MMA

Floyd Mayweather is clearing up the rumors about a possible boxing match with UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov -- telling TMZ Sports, "Oh, we fighting!"

"I'm my own boss," Floyd said in Bev Hills ... "So, I can't say what's going on on Khabib's end. But, on my end, we can make it happen."

Of course, Khabib and his manager called out Floyd after dominating Conor McGregor at UFC 229 ... though it was unclear if they wanted a boxing match or an MMA fight.

Floyd tells us he ain't getting in the Octagon with Khabib -- if he wants to brawl, it'll be in Floyd's discipline.

"He called me out. So, he gotta come to my world," Floyd said.

Mayweather says he expects a 9-figure payday -- and tells us he'll make $100 million MORE than when he fought Conor McGregor in 2017.

Floyd says he saw an interview where Khabib was talking trash about Floyd -- saying he couldn't knock Conor down in their boxing match while Khabib put Conor on the canvas in UFC 229.

"So, Khabib ... you got my leftovers. Whoopy-do."

As for the location of the Mayweather vs. Khabib fight -- Floyd says the only option is Vegas but Khabib will have to prove he can conduct himself like a professional inside and outside of the ring.

Floyd says he didn't see the melee after UFC 229 -- but he heard it was ugly and doesn't want Khabib to pull the same schtick when they fight.

Dana White tells TMZ Sports ... he and Khabib Nurmagomedov have worked out their issues and "The Eagle" will not be leaving the UFC.

"We're good with Khabib," Dana said ... "He's staying. This will all work out."

Remember, Khabib threatened to leave the organization if White fired his teammate, Zubaira Tukhugov, for his role in the post-fight madness at UFC 229.

"If you decide to fire him, you should know that you’ll lose me too," Khabib posted on Instagram last week.

So, when we saw Dana out in NYC moments ago, we had to ask if he felt there was a real risk that Khabib would walk.

"We worked it out. We're gonna get everything worked out. Obviously, he was a little upset and a little fired up."

He continued, "Listen, guys get very emotional man and that was a very emotional fight for him. At the end of the day, Khabib is a great guy and we've always had a great relationship with him."

The other question ... does this mean Khabib AND Zubaira will remain on the UFC roster?

"Well, [Khabib's] staying in the UFC," Dana said ... telling us he's not 100% sure about Zubaira's future.

He did assure us that Khabib is happy and "this will all work out."

Conor McGregor led the victory party for the Dallas Cowboys after the big win on Sunday -- raging with Ezekiel Elliott at a local nightclub ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

The UFC superstar changed out of his fancy blue sports coat and into a tight green party shirt to hit up Citizen in Dallas with his entourage and the Cowboys running back.

In fact, you can see Zeke chatting it up with one of Conor's pals. Sources say other Cowboys players were there as well.

We're told the guys arrived around midnight -- and Conor was walking around the place with a bottle of Proper 12 whiskey in his hand, continuing the endless publicity push for his new booze company.

There was definitely reason to celebrate -- the Cowboys beat up on the Jacksonville Jaguars all game long, racking up a 40-7 victory. Zeke rushed for 106 yards and a TD.

QUITTERS DON'T DESERVE REMATCHES ... so says Khabib Nurmagomedov's manager who says Conor McGregor fought so poorly at UFC 229 that he doesn't deserve another crack at the champ.

"This guy, he quit," Ali Abdelaziz tells TMZ Sports ... "How are we gonna give a guy a rematch? He's a bitch."

Remember, Khabib dominated the fight -- and ultimately forced Conor to tap out from a brutal neck crank in the 4th round where it looked like Khabib was gonna rip CM's head clean off.

But, that doesn't mean a rematch won't happen -- after all, Ali says he's a businessman and would happily allow Conor to get his ass kicked again ... if the price is right.

Or, as Ali puts it -- "[Conor] is a prostitute."

There's more ... Ali also has some strong words for Conor's coach, John Kavanagh -- a guy he's been beefing with for months.

Long story short, Ali says John can talk all the trash he wants ... but he better be prepared to back it up if they ever meet in the streets.

"If I'm inside an arena under regulations, I'm gonna respect the rules. But, outside the arena, there are no rules for me," Ali said.

If 50 Cent wants to steal Khabib Numagomedov from UFC to Bellator -- it's gonna take A LOT more than his "disrespectful" $2 million offer ... so says Khabib's manager.

We spoke with Ali Abdelaziz at a Professional Fighter's League event in Long Beach over the weekend -- and he started off by BLASTING Conor McGregor as a "bitch" and a quitter.

Remember, Conor publicly accused Ali of having some sort of connection to the Sept. 11 terror attacks ... allegations Ali has scoffed at.

"I'll slap the shit out of Conor," Ali told us ... "F**k Conor McGregor. Conor's a bitch. He quit in the fight. You cannot tell me Conor McGregor is a man. He is nothing."

As for 50 Cent, the rapper is now in business with the Bellator MMA promotion and has been trying to recruit Khabib over to the rival league. He recently made a $2 million offer to Khabib but Ali says it ain't nearly enough.

"For $2 million, [that won't even] open a Coca-Cola bottle for Khabib. Khabib make a lot of money. We talk about $50 MILLION and up, we can talk. But $2 mil? This is garbage."

Ali also says he's serious about setting up a superfight between Khabib and Floyd Mayweather -- saying if Floyd wants to dabble in MMA, Khabib would happily beat the snot out of him.

Lastly, we asked Ali about the alleged anti-Muslim slur we're told Conor's teammate, Dillon Danis, hurled at Khabib after UFC 229 ... inciting the brawl ... and Ali says he was "disgusted."

"I don't want to repeat it because it's so disgusting," Ali said about the slur ... and says officials have all the evidence they need to prove Dillon said something very offensive at the fight.

Tekashi69 was just turned away at the door trying to attend fight night on Long Island, and our sources say it's connected to a shooting months ago at the Barclays Center.

The rapper was stopped by security at the Nassau Coliseum in NY Saturday night as he was trying to make his way in for "Bellator 208: Fedor vs. Sonnen" ... sources close to the situation tell TMZ Sports.

We're told 6ix9ine planned to meet up with his pal and Bellator brand ambassador 50 Cent, but wasn't allowed entry. Fiddy wasn't there yet anyway ... but we're told it wouldn't have mattered.

As for why Tekashi's barred ... our sources say it stems from a shooting back in April at the Barclays Center connected to Tekashi's manager, Tr3yway. The same company that owns the Nassau Coliseum owns Barclays, and as we reported ... the rapper's persona non grata at that venue.

So ... we're told it's a case of the rapper being 86'd at both arenas. We also reached out to Bellator ... they had no comment.

Sources close to Tekashi have responded to the incident, telling us ... "It is unfortunate a venue would take it upon itself to treat a person unfairly based on allegations. What happened tonight at the Nassau Coliseum is disappointing."

Adam Silver says he's "counting his lucky stars" that he's not in Dana White's shoes ... but tells TMZ Sports the UFC honcho HAS to punish Khabib for the brawl he ignited at UFC 229.

We got the NBA commish leaving Michael's in NYC ... and he told us there's just gotta be repercussions for what Nurmagomedov did after whoopin' Conor McGregor last weekend.

"That's a pretty serious issue there," Silver says ... "They gotta deal with it. There's no place for that in sports."

Adam tells us he's actually spoken with people who were near the melee at T-Mobile Arena ... and Silver says, the feeling they had after the fight just CAN'T happen.

So, what would Silver's advice be to Dana when it comes to handling the situation??

"You've gotta look at the long-term health of your league," Silver says.

Luke Rockhold says he'd beat the snot out of Yoel Romero at light heavyweight ... telling TMZ Sports he'd be down for a rematch after UFC 230, but Romero's gotta make weight this time.

We spoke with Rockhold about his plans after his huge rematch with Chris Weidman in November ... and he's got his eye on the middleweight belt -- but he's not opposed to getting revenge on Romero.

Rockhold says he killed himself trying to make weight last time, when Yoel was 3 pounds overweight ... and he's not playing that game again with Romero.

"Yoel's a piece that can't make weight," Luke says. "I don't even know how he exists in the rankings. He missed weight for 2 back-to-back title fights. The guy's a cheap f*ck and I'll find him at light heavyweight if he wants to do it again."

Romero ain't the only one in Rockhold's crosshairs --- the dude UNLEASHES on the entire heavyweight division ... aside from a select few.

"There's a small percentage of heavyweights that are good. The rest suck. Plain and simple."

Ronda Rousey says Conor McGregor crossed the line promoting UFC 229 -- and injured her friends in the process -- telling TMZ Sports no one should break the law to sell a fight.

"I understand promoting fights and having to sell them. I really do," Ronda says ... "But, I don't think people have to get arrested in order to do that."

"I think I've been able to prove that you can make a fight exciting and make people really wanna see it without crossing any legal lines."

Ronda is obviously referring to the bus attack at Barclays Center -- when Conor and his gang of hooligans smashed up a bus with a steel dolly, injuring several UFC fighters who were inside.

"I think that Khabib jumping out of the Octagon was not as bad as throwing objects at a bus, because my friend Rose Namajunas was on that bus. My friend, Michael Chiesa, missed his fight because [he got cut by the glass]."

When asked if the UFC needs to draw a hard line and punish Khabib harshly for the post-fight melee ... Ronda had some stern words for her former employer.

"I think, if you're gonna draw the line there, you should have drawn it before that."

"I just feel like there has to be equal treatment all the way across the board. I don't think that anyone should get special treatment because they're a bigger draw."

Ronda is echoing the feelings of many critics who believe Conor should have received a substantial punishment from the UFC over the bus attack.

Dana White has insisted Conor has paid dearly -- he was arrested, he's being sued and he can't fight in New York. But, others feel he deserved a substantial suspension and fine as well.

And, Ronda doesn't stop there ... she also says the UFC should come down harder on fighters when it comes to punishing other misdeeds.

"I would be much more strict about everything. I say you get popped for steroids once, you’re banned for life," Ronda says.

"You know, but then again I’m not the promoter of a multi-million dollar organization."

"It’s just you have to think about, you know, from their perspective when is it not worth it anymore? I don’t want the company to be prioritizing this quarter over the next 10 years."

Ronda says she comes from a place of wanting to grow the sport and making it more family friendly.

"I don’t want it to get to the point where people are not buying tickets to go see fights live, because they are afraid of what could happen in the arena."

Some good news, bad news for MMA legend Rampage Jackson ...

GOOD NEWS -- He beat up Wanderlei Silva at Bellator 206 last month.

BAD NEWS -- He broke his left hand while punching the dude in the head!

It was the 4th meeting between the two -- and Rampage was able to even the series with a 2nd round TKO.

"I feel good," 40-year-old Rampage told TMZ Sports ... "I needed that."

Rampage revealed he was injured going into the fight -- "I hurt my right hand in my last sparring" -- but says he jacked up his other fist while inside the cage.

"I ended up fracturing my left hand on Silva's head."

Rampage showed us his hands -- you can see his left one is super swollen. He said he went to a hand specialist the very next day.

Metta World Peace & Ben Wallace agree that Khabib & Conor's post-UFC 229 brawl was intense ... but neither man seems to think it was as bad as their infamous 2004 "Malice In The Palace" fight.

BTW -- both these guys absolutely LOVE talking about the "Malice at the Palace."

Actually, we were joking ... they really wish it would never be brought up again, but they still both ultra cool to our camera guy, so it is what it is.

We got Ben at LAX (a minor miracle) and Metta out on the streets of L.A. and asked them what they thought about the whole dustup, being that they're experienced.

Remember -- Ben and Metta weren't just involved in the Pacers vs. Pistons mega-fight, THEY GOT IT JUMPED OFF -- as the first two guys to go.

Ben was first ... saying he's not sure 229 was worse ... but that he's rooting for it.

"I hope something surpasses it, so we can stop talking about it."

We got Metta next, asked him his thoughts.

"It was a pretty epic fight, but there's always fights all the time."

One thing that's pretty clear ... neither guy thinks there should be too stiff a penalty for the dustup, with Metta saying there should be no action by the UFC at all ... as long Khabib plays nice.

"I would say, 'don't do it again,' and he won't do it again."

If only David Stern would've been so cool in '04.

Khabib Nurmagomedov ain't gonna walk from the UFC because Dana White ain't gonna fire his teammates for the UFC 229 brawl -- at least not yet ... so says Tyron Woodley.

Tyron believes the bigger priority for the UFC is to book the Khabib vs. Conor rematch -- and the organization isn't gonna do anything to mess that up.

As we previously reported, Khabib said he would quit UFC forever if Dana fired his teammate, Zubaira Tukhugov -- a UFC fighter who stormed the Octagon after Khabib's victory.

Dana has not said what he'll do -- but Tyron strongly believes Zubaira's job is safe for now.

"I think what happens is [Khabib's] teammates and his brothers in crime are going to at least have employment until 'Khabib vs. Conor 2' happens," Tyron said on "The Hollywood Beatdown."

"I don't think anybody is gonna be cut from the UFC."

Tyron tells us how he thinks everything will play out after the incident -- including what will happen with Conor McGregor.

And, get this ... Tyron did the whole show from his DOCTOR'S OFFICE!!!

The UFC welterweight champ -- and his mom -- give the lowdown on his injury and recovery. Ya don't wanna miss this one.

Khabib Nurmagomedov rubbed elbows with another powerful political figure Thursday night -- Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov ... a man who's been accused of some pretty horrible stuff.

The two hung out at a Russian MMA gym -- described as a fight club -- where they posed for pics, ate some food and celebrated Khabib's victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 229.

Khabib commented about the meeting saying, "Thank you very much to Ramzan and all brotherly Chechnya."

"The way I am grateful to your support in words not to describe and praise to god who made us all brothers through our religion. And thank you very much for such a generous gift and most importantly respect shown to me."

Kadyrov is a HUGE fan of combat sports -- and recently kicked it with Floyd Mayweather.

This issue surrounding Kadyrov ... dude has a very controversial past -- littered with accusations of human rights violations from kidnapping to torture and murder. He's denied all wrongdoing.

But, what's undeniable ... Kadyrov says he doesn't want gay people in his country and has said on the record he'd ship them all to Canada if he could.

The U.S. State Dept. issued a warning in April 2017 saying it was "increasingly concerned" about the anti-LGBT movement in Chechnya -- after "numerous credible reports" indicating gay people were being detained, tortured and even killed based on their sexual orientation.

Kadyrov's father was appointed to lead Chechnya in 2000 by Vladimir Putin. And, when his dad died, Putin tapped Ramzan to take his place in 2007.

Of course, Khabib just met with Putin earlier this week.

Don't expect Chuck Liddell to pull a Khabib and jump out of the cage when he fights Tito Ortiz -- The Iceman says Tito is simply too dumb to get under his skin with trash talk.

"I don't think he's smart enough to say something to get me pissed off," Chuck tells TMZ Sports.

The two clash for the 3rd time on Nov. 24 -- and 48-year-old Chuck says he's been training his ass off for the fight ... promising to take 43-year-old Tito's head clean off.

We also asked Chuck for his thoughts on the Conor McGregor vs. Khabib fight at UFC 229 -- and if he thinks Khabib should get punished for the melee after the victory.

Khabib just went NUCLEAR on the UFC ... calling them out as hypocrites and laying down a major threat -- saying if his team is punished for the melee after UFC 229 -- he'll quit the UFC FOREVER.

Dana White laid down the gauntlet ... saying the members of Khabib's team who jumped into the Octagon and attacked Conor will be kicked out of the UFC for good.

Khabib has responded on social media ... making it clear he thinks the UFC is acting unfairly and essentially saying the whole post-fight brawl is UFC's fault for letting Team Conor push things too far.

"Why didn't you fire anyone when their team attacked the bus and injured a couple of people? They could have killed someone there, why no one says anything about insulting my homeland, religion, nation, family?"

"Why do you have to punish my team, when both teams fought. If you say that I started it, then I do not agree, I finished what he had started."

Khabib then went on to specifically address UFC fighter Zubaira Tukhugov -- the guy who punched Conor after the fight -- saying, if Dana kicks him out of the UFC, he can say goodbye to Khabib as well.

"If you decide to fire him, you should know that you’ll lose me too. We never give up on our brothers in Russia and I will go to the end for my Brother."

"If you still decide to fire him, don’t forget to send me my broken contract, otherwise I'll break it myself."

Nurmagomedov also addressed his $2 million purse that's being held ... telling the athletic commission they can keep it.

"And one more thing, you can keep my money that you are withholding. You are pretty busy with that, I hope it won’t get stuck in your throat. We have defended our honor and this is the most important thing."

UFC, your move.

Ronda Rousey says she needs to take her WWE cues from Drake -- "No New Friends" -- after getting ambushed and beat up by the Bella Twins on 'Raw' ... but she's already plotting her revenge!

"Nikki Bella, Brie Bella ... they’re a bunch of untrustworthy bitches," Rousey told us while hanging with her husband, Travis Browne, in L.A.

Ronda is taking on Nikki at "WWE Evolution" later this month -- the first-ever all-women's Pay-Per-View event -- and Ronda says her plan is to make Nikki pay!!!

"The most respectful thing for me to do is to go out and beat her right away, right?" Ronda said.

"So, I’m not gonna be respectful."

Ronda says she'll be documenting her journey leading up to the fight on RondaRousey.com -- sharing everything from training plans to fight videos.