conor ... he just said earlier this month he wouldn't fight McGregor again for $100 MILLION!!!

Wanna see one of the baddest females in the world nearly choke the life outta a TMZ employee?!?

We thought so.

29-year-old Bellator champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane came through the TMZ office ... and naturally our in-house crash test dummy, Lucas Widman got a one-on-one demo of her triangle choke.

Lucas -- who's faced MMA stars like Jon Jones, Paige VanZant and Brian Ortega -- tapped QUICK ... like Chris Johnson's 40-time quick.

No shocker there ... Macfarlane is a killer in the cage -- the 29-year-old is an undefeated 11-0.

The crazy part ... Ilima-Lei sat down with Michael J. Babcock and told him she only got into MMA a few years ago, so she could drop weight she put on during college.

Little did she know she'd turn into one of the best damn fighters in the game.

Ninja, ZeRo, Ronda Rousey???

Yep, the WWE Superstar just inked a deal with Facebook Gaming ... and Rousey is set to stream exclusively on FB.

Ronda made the announcement on Thursday ... saying, “Gaming has always been a huge part of my life, and I can’t wait to share that passion with my millions of fans on Facebook Gaming. Through my streams, people can hang out with the real me, not the ‘character’ version of myself they’re used to seeing, though the ‘Rowdy One’ can’t always be contained.”

“In recent years, games have been a great way for me to keep my mind active when my body is too sore or tired to move."

"One of my favorite gaming memories happened when I was 11 years old and encountered an Articuno on Pokemon Blue for the first time. I was awestruck and thought she looked like an angel," Rousey says.

"Looking back at that same image now, I’m amazed how powerful our imaginations can be and how gaming encourages us to imagine what our reality could be instead of just accepting it for what it is—a skill that has helped me in my fighting and entertainment careers countless times.”

Facebook has been heavy into gaming lately ... signing some of the biggest gamers to 7-figure deals -- and they obviously see Ronda as someone with a huge audience and credibility as a gamer.

Remember, Rousey is in Mortal Kombat 11 ... where she plays the iconic character, Sonya Blade.

More trouble for former UFC star BJ Penn ... the fighting legend is reportedly under police investigation for DUI after crashing his truck in Hawaii last week.

Police in Hilo tell Big Island Now, Penn was driving a black Toyota Tacoma pickup at around 7 PM on Feb. 7 when it crashed along a main highway.

Cops say a 911 caller indicated 41-year-old Penn had been speeding ... and say the crash was gnarly, with the truck losing control and flipping into an area near a mall.

TMZ Sports has learned Penn was taken to the hospital after the accident ... but we're told he's okay and was released shortly after.

Puna Patrol Cpt. Ken Quiocho says the investigation into Penn for possible drunk driving remains open.

It's the latest in a string of recent issues for Penn ... who was at the center of TWO street fights in Hawaii the last couple 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.

Things have gotten so bad for Penn, at least optically, UFC honcho Dana White said he will never allow Penn to fight again in his league.

"What I saw in that video was sad," White said of the footage of Penn brawling in the Hawaii streets ... "And, I love the kid and I hope he gets his life together."

"If BJ Penn needed me, all he needs to do is pick up the phone and ask."

Jon Jones would take the first REAL L of his fighting career if he stepped in the WWE ring with Roman Reigns ... so says the wrestling superstar himself!!

"It would be a hell of a fight," Reigns tells TMZ Sports. "But when it comes to the squared circle, I don't think there's anybody better in the world [than me]. So, yeah, I feel VERY comfortable being in the ring with Jon Jones."

Of course, a WWE scrap between the two massive fight stars is now a possibility because Jones just told Sports Illustrated this week a move to the squared circle at some point is "inevitable."

When we got Reigns out at L.A.'s new Sofi Stadium (the home of WrestleMania 37 in 2021!!), he told us he would LOVE to be a part of a bout with the UFC legend in the future.

"Oh, for sure, man," Roman says. "Someone like Jon Jones, I mean, if you're going to step in the WWE ring, you're most likely going to want to step in there with the big dog."

As for how Jones would fare outside of a match with Reigns ... Roman says he believes Jon's got a chance to be a real superstar in the WWE.

By the way, Reigns also gave some advice to Dwayne Johnson's daughter, Simone Johnson, who's now training to be a WWE Superstar.

Roman tells us he'd like to see her blaze her own trail with the future of her character, as opposed to following in the footsteps of "The Rock" ... saying, "It's better to create your stuff."

Corey Anderson has zero love for Jon Jones, but he's pumped the UFC star beat Dominick Reyes ... 'cause he tells TMZ Sports now he'll be the first to take down the MMA legend.

Anderson -- the #5 ranked UFC light heavyweight -- is taking on Jan Blachowicz at UFC Fight Night 167 on Saturday ... and if Corey wins, there's a great chance the prize is Jon.

We talked to Anderson about Jones vs. Reyes ... and the LHW title contender says he totally understands why a lot of people think Jon lost, but he's happy as hell he got the W.

"While I was watching I was like, 'Man, I could lose the opportunity to be the one that beats Jon.'"

Anderson continued ... "At the end, I’m happy that Jon got the win because I get to be the one to dethrone him. I knew if Dom would’ve won, they would do the rematch. And I'd have to wait for that."

FYI -- Jon's one and only (controversial) loss came against Matt Hamill in 2009 ... when he was disqualified for throwing illegal elbows. Jones was dominating the fight.

Corey says he believes Dom exposed Jon ... and when he eventually faces the champ, he'll hand him an even more severe beating.

"Like I said when I saw it going on, my mindset was, 'yeah, I knew he was beatable.' I was the one who always said, 'I know I can beat Jon.' I know ways to beat him, I see the holes. I see what you gotta do to beat him, and Dom went out there, did pretty much a lot of it."

UFC rising star Katlyn Chookagian says she's gonna whoop Valentina Shevchenko and snatch her belt ... and after that, she's got her eye on Amanda Nunes.

TMZ Sports talked to 31-year-old Chookagian (13-2) last week in NYC ... and the #1 ranked UFC strawweight (125 lbs.) laid out her blueprint for taking over women's MMA.

Step 1 ... beat Shevchenko at UFC 247 this weekend, which would be massive considering Valentina hasn't lost a fight since her war with Nunes in 2017.

"Obviously I'm gonna hear, 'And new!'" KC says.

"No matter where it goes, I'm better than her standing and on the ground. So wherever it goes, I'm gonna be dominant."

Katlyn also says she's down to move up a weight class and fight Amanda Nunes next ... in what could be a chance to be the UFC's next "champ champ."

"The good thing is that I fought at 135 [lbs.]. I fought there before and I won. I feel comfortable."

"125 [lbs.], I feel like a killer, and I feel bigger. But, I fought [at 135 lbs.] before and I'm comfortable there. Win this fight, I would definitely consider going up."

Nunes is widely regarded as the greatest female MMA fighter EVER -- with wins over legends like  Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Valentina Shevchenko, Miesha Tate and Holly Holm.

But, Chookagian ain't scared -- saying if Nunes is still the champ, she's down to scrap.

UFC star Tyron Woodley says he's been training like a MANIAC in the jungles of Thailand -- and has a warning for his next opponent Leon Edwards, "You gonna get f*cked up."

Woodley and Edwards are set to throw down at UFC Fight Night on March 21 in London ... and Tyron says he realizes he can't have ANY distractions, so he flew out to a remote part of Thailand to train.

"I was in the motherf*cking jungle for real," Woodley says ... "There were monkeys walking on my window sill. Snakes. Bats."

Tyron says he liked Thailand so much, he plans to go back for his full training camp leading up to the Edwards fight ... explaining he's laser focused on getting the "W."

"My kids need to see their dad win again ... so the most important thing for me is the victory."

As for Edwards, Tyron says he knows Leon's been talking trash -- and he LOVES it -- because it's giving him even more motivation to win.

"I'm just gonna f*ck Leon Edwards up so bad that everybody's gonna be like, 'Why did you match them up?' This is a mismatch. Dana, you should lose your job for this."

There's a LOT more in this week's episode of "The Hollywood Beatdown" ... including Tyron's thoughts on the rest of the UFC welterweight division -- from Kamaru Usman to Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal.

Tyron also breaks down the Offset strip club incident, the Gervonta Davis arrest and Beyonce and Jay-Z at the Super Bowl.