MMA

Greg Hardy believes he can be a 2-sport athlete -- and says he's convinced he's exactly what the New England Patriots defense needs to get back to the Super Bowl.

In fact, Hardy -- who's been dominating in MMA -- is making his case to Bill Belichick as to why the organization should take a chance on him.

"Mr. Belichick, I would be under your regime, boss man. Following orders, doing whatever you need me to do, baby. I'm the ultimate team guy!!"

Hardy's NFL career was sidelined after his 2014 domestic violence case. His conviction was overturned but many people believe he got off on a technicality. Hardy has maintained his innocence.

He hasn't played in the NFL since the 2015 season -- but insists he's ready to go RIGHT NOW.

30-year-old Hardy says he's had a major impact on every team he's played for -- and he'd do the same exact thing for the Pats.

He also believes Tom Brady could use the help on the other side of the ball -- and wants to prove he's worthy of another shot in the league.

In case you were wondering whose side Drake's on for the UFC 229 Lightweight Championship bout between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov ... this video should clear it up.

The "In My Feelings" rapper seemed to appear on the stage out of nowhere during Conor and Khabib's public weigh-in Friday night in Vegas ... draped in an Irish flag.

After Conor flaunted his fighter bod for the cheering crowd, he got a hug from Drake before the ceremonial face-to-face with his opponent ... which got a little heated.

McGregor clearly violated Dana White's "no touching" rule before giving a high-kick in Khabib's direction. Khabib seemed unfazed. Both fighters made weight earlier Friday.

Saturday night can't come soon enough.

By the way ... even though it looked like Drake was just all of a sudden onstage supporting Conor, he actually walked in with him.

There must not have been any major Kentucky Basketball events for him to attend instead.

Conor McGregor's manager, Audie Attar, is going to make millions of bucks Saturday night ... as a 10 percenter!

We got Audie at a bar at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas, and he scoffed at reports stating Conor is only raking in $3 mil from Saturday's Khabib fight. There are other reports that Conor's pulling in closer to $100 mil. Our intel is that it's somewhere in the middle.

Audie teases our photog with a Mayweather/McGregor 2 fight possibly in the future.

Greg Hardy's had a nice run to start his fighting career ... but it'll all come crashing down as soon as he stops "fighting bums" -- so says ex-UFC star Brendan Schaub.

We got the UFC fighter-turned-MMA analyst out at LAX ... and he pulled no punches when it came to breaking down Hardy's fight career -- both present and future.

"There's other guys I would market over Greg Hardy for a number of reasons," Schaub says.

"He's not young, he's fighting bums."

Brendan says he sees Greg's run -- which has already featured 3 devastating knockouts in 3 bouts -- coming to an end as soon as he gets to "those real killers in the UFC."

In fact ... Brendan tells us if Shawne Merriman and Hardy go toe-to-toe in a scrap that they both want -- Schaub says he's got "Lights Out" in the match.

Jake Paul says he's 100,000% positive his bro, Logan Paul, would wreck CM Punk in a real UFC fight -- and now he's firing back at Dana White, who's been trashing the idea all over town.

"Dana White's thinking small," Jake told us outside Craig's with his GF, Erika Costell.

Remember, after Logan fought KSI in a wildly successful pay-per-view fight on YouTube in August ... the social media star told us his goal is to fight in the UFC Octagon -- and he's dead serious.

Enter UFC honcho Dana White who immediately shot Logan down -- warning he'd get "hurt badly."

But, Jake says Logan's no punk bitch -- he's a real athlete with legit combat training.

"My brother's an athlete and has a wrestling background, 5th place at Ohio Division 1 state wrestling (in high school). Has boxed for a year now, will get another year of boxing under his belt before his next fight with KSI."

"Dana White, you might watch this, Dana. You're thinking small. I know you're about the money. Let my brother fight!!"

UFC's "Platinum" Mike Perry is so confident Conor McGregor will beat Khabib's ass on Saturday -- he went to a Vegas sportsbook and plunked down hundreds of dollars on the Irish superstar.

"I got Conor McGregor ... by very exciting knockout. He's gonna f*cking kill it," Perry told us.

And, he's backing it up with cold hard cash -- telling us he put a couple hundred dollars on a parlay that includes McGregor over Khabib.

We don't think there's anything wrong with a UFC fighter betting on another UFC fighter -- we just don't hear about it very often.

That's not the only money Perry is looking to make -- he wants a $50 MILLION fight of his own one day and tells TMZ Sports he's willing to step into the boxing ring to get it.

In fact, he's calling out Canelo Alvarez -- and he already has a plan to beat the boxing champ!

"Imma cheat. Imma elbow his ass!"

Khabib Nurmagomedov mauled and violently submitted Michael Johnson when they fought 2 years ago ... and now he's out for revenge -- as in, he wants a rematch.

Johnson -- who's beaten badasses like Tony Ferguson and Edson Barboza -- landed a few clean punches (and arguably stunned Khabib) back in 2016 ... but the fight was pure domination by Nurmagomedov.

So, logic dictates MJ steer wayyyyy clear of Khabib, right?

Wrong.

Johnson tells TMZ Sports he's dead serious about running the fight back ... and this time, Michael says, he'll win.

"When I fought [Khabib] I was a little too nervous about his wrestling and my feet weren't under me. I was throwing wild punches."

But, he's learned ... "I wouldn't be so keen on getting held, and things would be a lot different."

Fat UFC paychecks for Conor McGregor mean fat UFC paychecks for Tyron Woodley ... at least that's what the welterweight champ is sayin'.

Check out Tyron when he learns Conor will make somewhere between $50 MILLION and $100 MILLION for his UFC 229 fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov ... it's music to Tyron's ears.

And why?

It's not just that high tide floats all boats -- Tyron says he truly believes he could be next in line to fight Conor (if Conor really wants a shot at the welterweight belt) which would mean BANK for Tyron.

"I see they're giving out big checks, I know my sh*t's gonna be nice the next time around," Tyron said on 'The Hollywood Beatdown.'

There's more ... Tyron breaks down the Machine Gun Kelly fight -- plus, tells us why he's giving props to Daniel Cormier.

And, ya gotta watch how fired up Tyron gets when he watches a special video message from Snoop Dogg!!!

Ever wonder what it feels like to get punched HARD by Conor McGregor?

Well, this guy knows -- he's Conor's training partner -- and tells TMZ Sports the raw power is strong enough to OBLITERATE every bone in Khabib's body.

Meet John Redmond -- a pro MMA fighter who trains with McGregor at the legendary Straight Blast Gym in Ireland.

In fact, you might remember John as the guy who was fighting at Bellator 187 last year when Conor jumped into the cage and started going berserk on the ref. Good times ...

Now, John says Conor is just too strong, too skilled and too experienced for Khabib -- HE'S GONNA SMASH THE GUY!!

"Khabib, he has a record of 26-0 but he's fought a lot of bums along the way," Redmond says.

"He's never fought a precision striker who can put a shot on your jaw and leave you unconscious."

"I've been in the cage with Conor, I've felt his power, I've felt his shots. The guy's not coming to play around here."

Watch the clip ... John says this fight's over in the FIRST ROUND -- when Khabib meets a particularly violent end.

BTW, John didn't make the trip out to Vegas -- he stayed in Ireland where he says the entire country is going crazy and pounding Conor's whiskey to gear up for UFC 229.

Every so often a man finds himself at a crossroads, where the choice he makes will forever alter the course of his life. Or, in Matt Damon's case -- he has 2 awesome choices and really can't lose.

Here's the deal -- Damon's a huge UFC fan and, on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Conor McGregor will take on Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight championship at UFC 229. It's a highly-anticipated fight and will be a huge draw, and Matt's got a seat Octagon-side for the action.

But as we all know ... Damon also KILLED as Brett Kavanaugh on last weekend's "Saturday Night Live." Almost everyone wants and expects Matt to play the role again this weekend ... especially with the full Senate vote on Kavanaugh expected on Saturday.

Apologies to Lorne Michaels ... but sources close to Damon tell us he's decided to go to Vegas for the fight.

We're told the lure of McGregor's return to UFC outweighed a reprise as Kavanaugh.

UFC badass Michelle Waterson says she's beaten up opponents so badly, they've actually defecated themselves DURING THE FIGHT ... telling TMZ Sports, "It happens."

The Karate Hottie is fighting this weekend at UFC 229 against Felice Herrig -- who famously made Justine Kish soil the Octagon during a UFC fight in 2017.

So, when Waterson stopped by the TMZ office ... we had to ask if she was afraid of Herrig pulling the same move when they square off on Oct. 6.

"I ain't worried," Michelle said ... "She ain't even gonna get there."

"Plus, I've made people do that stuff too!"

Talk about beating the crap out of someone!!!!!

Waterson doesn't name names -- but explains why the in-ring brown-down isn't as uncommon as one would think.

10:09 AM PT -- Conor just showed up and weighed in at 154.5 ... which means both he and Khabib have made weight.

The fight is now officially set to be a lightweight championship bout!!!!

LET'S GOOOOO!!!

Daniel Cormier was right ...

Khabib Nurmagomedov has weighed in for his championship fight against Conor McGregor at UFC 229 ... and he was a perfect 155 pounds.

Khabib has had issues with weight before -- he bailed out of UFC 209 (against Tony Ferguson) after issues with his weight cut went so poorly, he was hospitalized days before the fight.

He also had weight issues at UFC 160 -- when he was 3.5 pounds over the 155 limit when facing Abel Trujillo. They ultimately fought at a catch weight because Khabib couldn't shed the weight in time.

There are much bigger stakes for Saturday's fight against Conor McGregor -- the lightweight championship is on the line.

Nate Diaz is rooting for Khabib and Conor to BOTH lose at UFC 229 -- saying he already "slapped the sh*t out of both of 'em" ... and neither one deserves to be champ!

That said, Nate also believes Conor is the favorite to win ... because "Khabib is scared for his life."

Diaz says it simply comes down to fight style -- noting Khabib "fights like a scared little bitch" on the ground while Conor will stand up and trade blows like a beast.

"I think Conor has got a way better fight style."

Nate also says Khabib hasn't proven himself against any real quality opponents -- "That fool ain't fought nobody."

Diaz makes it clear he's not rooting for either guy -- he wants a double knockout, so they both lose.

The big question ... would Nate take a 3rd fight against Conor to settle the score once and for all?

"I ain't fighting no trilogy. He already got his ass whipped. He can fight everybody else. I got shit to do too."

Conor McGregor just went off in his UFC 229 press conference -- vowing to destroy Khabib Nurmagomedov ... and claiming he'll be a billionaire by age 35!

Conor showed up almost 30 minutes late to the event in Las Vegas -- blaming crazy traffic. Khabib had left by the time McGregor showed up.

But, Conor didn't disappoint ... screaming about how much he hates Khabib, how great his whiskey tastes and how much money he expects to make.

Dana White had told us McGregor could make a Mayweather check ($100 mil) but Conor says the number will probably be closer to $50 mil.

Conor also accused Khabib's manager of being a terrorist who was pulled off a plane on Sept. 11, 2001 and detained by authorities. We're reaching to Khabib's camp for his side of the story.

Remember, Conor and Khabib HATE each other. When Conor threw that steel dolly at the bus in Brooklyn earlier this year, he was aiming for Khabib.

And, at the last press conference a few weeks ago, Conor called Khabib a "little rat, little weasel" ... "fanboy bitch" ... and "mad backwards c*nt."

Nurmagomedov promised to smash Conor's face in.

They'll finally get a chance to settle the beef once and for all on Saturday at UFC 229.

Who's ready?!

Conor McGregor could be the first 9-FIGURE fighter in UFC history ... judging by the way his fight with Khabib is trending ... so says Dana White.

The UFC honcho tells us ... UFC 229 is trending to get between 2.6 and 3 MILLION pay-per-view buys -- which would make it the 3rd largest PPV event in combat sports history.

The biggest PPV fight ever is Mayweather vs. Pacquaio (4.6 million) followed by Mayweather vs. McGregor (4.3 million).

Conor has famously bragged about pulling a $100 million check for the Mayweather fight -- so we had to ask if he could get a similar check for this fight.

"Of course he can," White told us ... "You start to look at the PPV numbers with Conor McGregor, he's one of the biggest PPV draws of all time."

But, Dana says Conor's bigger play is his whiskey -- telling TMZ Sports he honestly believes Proper No. 12 could turn McGregor into a BILLIONAIRE.

Two ex-UFC champions have signed on to fight each other in a jiu-jitsu event in Vegas ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Frank Mir (former UFC heavyweight champ) will take on Forrest Griffin (former UFC light heavyweight champ) at the Black Belt CBD Invitational on October 20.

Griffin hasn't taken a pro fight since July 2012 -- when he beat up Tito Ortiz at UFC 148.

As for Mir, he fought in April at Bellator 198 -- when he was defeated by Fedor Emelianenko in the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament.

As for the CBD Invitational, we're told Ana Vieira, Catherine Perret, Bia Masquita and Luiza Moteiro are also fighting on the card.

Event organizers are touting the fight card as the first of its kind to offer the same purse for male and female fighters.

"We’re a woman-founded and woman-led company, born and bred in Las Vegas, and Jiu Jitsu is a huge part of our culture and even my family – my daughter loves to train Jiu Jitsu,” Black Belt CBD CEO and founder Krista Whitley said.

"We specialize in CBD-based performance-training products made for serious athletes of all genders, and when we launched the Black Belt CBD Invitational, it was only natural that we bring this philosophy into the Jiu Jitsu community."