MMA

UFC star Justin Gaethje says he's PRAYING for a bloodbath main event with Tony Ferguson ... claiming he wants Tony to break his nose because he needs it fixed anyway!

Yo, Gaethje is a SAVAGE!!

Of course, Justin and Tony will throw down at UFC 249 on Saturday -- in what Justin calls "the biggest fight of my life."

And, man -- Justin is ready for war!!!!

"Tony’s used to people being scared of him. I’m not scared," Gaethje tells TMZ Sports.

"I hope he breaks my nose. I’ve been waiting to get it fixed. It hasn’t been right for like 12 years, so I’ve been waiting for a long time for someone to break my nose, so maybe he’ll plant an elbow on there."

"I might regret asking for that 'cause it’s a painful injury, but I do need to get it fixed."

Justin says when it comes to engaging with Ferguson, "I’m not scared to get hit. I’m not scared to get sliced up, knocked out, that comes with the territory and I’m content with all those situations."

So, how does Justin see the fight going?

"I’m 100% confident in my ability to put him to sleep."

"Tony has a brain. I just got to make it shake and then the natural course of the body takes place and he goes to sleep."

Henry Cejudo wants to fight Jose Aldo so badly -- he just offered to marry the guy to help him get into the country ... just so he can beat his ass!

"I will literally marry the dude to take the dude out," Triple C tells TMZ Sports.

Here's the backstory ... Cejudo was initially supposed to fight Aldo at UFC 250 in Brazil, but COVID-19 screwed up those plans.

Now, with the UFC is rebooking some of the fights in the U.S. -- Aldo is in trouble because he can't get into the country due to govt. travel restrictions.

Cejudo is now set to fight Dominick Cruz on May 9 instead -- but after that fight, Henry says he still wants a crack at Aldo ... and he's willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.

"I told Dana White, I said, ya know, I'll take this fight with Dominick Cruz ... but I still don't wanna leave Jose Aldo off the hook."

"I said if I have to marry him to fight him then I will do that. I will literally marry the dude to take the dude out."

"I will get on one knee to beat his ass."

In the meantime, Cejudo isn't taking Cruz lightly -- preparing for Dominick as if it's the biggest fight of his career.

"I got a kingdom to reign -- the Olympic champ, the flyweight champ and the bantamweight champion of the world."

How does he see the fight going?

"Knockout! Me on top of him, the ref pulling me off of Dominick Cruz. I want somebody else to save him from his own beating."

WANNA GET FIRED UP TO SMASH CORONAVIRUS!?

Well, UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer is here to help -- using that signature adrenaline-inducing voice to smack COVID-19 like the little bitch of a virus that it is!!!!

Buffer offered up his pipes -- and an awesome surprise pizza party -- to his pals at the Manhattan Beach PD ... to help keep morale up during these insane times.

Bruce tells us he wanted to show his support for the cops ... so he and his biz partner Kristen Greulach hit up Grimaldi's Pizzeria and had them whip up 10 pies, cannolis and cheesecake to thank the boys and girls in blue for everything they do.

But, the highlight is the ring call ... Bruce reached deep down in his soul for this one -- just like he was getting ready for a Conor vs. Khabib rematch ... and the cops loved every second of it!

UFC star Tyron Woodley says he's sick of talking -- if Israel Adesanya wants the smoke, "stop being a bitch" and let's scrap.

Tyron and Israel have been going back and forth on social media lately -- but Woodley wants to set the record straight ... he's down to fight, period.

It's actually more respectful than it sounds ... Woodley thinks Israel -- the reigning middleweight champ -- is a dope fighter. He's said so multiple times.

But, Tyron recently said he wants to jump up a weight class from welterweight to middleweight ... which could set up a showdown with Izzy.

Tyron thinks Adesanya took his comments as a threat -- which escalated the trash talk.

Now, Woodley says he senses "a little bitch in the blood" and is basically calling out Izzy.

"If you ever wanna do it, get in touch with me. I'm not hard to find."

There's more ... Tyron also tells us about his immediate fight plans and why he's itching to get back in the Octagon as soon as possible.

Plus, hear why he's saluting Halle Berry!

Dana White is dead serious about allowing one lucky fan to pick the fighters for a real UFC bout ... which begs the question, is Conor McGregor on the table?!

It's all part of Dana's big All In Challenge fundraising mission -- he's teamed up with Halle Berry for one of the coolest UFC experiences EVER!

Not only will the winner get to hang with Halle -- a real, hardcore MMA fan -- but that person will also be invited to participate in the UFC matchmaking process with Dana and his team.

"They're gonna sit in with a matchmaking meeting and I'm gonna let them make a fight," Dana tells TMZ Sports.

As we've previously reported, the All In Challenge is raising cash to help feed people in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It doesn't suck and for a fan to be able to win this package," Dana says.

As for the matchmaking ... Dana says the winner will join his top 3 execs in the war room to put together a real UFC fight.

"It's a process. We argue, we fight ... [the winner] will be part of the bickering and the arguing."

So, what if the winner wants to see Conor vs. Khabib? Or, Conor vs. Nate Diaz? Or, Jon Jones vs. Cormier?!?!

Greg Hardy isn't just down to fight during a global pandemic ... he literally wants to MOVE to "Fight Island" and take on every badass heavyweight from Francis Ngannou to Stipe Miocic.

TMZ Sports talked to the 31-year-old heavyweight ... who tells us his contract to fight at UFC 249 in Florida on May 9 is signed, sealed and delivered.

But, Hardy has bigger plans than just 1 fight against 33-year-old, 6-0 MMA fighter Yorgan De Castro.

"I'm saying it right now Dana, man, listen, if you got [living] quarters," Hardy says ... "If you have quarters, I'll stay on the island, bro. I'm not ashamed to move in. We can fight every couple of weeks, dude."

"With all seriousness. Let's run it."

Hardy says he'll shatter a record he set last year ... when he became the 1st heavyweight fighter to fight 5 times in a calendar year.

And, Greg's not looking to just fight tomato cans ... we asked him for his ideal matchup, and uhhh, he's goin' big game hunting.

"This is my dream scenario" ... Hardy says.

"After this fight, I come back, get this knockout [against De Castro]. Remind everybody who it is. I think the UFC [rankings] starts at top 15. I think we start with 15 and go down the line."

"15 fights later I knock out the guy holding the belt, whoever it is."

The names of some of the guys currently in the top 15?

Daniel Cormier. Derrick Lewis. Francis Ngannou. Stipe Miocic.

But, Hardy ain't shook ... "We do it the G. Hardy way. Eliminate everybody 1 by 1, on the island."

UFC star Nina Ansaroff told us pregnancy wouldn't stop her from training ... and here she is, 19 weeks preggo ... PUTTIN' IN THAT WORK, SON!

Nina is the 5th ranked UFC strawweight contender in a STACKED division that includes killers like Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Rose Namajunas and the champ Weili Zhang!

And since Nina plans on continuing her MMA career after she gives birth, she planned on staying in shape during the pregnancy to help expedite her return to the Octagon.

Take a look at the video ... Nina and her fetus are WRECKING those pads!

Of course, Nina is engaged to UFC champ Amanda Nunes -- and when they came into the TMZ office before the COVID pandemic, they spelled out their fight/baby plans!

"I’m gonna be training throughout my pregnancy," Nina told us ... "I’m gonna stay in shape. I’m not gonna, ya know, just like not do anything and jump in."

Nina said the plan is to take a year off -- but acknowledged, "I’ve never had a baby before. So, I don’t know what to expect."

As for Amanda, she obviously supports Nina -- but doesn't want her to rush back to the Octagon too soon ... a mistake she feels Mackenzie Dern made earlier this year.

May 9. May 16. May 23.

UFC star Tyron Woodley says he's ALL THE WAY DOWN to fight 3 Saturdays in a row -- as long as it gets him the title fight he's been craving.

Remember, Woodley was supposed to fight Leon Edwards on March 21st -- but the fight was scrapped due to complications from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since then, Tyron says he's been busting his ass to stay in fight shape so he can get back into the octagon as soon as the UFC gets back in business.

Now, Woodley says he's so fired up about going back to work, he's daydreaming about ways get his welterweight championship belt back from Kamaru Usman ASAP ... even if it means fighting 3 weeks in a row.

Tyron spells the whole thing out on "The Hollywood Beatdown" -- saying he's already been in contact with the UFC to try and get on the May 9th card.

And with most sports shut down around the world, Tyron thinks the opportunity to get on a major UFC card would be HUGE.

If he pulls off "back to back to back" victories, Tyron says he would HAVE to be recognized as the UFC G.O.A.T.

UFC star Tony Ferguson has cut his weight all the way down to 155 lbs -- which would be GREAT ... if the fight wasn't postponed!!!

Remember, Tony was supposed to fight Justin Gaethje in the main event at UFC 249 this weekend for the interim lightweight title (155 pounds).

But the April 18 fight was called off and Dana White is now looking at rebooking the event for May 9th.

Despite all those facts, Tony Ferguson has decided to continue his pre-fight training AS IF the fight were to happen on Saturday ... weight cut and all.

T-Ferg even hit the scale Friday morning to prove how serious he is about his process -- and yeah, it's a perfect 155 lbs.

The issue, of course, is that Tony will likely have to repeat the weight cutting process again next month if the UFC gets the green light to hold the event ... and that's A LOT of stress to put on your body in a short amount of time.

That said, it's still super impressive and shows how badly Tony wants the fight.

Stay safe, stay hungry -- and hopefully, we'll get to see the title fight we've all been waiting for sometime soon!

THIS IS AWESOME!!!

Check out Mike Beltran -- one of the top referees in MMA -- turning his legendary facial hair into a coronavirus mask ... just for fun!

Of course, Beltran -- who's reffed fights for everyone from Henry Cejudo to Demetrious Johnson and Nate Diaz -- is famous for that long, flowing mustache.

So, with the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing, Beltran decided to have fun ... and show off his version of nature's mask!

"Well, my friends, I think this works. I don't think anything will penetrate the 'state," Beltran joked.

Obviously, he's just kidding around (USE A REAL MASK, PEOPLE!) but ya gotta love it!

"Hope you guys had a good laugh at my expense," he added (assuming with a smile on his face?).

Ronda Rousey is slamming the door shut on a full-time return to WWE -- saying she refuses to dedicate her whole life for some "f*cking ungrateful" fans.

DAAAAAAAAMN RONDA!!!

Ronda hasn't been in the squared circle since WrestleMania 35 back in 2019 -- and many people were wondering if she's EVER coming back?

Now, some answers courtesy of the "Wild Ride with Steve-O" podcast [shout out ProWrestlingSheet] ... where the former "Jackass" star asked her straight up about her career plans.

"I love the WWE," Ronda said ... "I had such a great time. I love all the girls in the locker room."

BUUUUUT ... (of course, there's a "but").

"But, I was doing basically part-time and I was away from home 200 days out of the year. And, when I did get home, I was so sleep deprived cause you just don’t have time to lay down.”

“So it’s just like ... what am I doing it for if I’m not being able to spend my time and energy on my family? But, instead of spending my time and my energy on a bunch of f*cking ungrateful fans that don’t even appreciate me?"

And boom goes the dynamite.

"I love performing. I love the girls. I love being out there ... but, at the end of the day, I was just like, ‘F*ck these fans, dude.'"

Ronda continued, "My family loves me and they appreciate me and I want all my energy to go into them. So that was my decision at the end of the day. It’s like, ‘Hey girls. Love what you’re doing. I’m gonna try and take all my momentum and push you guys as far as I can ... fly little birds, fly! I’m going f*cking home!’ And that was basically it."

Dana White tells TMZ Sports UFC 249 is officially postponed and will NOT take place as planned on April 18.

But, "Fight Island" is still very real and in the works, White says.

The UFC honcho says because of coronavirus concerns ... high-ranking execs at both ESPN and Disney advised him to hold off on the April 18 fight card.

"I got a call from as high up as you can go at Disney asking not to do this event on April 18," White said.

The plan had been for the fights -- headlined by Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje -- to go forward at Tachi Palace Casino Resort in Lemoore, Calif.

But, Dana says he's going to listen to his partners at ESPN ... and call off the fights for now.

"One thing you’ve heard me say is how awesome this relationship has been with ESPN," White says. "So when they call and ask me to not go, obviously, I'm going to respect it and not go."

As we previously reported ... White was going forward with the fights despite losing Khabib Nurmagomedov -- who withdrew from the card after expressing concern over COVID-19.

The card also lost another headliner in Rose Namajunas on Thursday, when she officially pulled out after she lost family members due to the coronavirus.

White tells us he's ain't laying off UFC staff despite the cancellations ... and guaranteed UFC cards would be back shortly.

"We will be the first sport back on television," White said.

As for "Fight Island" -- White says it's "really happening ... the infrastructure is being built right now on the island."