MMA

You don't want to be an MMA fighter in Chechnya, especially when your opponent is the dictator's son.

There was a ridiculous "fight" between Ali Kadyrov -- the 15-year-old son of Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov -- and a dude named Islam Akbarov.

Kadyrov had Akbarov on the mat after landing a blow, and as he hovered over his opponent, the dictator's son delivered feather punches that looked anything but damaging. Akbarov was defending himself well, but the ref jumped in and stopped the fight, declaring the dictator's son the winner.

Some fans were outraged, saying the fight was clearly fixed.

As if more evidence was needed, the dictator Ramzan owns the promotion that hosted the fight.

Stephan Bonnar -- a UFC Hall of Famer and legend in MMA -- has died ... this according to the MMA promotion itself.

The UFC broke the news Saturday, writing ... "The UFC family is saddened by the tragic passing of UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar Thursday from presumed heart complications while at work." Per reports, he apparently died a couple days ago ... an official cause of death is pending.

UFC goes on to mention SB's storied career, adding ... "Stephan Bonnar was one of the most important fighters to ever compete in the Octagon," said UFC President Dana White. "His fight with Forrest Griffin changed the sport forever, and he will never be forgotten. The fans loved him, related to him and he always gave them his best. He will be missed."

Bonnar was an OG in UFC ... competing in the very first season of 'The Ultimate Fighter' back in 2005 ... an appearance which saw him go all the way to the finale. Although he lost his Light Heavyweight fight against Forrest Griffin ... his bout ended up earning him a contract with UFC, where he went on to compete at a high level for several years.

He fought Griffin again in a rematch, and went on to fight some big names in the sport thereafter ... including Jon Jones, Mark Coleman, Krzysztof Soszynski, Igor Pokrajac, Kyle Kingsbury, Anderson Silva and others. His record with UFC was 15-9-0 ... and in 2012, he retired. The following year, Dana White announced Bonnar would be inducted into the HOF.

In addition to MMA fighting, Bonnar also wrestled professionally ... including for leagues like Impact Wrestling. He also fought with Bellator MMA post-UFC.

Bonnar's legacy will be that he was one of the catalysts to help UFC grow into what it is today ... and he goes down as one of the sport's greatest known fighters to date. He's survived by his wife, Andrea, and their son Griffin. He was 45.

A cocaine scandal that rocked the foundation of ESPN five years ago ultimately led to a HUGE windfall for the UFC ... this according to Dana White.

The boss of the fighting org. spelled out the wild tale in an interview with Grant Cardone this month ... insisting it was all "a true story."

White explained that back in 2017, the UFC's deal with Fox was running out ... and when they had initially turned to ESPN about consummating a new pact -- the org. wasn't interested.

"You ever hear of John Skipper?" White asked Cardone during the sit-down chat. "John Skipper ran ESPN. Now, I think he runs DAZN. Runs ESPN, beloved, looks like the squarest dude on the planet."

"Older guy," White continued. "Hates UFC. Hates it. Hates UFC. Big soccer guy. For whatever reason, different people like different things. And I'm not s***ing on John Skipper. But this is a fact, this happened and this is a true story."

White says Skipper essentially blocked talks on a deal from ever going through ... but suddenly, out of nowhere, the ESPN prez announced his resignation.

At the time, Skipper said it was due to a struggle with "a substance addiction." He later revealed in a 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he had been a user of cocaine, and that "someone from whom I bought cocaine attempted to extort me."

"They threatened me, and I understood immediately that threat put me and my family at risk, and this exposure would put my professional life at risk as well," Skipper said. "I foreclosed that possibility by disclosing the details to my family, and then when I discussed it with Bob, he and I agreed that I had placed the company in an untenable position and as a result, I should resign."

White said that decision paved the way for a massive ESPN-UFC agreement ... that's now taken his company to new heights.

"John Skipper's cocaine dealer is gonna rat him out," White said. "So he has to tell Disney 'My cocaine dealer is gonna go public' or whatever, so he has to step down from ESPN, right at the time we're trying to make a new TV deal."

"Who do they put in as the new president?" White continued. "Jimmy Pitaro, who ran Yahoo! Sports for years. I've known him a long time. He's a great dude, and he loves the UFC. Now you got him, you got a guy named Kevin Mayer, who is really close to [Endeavor CEO] Ari [Emanuel], and we ended up doing the ESPN deal when our deal was up."

ESPN and UFC ended up agreeing to a 5-year, $1.5 billion deal.

Lionel Messi will attempt to win his first-ever World Cup on Sunday, but win or lose, the Argentinian soccer legend is one of the greatest athletes ever, according to fellow countryman, UFC star Santiago Ponzinibbio ... who compared him to America's most legendary athletes.

"I think it's Michael Jordan, these kind of guys. Legends of the sport, all-time. I think Messi is on this level. Michael Jordan. Tom Brady," Ponzinibbio told us, before also throwing out Muhammad Ali's name.

FYI, Santiago, who's coming off a UFC 282 win over Alex Morono, is from La Plata, Argentina ... about 200 miles from Messi's birthplace, Rosario, Argentina.

Of course, 35-year-old Messi, in his last WC, will lead Argentina when they take on Kylian Mbappe and his France squad for the FIFA World Cup Trophy.

According to the oddsmakers and experts, the game is about as close as could be ... though Santiago says he knows who's going to emerge victorious.

"Man, super, super exciting. I told you, I love soccer. Man, I really believe this team is gonna be champion of the world. They're playing so good."

Messi has accomplished nearly everything in the game. He's won a record seven Ballon d'Or awards and has been awarded about every other honor a soccer player could receive ... except that elusive World Cup.

"I think it's the only thing he needs to do to be complete," Ponzinibbio says, adding, "I think he's in the right spot to make history one more time and I'm excited. "

And, as far as worldwide popularity goes, Lionel, with 392 million, blows away some of the U.S.'s biggest and most popular athletes. LeBron James has 139 million Instagram followers. TB12 only has (relatively speaking) 13 million.

"Guerrilla warfare. I'm gonna take [Sean Strickland's] head off."

That's 38-year-old Jared Cannonier talking about his violent intentions for Saturday night ... when he and fellow middleweight contender, Strickland, 31, do battle in the main event at UFC Fight Night.

TMZ Sports talked to Cannonier -- the 3rd ranked contender at 185 lbs. -- and asked him about the matchup with Strickland ... a fight he expects to test him.

"Strickland is a dog in the cage. He'll get in your face and try and put his fist through it. And if you give him a chance, he'll talk some s**t to you as well. He's as good as anybody else in the top 10," Jared says.

"The Killa Gorilla" added ... "Like I said, he's a dog in there. If I give him the opportunity, he'll sink his teeth in and start shaking me all over the fucking cage, right? I'm ready for that. I'm ready to see somebody try to do that."

Strickland, ranked 7th, is one of the best middleweights in the world ... though he's coming off a loss to Alex Pereira. The now-champ starched Strickland in the first round of their UFC 276 scrap ... when SS made the mistake of trying to strike with Alex.

Cannonier's also coming off a loss -- a title fight at 276 -- where he lost via unanimous decision to Israel Adesanya.

Despite the L to Izzy ... Jared's on the winning side more than not. He's beaten beasts like Derek Brunson, Kelvin Gastelum and Jack Hermansson.

As for how he expects to add Strickland's name to that list ... Jared's gunning to make Sean tap.

"I would like to have a submission. This will be my 15th fight in the UFC. Who knows I might knock him to the ground and jump on a submission or something. It's time to get a submission in the UFC."

As if making history wasn't enough for Raul Rosas Jr., the youngest UFC fighter ever tells TMZ Sports he wanted to return to the Octagon just 7 days after beating his opponent in the very first round!

Of course, at just 18 years and 63 days, Rosas Jr. etched his name in the record books when he stepped foot in the cage, becoming the youngest fighter to ever scrap in the UFC.

But, he didn't just show up ... Raul won, and needed just half a round to beat Jay Perrin, a 29-year-old full-grown adult.

And, when we asked Rosas Jr. when he wanted to fight again, it'd be an understatement to say he didn't want to wait very long.

"Thank God I was able to come out the same way I stepped in which was with no injuries. Thankfully, I feel good, and hopefully, I'm talking to my manager, seeing if I'm able to get a fight this weekend at the APEX. I know there's a show going on," Raul said.

"Hopefully I can step in there, whether it's 135 or 145. I want to step back in there as soon as possible, so hopefully I can fight this weekend, if not, we'll look at dates next year and see when I can step into the Octagon."

Rosas Jr. signed with the UFC after Dana White offered him a contract following his Contender Series fight in September ... a unanimous decision win over a 25-year-old opponent named Mando Gutierrez.

After his UFC 282 fight, Raul said he wanted to buy his mom a new van so she could drive him around.

We also talked to Raul about the van (he's getting it) and much more ... including how his friends reacted to their buddy winning in the UFC.

Dana White may just have his next big superstar ... 'cause as long as Paddy Pimblett keeps on stacking W's, the UFC honcho believes "The Baddy" could reach Conor McGregor-like status!

"He has that 'it' factor that I always talk about and you know, and obviously he's undefeated here in the UFC. If he can keep winning these key fights, this kid will be a massive superstar," White told TMZ Sports.

"The other thing is too and you know about this, the thing with his dog going to the bathroom was so unbelievably viral, it was insane. There's things that go viral on the Internet but you guys did like a 10-minute piece on that thing on TMZ and other outlets did. It was everywhere! It was really big in America, so stuff like that doesn't hurt, either."

27-year-old Pimblett -- 3-0 in the UFC (19-3 overall) -- is fighting Jared Gordon as part of the co-main event at UFC 282 ... where Paddy will look to extend his UFC unbeaten streak.

As for the comparisons to McGregor ... here's what Dana had to say.

"It's never an insult when somebody compares you to a great or one of the biggest names in the sport. I think that [Israel Adesanya] didn't like it because he doesn't like Jon Jones and Jon Jones doesn't like him. I think that's why he didn't, but it's never an insult. It's a compliment."

We also asked White about all other things 282-related (fight's going down Saturday night from Las Vegas) ... including the UFC president's feelings on Jiri Prochazka's injury, and his relinquishing of the light heavyweight title.

Dana also weighs in on former champ Glover Teixeira -- who was supposed to fight Jiri -- instead opting NOT to fight a new opponent on the card.

White actually believes it was a smart strategic move on the part of the 43-year-old fighter.

Bottom line ... with or without Prochazka and Texeira, Dana believes it's a kickass card.

Big break for Israel Adesanya ... TMZ Sports has learned the UFC star's brass knuckles case will be dismissed if he stays out of trouble for the foreseeable future.

According to a spokesperson for the Queens District Attorney's Office, Adesanya's case was called on Tuesday -- and he was issued an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (ACD).

Per the spokesperson, that means if Adesanya keeps his nose clean for the next six months, he will no longer be facing criminal charges.

We broke the story, Adesanya was initially arrested back on Nov. 16 -- just four days after his loss to Alex Pereira -- after authorities say he went through security at JFK airport with metal knuckles.

He was ultimately issued a desk appearance ticket -- a written notice from a police officer -- and ordered to appear in court on Tuesday.

Adesanya's manager, Tim Simpson, told us at the time of the arrest that "Israel was handed a gift by a fan, which he put in his luggage. When flagged at the airport, Israel quickly disposed of the item, and cooperated with authorities."

UFC star Dustin Poirier provided an update on his battle with a gnarly Staph infection on Tuesday ... showing off his swollen left foot from his hospital bed.

"The Diamond" has been getting treatment all week ... and judging by his recent pic, it ain't goin' too hot for the lightweight.

"Wut da helllll," Poirier said on Twitter ... alongside a shot of the deformed foot.

Poirier is hoping to finally get out of the hospital on Wednesday ... but made the best of his stay on Monday night, when he tuned in to his New Orleans Saints' matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Unfortunately for Poirier, it wasn't too fun of an experience -- his home team ended up losing in the final seconds as Tom Brady and Co. pulled off the wild comeback.

Poirier -- who beat Michael Chandler in November -- also took advantage of his time by talking trash with Conor McGregor ... saying he's down to step in the Octagon with him for a fourth time.

Jewish UFC fighter Natan Levy says he's getting more hate -- but also a ton of support -- since calling out Kanye West for his repeated antisemitism.

Levy, who was raised in Herzliya, Israel, met with the media on Saturday in Orlando after beating Genaro Valdez by unanimous decision and issued a stern warning to Ye.

“Kanye West, if you’ve got a problem with me or my people, come see me, bro.”

On Monday, 31-year-old Levy talked to TMZ Sports about the reaction to his remarks.

"My interview, most of the comments are antisemitic. Most of the comments say, 'Hey, look, actually I think Kanye is right,'" Natan told us.

Levy says that's nothing new ... but the sheer amount of messages he's received since going at Kanye has increased.

"I'm always getting a lot of hate just for being who and what I am, which I'm fine with. It's not fun, but, right now I'm getting more."

But, it's not all bad.

"I'm also getting a lot of love. There is also a lot of positive out there. I'm getting a lot of love. A lot of reinforcement. I'm getting a lot of friends, a lot of people who speak up. Post the video and share it and saying 'stop the hate.'"

Of course, West's antisemitism has become almost routine. He's gone as far as to praise Hitler and the Nazis on Alex Jones' show last week. He's also hung out with white nationalist Nick Fuentes.

"Just think about how many Jewish kids will get bullied because of [Kanye's] comments. How many Jewish people will get attacked. The hate speech, it does turn into violence."

Natan says while Ye's behavior is incredibly dangerous for reasons he just stated, he's not the only one ... but Levy's had enough of turning the other cheek.

If you've heard Stephen Thomspon speak, you know he's just about the sweetest person ever ... so, will UFC star (and fellow nice guy) Kevin Holland hesitate when it comes time to punch Wonderboy in the face?? Not at all, according to Big Mouth.

"It's simple as hell. I'm gonna go out there and I'm gonna knock out the nicest man in the universe. S**t happens."

But, will you feel bad, Kevin?

"Not one bit."

30-year-old Holland and 39-year-old Thompson are fighting in the main event at UFC Fight Night Saturday night.

In fact, the men ran into each other in the hallway at the UFC hotel ... and had a funny interaction.

Wonderboy is ranked 6th in the welterweight division. Holland isn't ranked ... as he bounces back and forth between the welterweight and middleweight divisions.

We also talked to Kevin about his last fight ... where he bravely stepped up on no notice to fight Khamzat Chimaev. Holland, who had trained to fight striker Daniel Rodriguez, was submitted in the first round.

Holland addresses whether he wants a rematch.

We also spoke to Wonderboy ... who says fans are in for a treat.

"My last two guys, and even Kevin, his last opponent [Khamzat] was a heavy grappler. I know going into this fight that he's not the type of guy to try and take you down and hold you down," Wonderboy says.

Michael Jai White has several black belts in various martial arts, but it's even better that he's mastered the practice of restraint, at least for Kanye West's sake!!!

When asked by DJ Vlad about some of Ye's wild and erroneous comments -- like claiming George Floyd died from a drug overdose -- MJW admitted he's been detached from Ye's antics for years, and avoids running into him because it could get violent ... and end badly for the embattled rapper.

MJW says his personal Kanye breaking point came way back in 2009 after the infamous Taylor Swift mic-snatching incident -- and he feels Ye's arrogance is fueled by the fact he has money.

The "Black Dynamite" actor compared consuming Ye's social media posts to eating junk food while trying to stay in karate shape -- an act in futility -- but he says he's not pushing his anti-Ye beliefs on friends.

Biaggio Ali Walsh was nothing short of dominant in his PFL debut ... though, the rising MMA star isn't really surprised, because he believes he was born to fight!

"I truly believe that I was born to do this. I believe that me and my brother [Nico] both were destined to be in combat sports. Regardless of who our grandfather is or not, I feel like we were born to fight. I do want to do this. I'm all in," the 24-year-old told Babcock when he joined the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs nightly on FS1).

If you missed it -- possible if you blinked -- Biaggo pummeled fellow amateur fighter, Tom Graesser, during the Professional Fighters League Season Championship event on Friday ... taking just 45 seconds to KO his opponent.

Graesser was Ali Walsh's first fight with the promotion (and his 3rd overall). Biaggio knows he's fairly new to the sport, but wholeheartedly believes he's going to be champion.

"I do see myself having the belt and holding a million-dollar check sometime in my career. I don't know how I'll get there or when it'll happen. I just know that at some point in my life, I'm going to have that belt around my waist, and I'm going to hold that check."

Speaking of grandpa, we asked Ali Walsh how Muhammad Ali would've felt watching his grandson fight (and at Madison Square Garden, where Ali fought in several historic events).

"He would have told me he was proud of me. He acknowledges the fact that me and my brother have to deal with the pressure of who he was and what he stood for. He would just say he's proud of me and that would mean the world and I know he's watching and I know he is proud of me, so I'm happy for that."

As for when he'll fight again, Biaggio says he's already back in the gym in Las Vegas, training for his next fight.

UFC star Paddy The Baddy" Pimblett is responding to Jake Paul's $1 million sparring challenge ... telling us he's 100% down to box the Problem Child this week in Las Vegas!

The 27-year-old UFC star joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... where he was asked about 25-year-old Paul's offer to spar, and whether he's truly interested.

"Of course [I'm interested], but I'm under contract by the UFC and [Jake] said this knowing full well I'm fighting next week, know what I mean?" Paddy said.

"As if he does not know I'm fighting next week and he's like, 'I'll fly you to Puerto Rico.' Come to the PI next week. Come to the [UFC Performance Institute] next week and bring $1 million in a bag and I will spar with you."

"I'm in the PI in Vegas on Thursday, I land on Thursday, so even though I'm low on calories and I'm only about 170, he likes picking on smaller people anyway," he added. "But, if he wants to wait until after my fight, until the Monday, because I'm still in Vegas 'til the Tuesday, but I'm about 185, 190 pounds, I'm game!"

"Tell him not to worry, he can come to PI and we can get in the cage. Simple as."

If you haven't seen it yet, Jake posted video to his social media pages Tuesday throwing down the gauntlet ... offering Pimblett a mil if he could beat him in a sparring session. If Paul wins, he wants Paddy to commit to joining his United Fighters Association (UFA).

"I have a proposition for you. Since you wouldn't rig a fight, right? Let's spar. Fly to Puerto Rico. I'll get you a private jet. We can do 5, 3-minute rounds, boxing. If you win, I'll give you a million dollars," Jake said.

"But, if I win you have to join the United Fighters Association and help me sign up all the fighters in the UK. Let's spar. Since you wouldn't rig a fight. A million for you. Put your money where your mouth is. Let's go."

As Paddy said, he can't be in Puerto Rico next week because he's the co-main event at UFC 282 on December 10 (he's fighting Jared Gordon) at the T-Mobile Arena. But, he's down to spar in Sin City.

Despite the trash talk coming from both guys, Pimblett was somewhat complimentary of Jake's abilities in the ring (6-0, 5 KOs).

"I don't even think he's a bad boxer. I think he's a decent boxer now 'cause all he's done is boxing in the past two years. I think he'd beat Tommy Fury. I know he wouldn't beat me."

Paddy also sent a message to Jake ... in the event they were to set a real bout, and not just spar.

Jason David Frank was beloved for playing the hero on-screen -- but according to a friend, his true heroism happened in real life as he battled mental health issues for years.

Mike Bronzoulis, a prized MMA fighter and one of Jason's closest friends, tells TMZ ... since they became friends in 2010, Jason was always open with him about bouts of depression and mental health struggles -- though he kept it private from most people.

Mike says Jason had multiple family members die from suicide, and his mother also died a few years ago after battling cancer. These deaths took a heavy toll on him ... despite having tons of friends and getting love from thousands of fans, he often felt very lonely.

Jason kept a very busy schedule, but through all of it tried to find peace by motivating his fans ... whether it be meeting in person or posting videos on social media.

Mike says he last spoke to Jason roughly a week before his death. He even got a voicemail from Jason ... saying he needed to talk, and he was going through a lot. Mike didn't realize Jason left that voicemail until after he died.

As we reported, Jason died by suicide after getting into a heated argument with his wife in a Texas hotel.

Mike tells us he and Jason's other friends will always remember him as an incredibly giving person ... but one who also wrestled with inner demons.

Muhammad Ali is arguably the greatest athlete of all time -- and a god amongst pugilists ... so when his grandson, Biaggio Ali Walsh, decided to enter the family business, the decision came with a whole heap of pressure!

Now, 24-year-old Ali Walsh is just days away from his PFL MMA debut (against Tom Graesser) ... and TMZ Sports talked to him about fighting as The Greatest's grandchild.

"I definitely have pressure. I even had that pressure in football, and that's a completely different sport. I'm also doing MMA which is also a completely different sport from boxing, but it's also a combat sport, so I think there's gonna be a little bit more pressure there."

FYI, Biaggio was a high school football star in Las Vegas, before playing college ball at the University of California before transferring to UNLV.

Ali Walsh understands he's getting additional attention because of his last name ... but he hopes to be able to blaze his own trail.

"At the end of the day I'm just like any other fighter who's fighting to create their own name, create their own legacy. The only difference is my grandfather is really famous, and because of that I've gotten the platform that I've got, but at the end of the day, it's how you perform in the cage."

"I definitely do have that pressure, but I feel like I'm dealing with it pretty well."

The event, the PFL World Championship, is going down at Madison Square Garden in NYC, under the same roof where Ali fought some of his most memorable fights -- including the "Fight of the Century," Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier in 1971.

We also asked Biaggio if fans might see any similarities between him and his grandfather ... something Ali Walsh says both yes and no too.

"When my grandfather boxed, I feel like it wouldn't translate that well over to MMA. He was very heavy on his lead leg, threw the jab out a lot. If I tried that in MMA, I'd just get leg kicked all day. I've tried that and I've gotten leg kicked and even taken down, so it didn't really work."

"His speed is something that I feel like I have to. I feel like his speed is passed down to me. Dealing with the big stage and the lights and all that, I feel like that's transferred down to me and my brother [Nico], and even my aunt Laila [Ali]."