MMA

Dana White once hated Tito Ortiz's guts so much that the two men almost had a real-deal boxing match in 2007 -- but we're told the two are actually on good terms now.

It's no secret that White and Ortiz clashed -- but things got so bad back in the day that Dana says the guys were gonna duke it out FOR REAL in a boxing match until, at the 11th hour, Ortiz got cold feet.

White tells Harvey Levin the story about how he brought in a boxing coach and a team to prep for the fight and it'll all be featured on "OBJECTified," which airs Sunday on FOX News Channel.

What's really interesting ... White is CONVINCED he would've won the fight over the UFC Hall of Famer, telling Harvey he had real boxing experience back in the day and felt he is a superior striker.

"I absolutely would've won that boxing match."

Before he fought guys 1-on-1 in the Octagon, UFC star Derrick Lewis says he once destroyed TEN GUYS at the same time during a crazy brawl ... and he's telling the story to TMZ Sports.

It all went down back when Derrick was a high school student back in Houston, Texas -- when Lewis says he confronted a bunch of "greaser guys" in a back alley near his friend's house.

"It was about 10 guys ... all like greaser guys with their sleeves rolled up. Something that you would see in the movies, they all in white shirts with jeans on."

"They didn't expect me to come out there -- a black guy in type kind of neighborhood to come outside and I just started whooping up on all of 'em because they were at my buddy's house starting all this mess."

"That was a fun night -- I just started knocking 'em out left and right."

One of the stars of 'Kill Bill' is ALL IN for making a 3rd installment -- with Vivica A. Fox telling TMZ Sports she thinks Ronda Rousey would be the PERFECT star.

Of course, Viv starred in the original flick as Copperhead -- one of the infamous Deadly Viper Assassination Squad members targeted by Uma Thurman's character, Black Mamba.

So, when she heard Ronda was campaigning to play Uma's daughter if Quentin Tarantino decides to make 'KB3' -- Fox LOVED the idea.

"I love Ronda Rousey," Fox said ... "So, you come join the 'Kill Bill' franchise, 'cause we love kick-butt chicks and it's excellent casting for you to play Uma's daughter."

"And you can fight my daughter! And then Uma can be in the background talking about throwing blows on it. All right, I think that's excellent casting."

Fun Fact: 'Hunger Games' star Amandla Stenberg has already thrown her hat in the ring to play Viv's daughter!

There is one pretty big hurdle ... Quentin isn't working on part 3 and hasn't announced any plans to do so in the near future.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is going to MURDER Conor McGregor when they face off at UFC 229 in October ... this according to former UFC heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum.

The 41-year-old legend was at LAX when we asked to pick a winner in the upcoming superfight -- and Werdum didn't hold back.

"I think Khabib will kill Conor McGregor," Fabricio told us ... "For sure."

Werdum says when it comes down to it, Khabib is a great fighter and built tougher than his Irish opponent.

Not everyone agrees with Fabricio ... UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber is going with McGregor -- telling TMZ Sports he's got one major advantage Khabib won't be able to overcome.

Two UFC champs came face-to-face in the TMZ newsroom on Monday -- talking all sorts of smack to each other ... and begging Dana White to let them settle their beef in the Octagon.

Henry Cejudo had called out T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 227 -- saying he'd come up in weight to fight T.J. for his bantamweight title. T.J. says he's 100% down.

We invited both guys to appear on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) and they accepted ... and the sparks immediately began to fly.

T.J. said he'd knock Henry the hell out, and Henry shot back, "Be careful what you wish for."

T.J. also said a fight with Henry would be "easy money."

Henry said he'd destroy Dillashaw on the ground or on his feet.

Cris Cyborg straight-up TOSSED a Chargers coach at L.A.'s training camp Monday ... judo-throwing a wide receivers assistant at practice -- and the video is incredible.

The poor guy's name is Phil McGeoghan -- a 6-foot-2, 224-pound ex-NFL player -- who for some reason wanted a pre-practice, hands-on demo from one of the baddest women on the planet.

Cyborg obliges ... picking the guy up and throwing him over her shoulder -- just like Joey Bosa on Sundays.

"Today I had a Job interview with the [Chargers] to be head of security," Cyborg jokingly said of the incident.

"I think it went well...what do you think Coach?"

Daniel Cormier's getting his smile ready for life outside the Octagon ... 'cause the UFC champ got his infamous tooth gap fixed in a recent procedure ... and TMZ Sports has the footage!!

ICYMI -- D.C. had a tooth pulled back in 2014 after the Dan Henderson fight at UFC 173 ... and never bothered to fix the look (makes sense, considering the dude gets punched in the face for a living).

But now that D.C. is inching closer to his retirement fight next March, he hit up Dr. Kourosh Maddahi in Beverly Hills to get a head start on gettin' his chompers back to normal.

Dr. Maddahi tells us all about the bridge procedure ... and says D.C. can get back to sparring within a week's time!!

It never happened in the UFC ... but Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg MIGHT go down in the WWE -- with Mick Foley telling TMZ Sports he's been lobbying Vince McMahon to sign the Brazilian star.

"I had a meeting with Mr. McMahon and I specifically told him keep your eyes on this Cyborg vs. Nunes fight," Mick said.

"She's gonna be larger than life and would make a great WWE superstar down the line."

The Cyborg vs. Amanda Nunes fight isn't official yet (they're working on it) -- but Foley thinks it will help propel Cyborg to a new level of fame.

Ronda has been killing it in WWE -- ragdolling just about every woman who's stepped in the ring against her. So, bringing in Cyborg could be the perfect move.

UFC light heavyweight contender Ilir Latifi -- the #3 ranked fighter in the division -- called out Daniel Cormier to his face in L.A. ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

It's not a nasty feud by any means -- but Latifi definitely wants a title shot and, when he saw Cormier on Thursday, he let the trash talk fly.

Cormier said he'd beat Latifi's ass -- saying it would be like taking "free money."

We spoke with Latifi after the incident and he reiterated that he thinks Cormier is a fatty ... and needs to give him a shot like a true champion.

Latifi says he knows Cormier wants the superfight with Brock Lesnar -- but also says he wants to defend his 205 crown before retiring and tells us he's just the right guy.

With Logan Paul saying he wants a real UFC fight -- here's a reality check from one of the best in the game ... YOU WILL LOSE!

UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley says he's been impressed with Logan's training sessions as he gears up for his boxing match with KSI, but when it comes to UFC ... Logan ain't beating anyone.

Remember, Logan says he wants to fight CM Punk -- but Tyron says straight-up that ain't gonna happen.

There's a lot more on this week's episode of 'The Hollywood Beatdown' ... including Tyron's prediction in the Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov fight!

Tyron also updates us on his training camp for his fight against Darren Till at UFC 228 on Sept. 8 in Dallas.

Who needs fighting lessons from Muhammad Ali when you've got martial arts legend Michael Jai White?

Michael -- an actor who owns 8 black belts -- wants to teach YOU to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. His instructional video is going viral, so we HAD to discover Michael's secrets to kicking ass and taking names.

We also wanted to know ... would Michael beat Wesley Snipes in a fight? Turns out, there's way too much brotherly love between them for a potential showdown.

Ex-NFL star Greg Hardy -- who's been killing people in his short MMA career -- says he's 100% focused on fighting in the UFC and wouldn't even consider going back to the NFL ... with one exception.

"I'm not putting any brakes on the UFC movement, man. I'm going all in with it," Hardy told the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show.

But, Hardy added ... "I'm not crazy, man. I'm not gonna turn down anybody's $10, $15 million, but I can't see myself stepping off this path."

Hardy is still playing semi-pro football with the Richmond Roughriders -- but, with Dana White clearly pumped about the guy's potential as a UFC fighter, those days may be coming to an end very soon.

FYI, Hardy's 5 MMA fights have lasted a grand total of about 3 and a half minutes.

Mike Tolbert only needed to see 17 seconds of Greg Hardy in an Octagon to make a HUGE prediction about his ex-NFL teammate ... telling TMZ Sports, "I could see him being the heavyweight champ of the UFC one day!"

The ex-Panthers fullback -- who was with Hardy for three seasons in Carolina -- tells us he was so impressed with Greg after his fight Tuesday ... he sees a belt in Hardy's future.

"I think if he stays true to it and puts all of his effort into it and continues training," Tolbert says, "... I think he'll be one of the top names in the UFC the next few years."

It's a big statement from Mike ... considering Greg's two fights in a UFC Octagon only total 74 seconds -- but Tolbert knows firsthand what Greg's capable of achieving.

"One of the most athletic people I've ever played with," Mike says.

Logan Paul says he's dead serious about a combat sports career after his fight with KSI in less than 3 weeks -- and has a message for Dana White ... BRING ON CM PUNK!!!

Logan has been training like a maniac for the August 25 boxing match in England (which some say could have more viewers than Floyd vs. Conor) -- but tells TMZ Sports he's always dreamed of fighting in the UFC.

"I want to fight a UFC fighter," Logan told us with his brother, Jake Paul, at LAX ... "I've wrestled my whole life."

It's true -- Logan was a pretty solid high school wrestler in Ohio and our sources tell us he's been looking pretty good in the ring too.

"I've done athletics my whole life," Logan says ... "Dana White, are you watching this, bro? Pick a fight for me."

Logan says he wants CM Punk -- but his brother, Jake, is aiming higher ... saying he really believes he could take Conor McGregor with enough training. Logan was all about it.

Nate Diaz says he still hasn't made up his mind about whether he'll fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 230 in November ... telling TMZ Sports, "Time will tell."

The UFC star was leaving Real Food Daily in L.A. on Tuesday afternoon when we followed up about the comments he made on Friday -- when he threatened to bail on the UFC event.

Nate essentially tells us he'll fight if he feels like it -- "We'll see what happens."

We asked if he WANTS to fight -- and he told us, "I don't want to fight anybody."

Couple more things ... Nate also says his brother, Nick Diaz, will likely return to the UFC "probably next year."

Greg Hardy just destroyed a grown-ass man in 17 seconds in his second UFC fight ... and Dana White is fired up!

Hardy -- the former NFL star -- had already won a UFC contract on Dana's Tuesday night contender series back in June, but Dana wanted to book him a second fight on the show to get him more experience.

So, Hardy stepped in the Octagon again Tuesday night against Tebaris Gordon, and if you blinked ... you missed Hardy unleash an epic can of whoop ass that resulted in another ferocious victory.

Hardy has only had a handful of MMA fights since he decided to focus on becoming a pro fighter -- but he's destroyed every single opponent he's faced. Dana has previously told us he wants to get Hardy more fights before putting him on a major UFC card.