MMA

Greg Hardy vs. Shawne Merriman ... in a fist fight?!

Yeah, this could actually happen.

Shawne -- the former NFL superstar -- is about to compete in his first bare knuckle boxing match ... and if he wins, "Lights Out" says he'd LOVE to get in the ring against Hardy.

Of course, Hardy has been crushing everybody since transitioning from the NFL to MMA -- and has already earned a development contract with the UFC.

Now, Merriman is following Hardy's lead ... sorta.

The ex-Chargers Pro Bowl linebacker signed a deal with the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation to brawl on Nov. 9 against Mike Bourke -- a dude who once knocked out Ken Shamrock.

If Merriman wins, he tells TMZ Sports ... a superfight with Hardy would be awesome.

"I'll definitely be open to see what Greg Hardy got to offer."

By the way, this isn't some fun experiment for Merriman -- he's been seriously training for years and believes, since he's only 34, he can have a real future in combat sports.

It all starts with Mike Bourke -- and Shawne says he's already putting together his fight plan.

Fresh off his destruction of Darren Till, UFC champ Tyron Woodley is now targeting the rap game -- dropping his first single with Wiz Khalifa ... "I'll Beat Yo Ass!!!"

The Chosen One gave us a taste on 'The Hollywood Beatdown' -- explaining how a late-night recording session turned into a bangin' new anthem ... and why some of the biggest names in hip-hop are getting involved.

And, he's already got Snoop Dogg down for the remix!!!!

There's a lot more ...

Tyron also explains how he dislocated his thumb punching Till's face at UFC 228 -- but it won't stop him from fighting Colby Covington at UFC 230 in November ... if the paycheck's right.

And, Logan Paul vs. Sage Northcutt?? Tyron says Sage better not underestimate the YouTube star ...

Hell, Tyron says he's even down to TRAIN Logan if he's serious about trying to fight in the UFC.

Who gets punched in the face this week? Watch and find out.

Cops have arrested ex-UFC fighter Melvin Guillard for that brutal bar attack in Colorado last week -- and it turns out he's facing domestic violence charges for allegedly attacking his GF back in April.

We broke the story ... Guillard was allegedly captured on video beating the hell out of people at Bar Standard on Sept. 3 -- knocking at least one man out cold.

Officials issued a warrant for his arrest -- but didn't have to look too hard for the guy ... since he had a court date in CO on Sept. 10 for ANOTHER assault case.

Turns out, Guillard was arrested back in April for allegedly roughing up and strangling his girlfriend during a heated drunken argument.

According to the police report, the alleged victim told cops she had asked Guillard when he was finally going to leave his wife so they could be together ... and that's when he snapped.

She claims Guillard choked her multiple times -- and at one point, "she was scared he 'might kill her.'"

When cops arrived, they noticed injuries to her face and neck and arrested Guillard on the spot for 2nd-degree assault, strangulation.

He was due to appear in court for that case on Sept. 10 -- and when he showed up, he was taken into custody for the Sept. 3 bar attack.

Guillard was booked for 2nd and 3rd-degree assault for the bar fight. He was arraigned early Thursday morning. We're told he's still in custody.

The 35-year-old fighter was a rising star in MMA when he first started out, appearing on "The Ultimate Fighter" Season 2 ... and beat UFC stud Jeremy Stephens back in 2010.

He also got beat up by some of the biggest names in the business including Nate Diaz, Justin Gaethje and Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone.

Here's new video of Conor McGregor hitting the gym to prep for his superfight with Khabib Nurmagomedov -- and he looks scary good.

He's sparring, he's grappling, he's knocking people on their asses ... it's impressive stuff.

Of course, Conor hasn't had an MMA fight since defeating Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in 2016 -- but he's booked to make his triumphant return to the Octagon at UFC 229 on Oct. 6.

Some people are worried Conor could have "ring rust" -- but when you're looking at the new highlight video, he seems sharp and strong.

Obviously, it's heavily edited -- but we all know what Conor's capable of ... and it's cool to see him back in beast mode.

As for Khabib, that dude is an absolute monster -- he's 26-0 and beat the dog snot out of just about everyone he's faced.

The two have bad blood -- remember, when Conor attacked that bus at Barclay's Center back in April, he was gunning for Khabib ... who had disrespected one of Conor's training partners earlier that week.

Floyd Mayweather dished out advice for Khabib -- telling him not to underestimate Conor, who's a "warrior."

Conor shot back with some insults for the entire Mayweather family.

Wanna hear something gross? Imagine putting your opponent in a KNEEBAR and then hearing it POP!!!!!

That's exactly what happened to UFC star Aljamain Sterling this weekend -- when he was ripping away at Cody Stamann's knee and heard it explode right in the Octagon!

The "Funkmaster" was ripping Stamann's left leg over his head with an excruciatingly painful move, when he pulled just a little too hard and heard the joint go snap, crackle, POP!

"I heard it bro," Sterling tells TMZ Sports ... "It was a nasty one!"

Sterling says he feels bad for Stamann and hopes he heals up soon -- but fears the dude tore his LCL and maybe even more ... judging by the way the injury went down.

Injury aside, Sterling's victory was super impressive and Aljamain says Dana White took notice -- even promising to send him a little bonus check in the mail for putting on a show at UFC 228.

Congrats, man ... you earned it!

Tyron Woodley says his skull-crushing victory over Darren Till at UFC 228 solidifies him as the greatest welterweight fighter of ALL TIME ... putting him over Georges St-Pierre.

"The Chosen One" was fired up Monday morning after notching his 4th title defense in a row -- but admitted to TMZ Sports his elbow and hands were sore from bashing in Till's face.

"I don't think [he landed one shot on me]. I think the stats show one, but I didn't feel one. His head connected with my elbow a lot. That motherf**ker is sore," Tyron said.

"I'm like, 'Damn! What's your head made out of?!'"

As far as his legacy is concerned, Tyron says there's no question -- "I am the greatest welterweight of all time. No disrespect to Georges St-Pierre, but I don't have to fight him to prove that."

Tyron goes on to explain why he deserves the #1 spot over GSP.

By the way, Tyron has previously called out GSP to his face on "The Hollywood Beatdown" back in November ... but St-Pierre wouldn't commit to a scrap.

By the way, we also asked Tyron if there's a chance he'd fight Conor McGregor down the line -- since the two had beef backstage at UFC 205 back in 2016 ... and Tyron's definitely down.

Tyron told us Conor needs to focus on getting through Khabib Nurmagomedov next month first -- and then "maybe" the two can work something out.

Ex-MMA star War Machine insists he's no longer the woman-beating maniac he used to be -- he's found Jesus and changed his life ... and he's begging his ex-GF for forgiveness.

War Machine's story made national headlines -- he was a super talented UFC fighter who lost it all in 2014 when he viciously attacked his then-girlfriend, Christy Mack, when he caught her with another man.

Mack's injuries were horrific -- 18 broken bones, broken eye socket, broken nose and a lacerated liver. The other victim, Corey Thomas, was choked out and bitten before escaping.

War Machine was eventually convicted on 29 felony counts and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 36 years.

Now, the imprisoned fighter -- real name Jon Koppenhaver -- is speaking for the first time from behind bars as part of a documentary by Jon Bravo ... and he's expressing serious remorse.

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't regret that, and I hate it," he says.

"Nobody hates me as much as I hate the man that I used to be."

Machine says he initially blamed Christy for the incident because she was cheating on him -- but has now realized none of it was her fault ... he was the bad guy, period.

"From the bottom of my heart, I apologize to Christy. I'm sorry, Christy."

Conor McGregor just got called the HELL out, and not by a scrub either ...

The guy doing the talking is 28-0 welterweight champ Keith "One Time" Thurman, who says he'd destroy Conor on any shaped mat -- that includes Octagons.

McGregor has obviously tried his hand at boxing before, getting beat up by Floyd Mayweather in Vegas last summer ... Keith told TMZ Sports if he ever got his hands on Conor, it'd be WORSE.

"I'd beat Conor McGregor's ass, I'd beat his ass. He would've got knocked out. If he fought a real young welterweight ... he would've got knocked out for the whole world to see."

He's obviously referring to the boxing ring -- but if you think Thurman is scared to beat Conor at HIS game ... you're wrong.

"I'll take Conor in the Octagon. Ain't like he's throwing a lot of kicks anyway."

BTW ... anyone wondering when Keith is coming back to boxing, he addresses his future below, and it seems either Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, or Manny Pacquiao is in for a headache.

NBA stud Deron Williams was once offered a real-deal fight with Greg Hardy ... and wanna guess what his response was??

Yeah, it was a firm HELL NO.

Deron is actually a pretty legit MMA fighter ... dude has a serious wrestling background and he even co-owns Fortis MMA in Dallas where 3 fighters on the UFC 228 card train.

In fact ... UFC heavyweight Rashad Coulter -- who works out with Williams -- tells TMZ Sports, "He's a good wrestler and has fast hands."

But, when word of those skills got around to the Legacy Fighting Alliance -- where Hardy used to scrap -- they asked if Deron wanted to fight Greg ... D-Will's response was a swift no.

"Are they crazy right now!?" Williams says.

"Greg Hardy has to cut weight to make 265. You think I'm getting in there with that animal!?"

Williams tells us there is one scenario where he might step into the Octagon for real -- albeit not against Hardy -- saying he'd be down to fight one day for charity.

As for his basketball future ... Williams sure seems like he's done with the NBA -- although he ain't officially closing that door yet.

UFC champ Tyron Woodley says he LOVES that Nike signed Colin Kaepernick -- because it's inspiring and brave ... and he strongly believes the QB is continuing the legacy of Muhammad Ali.

"When Muhammad Ali died, I think [Kaepernick] took the torch."

Tyron says Kaep could have easily taken his NFL money and shut up somewhere -- ignoring the glaring issues when it comes to police brutality against minorities ... but he did the courageous thing and spoke out.

... just like Ali.

There's a lot more on this episode of 'The Hollywood Beatdown' -- including Tyron's weight cut for his UFC 228 fight against Darren Till.

Tyron tells us everything about all of his last minute preparations -- including final meals and what music he listens to right before walking into the Octagon.

It's great stuff.

Ex-UFC fighter Melvin Guillard -- who fought the likes of Nate Diaz and Justin Gaethje -- brutally attacked and KO'd a man in a Colorado bar ... and now cops are on the hunt.

TMZ Sports has obtained surveillance footage which shows the 35-year-old getting into it with several people at Bar Standard in Denver around 2 AM on Monday morning.

After some pushing and shoving, you can see Guillard -- with his trademark bleach blonde hair -- cold-cock a bar patron in the face ... knocking the guy out cold before he hit the floor.

The victim was clearly unconscious and people ran to tend to him -- while a female patron tried to attack Guillard in retaliation. Guillard hit her too.

TMZ Sports spoke with a Denver Police Dept. spokesperson who told us several witnesses were able to identify the attacker as Guillard ... and now a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Guillard was a pretty promising MMA fighter when he first started out -- appearing on "The Ultimate Fighter" season 2. He famously scored a victory against UFC stud Jeremy Stephens back in 2010.

But, he also got his ass kicked a lot ... chalking up Ls to guys like Nate Diaz, Israel Adesanya, Justin Gaethje, Michael Johnson and Donald Cerrone.

Fresh off snatchin' James Vick's soul, Justin Gaethje's got a wish list of 3 of the baddest MF'ers in the UFC -- Conor McGregor, Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Gaethje joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (weeknights on FS1) just days after his devastating 87 second KO victory ... and he ain't lookin' to wait long before stepping back in the Octagon.

"Now, I needed this so bad. We're right back in the mix," Gaethje says ... "I'll even fight the loser of Khabib and Conor. Hell, I'm in."

Gaethje also says he's got work for Tony Ferguson -- who's fighting on the Conor-Khabib UFC 229 card in October.

"If something happens with Anthony Pettis. He stubs his toe, rolls an ankle. I'm in. I'll fight October 6th verse [Ferguson]. That's for damn sure."

"He's coming off a leg injury. I'll go in there and chop it off the rest of the way."

Mike Perry is hoping for a second shot at a first impression with Jon Jones ... 'cause the UFC fighter was HIGH AS BALLS when the two met earlier this month -- and he says Jon kinda hated him for it.

The hilarious tale all went down after Mike landed in Albuquerque to train at Jackson Wink MMA Academy ... when Perry decided eating a weed brownie before meeting one of the best ever would be a good idea.

"I had this f*cking brownie, and I was dead when Jon came through," Mike says.

"I didn't know it was going to be like that! So, Jon's like a little disappointed in me, because our first meeting the other day I was high as hell on some brownie!!"

Mike says he tried to mend the fences ... and he thinks he might have salvaged it -- 'cause he says Jon's agreed to grapple with him.

3:30PM PT -- Diaz released a statement addressing the case ...

"I'm grateful this case is finally over, I want to thank my team and my lawyer Ross Goodman for the excellent work. But most importantly, I want to thank the fans who stuck by me throughout this process. I'm happy to put this chapter of my life behind me and I'm looking forward to focusing on my return."

Nick Diaz is officially off the hook in his felony domestic violence case ... at least, according to the UFC star's attorney.

As we previously reported ... Diaz was arrested back in May after a woman claimed he slammed her to the ground and choked her in a Las Vegas home.

When cops arrived, officers say the woman had injuries -- she was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Diaz was facing 3 felony domestic violence charges and a misdemeanor -- serious business.

But now, Diaz's attorney Ross Goodman has told ESPN ... prosecutors have thrown out the case and Nick is in the clear.

"[Nick is] grateful the District Attorney's office was fair and thoughtful in reviewing this case based on the evidence," Goodman said to ESPN.

"Truth delayed is better than no truth at all and I trust that the ultimate dismissal of all charges with prejudice will be viewed as total vindication for Nick and clears his name from being associated with such horrific but false allegations."

We spoke with Nick after the incident -- and he joked that he was framed.

The biggest fight in UFC history will end in a loss for Conor McGregor -- 'cause he's NEVER fought a dude with strength like Khabib ... so says UFC star Kelvin Gastelum.

Kelvin tells TMZ Sports he's heard all about Khabib from other fighters ... and he sees no way McGregor will be able to overcome his power when they square off at UFC 229.

"Every time somebody speaks about Khabib, they tell me how strong he is and how he feels like a heavyweight once he gets a hold of you," Gastelum says.

"So, I feel like if he grabs a hold of Conor, he's never felt that kind of pressure and I think Khabib will get it done."

Kelvin's bold fight predictions didn't stop there ... 'cause he also tells us he's going to win his upcoming title bout with Robert Whittaker -- and he's even giving us the round it'll end in!!

By the way ... there's still no date set for that fight while Robert recovers from a broken hand.

Eryk Anders' opponent at UFC Fight Night really made an impression ... leaving his TEETH MARKS in Eryk's shin bone after he KO'd the dude with a leg strike to the face!!!

Anders was fighting Tim Williams on Saturday night -- and delivered the punishing blow with his left leg while Williams was trying to get up off the ground.

"His teeth marks are definitely in my shin," Anders said ... noting that his foot is fine and dandy after the fight.

By the way, Anders was a big college football star back in the day -- he was a linebacker on the 2009 Alabama BCS National Championship team and his sack in the 4th quarter sealed the game over Texas.

On top of that, Anders had a free agent contract with the Cleveland Browns after his Bama days ... as well as stints in the CFL and Arena Football League before taking fighting seriously full-time.

Now, he's an MMA fighter -- and he's a good one, too. So far, the 31-year-old has already racked up an impressive 11-1 record with some violent finishes.