MMA

'Ultimate Fighter' star Tyler Diamond is giving the blow-by-blow about the violent incident at an MMA event where Nate Diaz slapped him in the face ... and it's nuts.

Diamond -- an undefeated fighter who's killing it on 'TUF' -- says he was at a Combate Americas event in Sacramento on Friday when he saw Nate get into it with his pal, Clay Guida.

Diamond says he got in the middle of the ruckus to try and break it up ... but Nate reached out and slapped him in the face before another guy in Diaz's crew followed up with a punch.

"I get punched from my left side by some big fat dude who don't pack no heat -- I would love to fight that guy, actually."

Diamond says a melee ensued but Nate's crew quickly realized they were outnumbered and retreated.

Now, the Sacramento Sheriff's Dept. says they took reports for a possible misdemeanor battery and will investigate the incident.

Diamond says he thinks Nate's a bitch -- but he doesn't want to prosecute.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... since there were no major injuries, the incident isn't really a high priority for cops.

Nate's camp had no comment.

Chuck Liddell is adamant he'd knock out Jon Jones if they fought during his prime ... but warns the UFC star that he's "still dangerous."

The Ice Man is fired up about his MMA comeback ... but says it's not a 1-fight situation -- he aiming to fight Jon Jones after he tears through Tito Ortiz.

"I gotta have high goals about my comeback," Liddell told Adam Glyn.

"I'm not wasting my time getting in shape just to beat up on someone I've beat up twice."

Jones went after Liddell on Twitter this week saying, "Old Chuck has been calling me out for years! I get it, I hold pretty much every record in the division."

"I normally try to respect my elders but if you want it come get it. Id literally fly you out to Albuquerque this weekend."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the 48-year-old UFC Hall of Famer hooked up with Oscar De La Hoya's new MMA promotion to fight Tito for a 3rd time. They're still working on the date.

As we previously reported, Chuck has been training like a maniac for years -- and we're told he's in great shape.

UFC fighter Raquel Pennington says she would have been "devastated" if her corner would have thrown in the towel during UFC 224 ... saying, "I'm glad they didn't let me quit."

Pennington's corner has been under fire for not throwing in the towel when she told them she had nothing left after the 4th round of her fight with Amanda Nunes.

Raquel says her corner team has been beating themselves up for talking her into fighting in the 5th round ... but she insists they only did what SHE wanted them to do.

"If I truly wanted out of there, I could have turned around [to the ref] and waved out of the fight," Pennington says.

In fact, she says her coach did give her the motivation she needed to get back out there ... and does NOT feel like her team ever put her in real danger.

Ex-UFC star Tim Kennedy said the reason he decided to get waterboarded was to show the world, "We're not a bunch of spineless cowards" ... and insists it didn't even hurt.

Kennedy -- a U.S. Army Special Forces sniper -- let his friends waterboard him for about 45 minutes over the weekend ... and live streamed it to show the world why it shouldn't be considered torture.

"It feels like you're drowning. It feels like it, but you're not," Kennedy tells TMZ Sports.

"Because the water is going down in the back of your eyes, up your nose, it's pooling in the back of your throat. You’re trying to hold your breath, but all that water is pounding at the back of your throat, so you can't hold your breath."

"It's uncomfortable. It doesn’t feel good. It's not like, 'Let's go get a spa treatment.' A little face massage. It's an uncomfortable thing. But, it's a very effective thing."

Kennedy is adamant waterboarding should NOT be considered torture -- and explained his point in graphic detail.

UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber is PRAISING Raquel Pennington's corner for talking her out of quitting after the 4th round at UFC 224 ... saying Raquel would live to regret it if she did.

Pennington was getting pummeled by Amanda Nunes during the championship fight Saturday night -- and told her corner, "I'm done. I want to be done."

Her coaches talked her out of quitting and they've been catching hell ever since ... with many critics saying they failed in their duty to protect Pennington's health since she lost in the 5th round anyway.

But, Faber is not one of those critics ... saying the corner did exactly what they were supposed to do -- motivated her to take advantage of her championship opportunity.

Plus, Faber points out ... "If she really wanted out of the fight, she could have told the ref."

Urijah says he would hope his corner would do the same exact thing if he was in Raquel's position -- because quitting on the stool is a decision fighters regret for the rest of their lives.

Ex-UFC star Tim Kennedy -- a U.S. Army Special Forces sniper -- doesn't believe waterboarding should be considered torture ... and to prove his point, he turned the hose on himself.

Yep, Kennedy and his pals waterboarded each other for roughly 45 minutes on Friday ... and barely even flinched.

So ... why???

Kennedy says the move was to show support for Gina Haspel, Trump's pick to lead the CIA. Haspel has been criticized for using waterboarding and other interrogation methods at black sites during her CIA career.

"It’s not torture!!!!" Kennedy wrote ... "Hell we had elk tacos and wine afterwards. Wake up people. #waterboarding."

Kennedy also described -- in detail -- the waterboarding technique -- "They wouldn’t tell me when they were going to put the towel on they would just smash it on my face and start pouring. You can’t hold your breath while they do it because the water runs down your sinuses. The water run through your eyes, down your nose, and pools at the back of your throat."

Still, seems Haspel could have an uphill battle -- with people like John McCain arguing against her nomination due to her connection to questionable interrogation methods.

Wiz Khalifa says he completely AGREES with Jay Glazer ... that he's good enough to take a pro MMA fight if he wanted to.

There's just one catch ... HE NEEDS A CRAPLOAD OF MONEY!

Earlier this week, Glazer raved about Wiz ... saying the rapper is an absolute beast in the gym -- and has legit power.

So, when we saw Wiz at LAX we asked if there was a chance ... and he didn't say no!

"You got to pay me a whole bunch of money to get me to fight, man."

Wiz says he still likes rapping better than fighting -- but he really enjoys training with some of the best MMA stars in the world.

"It's just fun, man."

Dillon Danis needs to stop "living in the shadow" of Conor McGregor ... so says undefeated Bellator star and potential D.D. opponent Neiman Gracie.

Danis -- Conor's training partner and friend (he bailed McGregor outta jail) -- made his pro MMA debut last month ... winning his first fight in under 2 minutes.

After the fight, Dillon gave a Conor McGregor-esque promo in the cage ... calling out the entire roster.

So, who's next for the rising star?

Neiman -- a 4th generation member of the Gracie fam who's 8-0 -- says he is ... if Danis has the balls to fight him.

"I talked to the Bellator guys. They say they're going to offer him the fight."

Stay tuned.

One of the people robbed at gunpoint outside the UFC 224 host hotel in Brazil is a famous MMA manager, who tells TMZ Sports ... the robbers shoved their weapons right in their faces.

Very scary moment for Brian Butler-Au -- who manages big fighters like Max Holloway -- and is in Rio to support his fighter, Brian “BOOM” Kelleher, who's fighting on the main card at UFC 224.

Butler-Au says he was at a table on the beach with roughly 10 other people when the 3 men with guns rushed over and pulled out weapons.

"This guy walked up beside me ... he pulled out this handgun that had an extended magazine on it, put it up in my face and then he grabbed my phone."

Butler-Au says the 3 men -- none of whom were wearing masks -- ordered everyone to hand over their valuables ... and even ripped a necklace right off one of the women at the table.

"It happened really fast, but also in slow motion," Butler-Au says.

Eventually, the gunmen sprinted to a getaway car and fled the scene. Butler-Au says his group went right back to their hotel and started working with UFC security and local police.

Conor McGregor has returned to his MMA gym ... and took out some aggression on his sparring partner.

It all went down at the Straight Blast Gym in Ireland, Conor's home base. The gym is run by his trainer, John Kavanagh.

Unclear who's on the receiving end of Conor's attack -- but the good news ... Conor didn't actually connect with any of his kill shots.

It's the first time we've seen Conor fighting since that bus attack in Brooklyn back in April. As for that incident, Conor is due back in court on June 14 to face several criminal charges, including misdemeanor assault and felony criminal mischief.

Wiz Khalifa can hang up his mic anytime he wants, because Jay Glazer says another career is on the table for the platinum-selling rapper ... kicking ass as a pro MMA fighter.

Wiz has been training at Glazer's Unbreakable Performance gym for a while now, and when we got Glazer out we wanted to know the $1 million question ... how good is Wiz?

Really good, according to Jay, who told our guy Wiz is the only guy to EVER hurt Glazer with a body shot (over guys like Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture) and if he wanted to, could definitely go pro.

"Yeah, oh yeah. 'Cause he's in it and his work ethic is ridiculous."

But will it actually happen ... don't hold your breath, according to Glazer.

"I hope he continues to make his money without getting punched in the face."

Check the video below, the guy would kick your ass.

She's beaten everyone from Gina Carano to Holly Holm ... and now Cris Cyborg just beat a parking ticket -- and it's all on video!!!

The UFC superstar was talking with TMZ Sports about her fighting future and how Conor McGregor inspired her to transition into boxing after her next 2 MMA fights ... when the law came knocking at her door!

Turns out, Cyborg was parked in a no-parking zone and was thiiis close to getting a ticket -- when all of the sudden Johnny Law recognized Cris ... and gave her a pass!!

You can even hear the guy fanboy out -- throwing some compliments Cyborg's way before letting her off the hook.

As for Cyborg's career -- she's dead serious about boxing ... telling TMZ Sports she's always dreamed about lacing up the gloves and watching Mayweather vs. McGregor gave her real hope!

FYI, Cyborg sparred with ex-boxing champ Mia St. John just last year and she looked pretty solid.

Stay tuned on this one ...

Oscar De La Hoya says he's one step closer to getting Chuck Liddell back in the cage ... telling TMZ Sports he's "finalizing contracts" for a Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz fight!

We broke the story ... Oscar is starting his own MMA company and he's targeting the 48-year-old UFC Hall of Famer as his first fighter.

"We're finalizing contracts, getting everything rolling," Oscar says ... "I'm excited man!"

Oscar says he's been talking with 43-year-old Tito since he and the Ice Man have a crazy history -- but it's not a done deal yet.

"I think both guys are beasts, man ... they wanna fight each other? Hey, I'm ready."

Chuck hasn't fought professionally since June 2010 when he lost to Rich Franklin at UFC 115. Tito fought back in January 2017 when he submitted Chael Sonnen by rear naked choke at Bellator 170.

Conor McGregor brought Cinco de Mayo to Ireland on Saturday -- throwing a massive Mexican-themed party to celebrate his son's 1st birthday!

The UFC star took over the fancy Kildare Hotel just outside of Dublin -- one of the nicest hotels in the country.

The party for Conor McGregor Jr. had everything from a live band to a balloon animal guy ... and, of course, the best food money can buy -- including lobster.

Conor's entire family showed up -- his mom, sisters and girlfriend Dee Devlin. Everyone appeared to have a great time ... not at all bothered by the looming assault case in NYC.

Speaking of which, several of Conor's fighting buddies were reportedly at the birthday party, too ... but don't worry -- no one got hit with a steel dolly.

Anderson Silva thinks Khabib Nurmagomedov is the "new tough guy" in MMA -- and could become the best fighter in the entire UFC.

At least, that's what we think he said.

The Spider was hanging at The Grove in L.A. when we brought up Khabib -- and asked what he thought of the Khabib's violent rise up the ranks.

"Khabib is great, he's amazing!"

There was a lot of overall praise for Khabib ... including this: "I believe Khabib come the best fight in the sport."

Obviously, Silva is from Brazil and English isn't his first language -- so, some of the things he says are a little more tough to understand than others.

We think he meant, "I believe Khabib can become the best fighter in the sport."

Either way, Silva's a fan -- and really wants to see him fight Conor McGregor.

Tyron Woodley told Van Lathan he was proud of the way he handled himself during the TMZ confrontation with Kanye West ... but he needs to be prepared in case they ever have to fight.

The UFC champ had been blowing us up to find out what went down at the TMZ office that day when the cameras weren't rolling ... so we let him ask away on "The Hollywood Beatdown."

And that's when he gave Van a quick lesson on how to fight your favorite rapper.

There's a lot more ... Tyron also weighs in on the Nick Diaz nightclub fight and daps up Dwyane Wade for cutting a $20,000 check to Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr.