MMA

Jon Jones hasn't yet gotten his feet wet in the UFC's heavyweight division, but he's already eyeing the weight class top dogs ... telling TMZ Sports he wants Stipe Miocic after he fights Ciryl Gane next month.

Jones told us he feels a tilt with the former champ could help "solidify my legacy" ... adding that if he wants to be known as one of the fight game's G.O.A.T.s -- he's got to beat the best to do it.

"People consider him the greatest heavyweight of all time," Jones said of Miocic. "The opportunity to compete against such a man, I'd be honored."

"The opportunity to beat such a guy would be truly something special."

Of course, 35-year-old Jones has to get through Gane first in order to get that opportunity -- and he tells us it won't be an easy task.

The 26-1 fighter called Gane "one of the best talents the UFC has ever seen."

"I got a huge, huge order ahead of me," Jones said.

If Jones does get through Gane at UFC 285 on March 4, though ... Miocic sure seems down to get in the Octagon with him.

The 40-year-old tweeted right after the Gane vs. Jones matchup was initially revealed last month "I got winner in July."

Former UFC star Nate Marquardt is in the crosshairs of the LGBTQ community ... after he tweeted an anti-gay response to a commercial that showed two men kissing.

The 43-year-old, who famously knocked out Tyron Woodley in a 2012 fight, fired off the offensive comments after he said he saw the ad while watching ESPN+.

In his tweet, he said the commercial was "disgusting" and that he had to tell his kids "look away so they don't see two men kissing."

The former fighter, a devout Christian, added a throwing up emoji.

Immediately, the ex-Strikeforce Welterweight Champion was panned by fans for the remarks ... but he doubled down on his stance in further tweets.

As of Monday afternoon, the posts were still up on his social media page.

Francis Ngannou has a boxing legend giving him at least a chance in a fight against Tyson Fury ... with Mike Tyson telling TMZ Sports believes "anything is possible" if the two heavyweights face off in an epic matchup.

Ngannou, who recently became a combat free agent after spending more than 8 years with UFC, told us last month he's been in contact with Fury's camp about making a fight happen with the Gypsy King.

Of course, Ngannou is one of the hardest-hitting fighters in the game, but it would be his first professional boxing fight ... and going up against Fury would be a huge task for anyone, let alone a rookie pugilist.

Tyson showed a bit of optimism for The Predator when we caught up with him in LA ... giving us a simple, yet hopeful response to his chances in the ring.

Fury might already have his next opponent lined up with Oleksandr Usyk, but it's clear both sides are serious about putting ink to paper sometime soon.

Struggling to figure out who to bet on between Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia? Canelo Alvarez might be able to help sway you -- telling TMZ Sports he thinks Tank wins the super fight later this year.

The guys are expected to throw hands on April 15 -- that is, if the two can finally settle their differences in heated contract negotiations -- and when we got Alvarez out at the Super Bowl last weekend ... we had to ask, who ya got?

The Mexican boxing champ told us he expects Davis -- saying simply the 28-0 fighter has "got more experience."

Don't get it twisted, though ... he's still expecting a good effort from the 23-0 Garcia.

"It's gonna be a good fight," he said.

Tank has been more active in the ring and recently secured a TKO win over Hector Garcia in Washington D.C. last month. Meanwhile, Ryan hasn't taken a fight since July 2022.

But, of course, some might think Canelo is biased in his opinion because of a beef he had with Ryan when the young fighter left his camp back in February 2022.

Canelo, though, said that's just not the case.

Cody Rhodes says his upcoming match with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39 is going to be a monumental moment in his career ... telling TMZ Sports he has a "tall task" ahead of him, but he hopes to finally end the Tribal Chief's run as WWE Universal Champion.

We spoke with the American Nightmare ahead of the huge event at SoFi Stadium in April ... and he has nothing for respect for his opponent, saying, "there's nobody better than Roman, there truly isn't."

Despite all the love for the Head of the Table, Rhodes tells us he's going to do whatever it takes to dethrone the guy who's had the title since August 2020.

"If you're in the spot you want to make sure you get the job done," said Rhodes, a former WWE Intercontinental and Tag Team Champion.

Rhodes earned the opportunity to fight Roman after winning the Royal Rumble match in January ... and he says the match means a lot to him because nobody in his family has ever headlined WrestleMania before.

Rhodes, the son of Hall of Famer, Dusty Rhodes and half-brother of Dustin, says a win would provide a bit of closure for his family ... while starting a brand new chapter.

Last June, Cody defeated Seth Rollins with a torn pectoral muscle ... but the injury sidelined him for 7 months, setting the stage for his triumphant return at the Royal Rumble.

Rhodes will try to do what no man has done at WrestleMania, pin Reigns ... but first Roman has a date with Sami Zayn at Elimination Chamber before he can get to Cody.

UFC bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling wants into the exclusive champ-champ club ... telling us he plans to fight Henry Cejudo in May, and then wishes to go up a weight class to fight champion Alex Volkanovski!

First things first, 33-year-old Aljo, the #7 ranked UFC pound-for-pound fighter, has 36-year-old Triple C in his sights.

"We're slated for May 6, that's what we're thinking right now," Sterling told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs nightly on FS1), despite admitting he likely won't be totally healthy after tearing his bicep last year.

But, Aljamain says if he decides to fight, there are no excuses.

"If I make the decision to sign on the dotted line, I'm signing on the dotted line and we're gonna fight no matter what it is at the time. I don't give a s**t about that. Henry has some stuff he's dealing with. I have some stuff I'm dealing with. All fighters have stuff they're dealing with. It's just whose the better man that night."

After the Sterling-Cejudo fight, assuming Aljo's victorious, that's when things could really get interesting ... because he believes he'll have earned an opportunity to move up a weight class, and fight

"I fought a lot of the best guys," Aljo says, making his case for a title shot at featherweight. He continued ... "How much do I have to do to say 'Ok, this guy finally deserves an opportunity to go up and see what he can do at 145.' I'm getting older. I'm on an 8-fight win streak right now and I want to test myself and take the opportunity."

Of course, Volkanovski -- the featherweight champ (145 lbs.) -- lost an incredibly close fight to lightweight champ (155 lbs.) Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 ... in his bid to join the double champ club.

As for how a fight with Volk would look ... Aljamain Tweeted last year, saying he believed he could take down and submit Alex, and while it's a 7-month-old message, his opinion hasn't changed all that much.

"There's a couple of factors. That was at 155. So he had a little more weight. Maybe not as depleted as he would be at [145]. I would be coming up to 45, not being as depleted as much as I am at 35."

And, that's why Sterling likes his chances.

FYI, only four fighters in the UFC's history have ever held two belts simultaneously: Conor Mcgregor, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Cejudo.

We also talked to Aljo about his side hustle ... making music. Sterling just released a track titled "Go Dumb", featuring his brother Troy, who raps under the name Troy Grindz.

"This is something I always wanted to do, my brother's been the musician of the family, he's always been very, very good lyrically," Sterling says ... but in a competitive industry, his bro's had trouble gaining traction.

Enter Troy's famous brother.

"It's been hard for him to promote himself, but it's something I always wanted to do, but fighting kind of called my name first. I think I was a better fighter than I was a rapper. I always wanted to make a song with him, so this was a cool opportunity now that I had some downtime," Aljo says.

We asked Aljamain if this was a one-time thing, or if he may make more music.

Like him or don't, it's undeniable that Jake Paul can strike ... but if the Problem Child truly wants to brush up on his wrestling skills and take an MMA fight, there's a U.S. wrestling legend who tells us he's happy to train the 27-year-old star -- Bo Nickal!

Nickal is a 3x NCAA Division I wrestling champion (184 lbs. x 2, 197 lbs.) who earned a UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series last year. On Wednesday, TMZ Sports was talking to the 27-year-old, who just signed a deal with Jake's media company, Betr (more on that soon), when we asked if he planned to train with JP.

"Oh yeah. 100 percent. I'm super excited to train with [Jake]. Not only to be able to help him out a little bit on the MMA grappling side, but also just to learn from him," Bo said, adding, "He's got a ton of experience boxing and it'd be awesome just to be able to get together and work together."

Of course, Paul, 6-0 as a boxer, recently signed a deal with PFL ... and called out Nate Diaz. Jake, a solid wrestler in high school, proposed a two-fight deal with the MMA star from Stockton ... one MMA fight and one boxing match.

As for the partnership with Paul's Betr, Bo says he and Jake have a few things up their sleeves ... including a 'UFC Embedded'-style show that'll follow Nickal as he prepares for his first proper UFC fight.

Speaking of, Bo, 3-0 in MMA, just learned when he'll be making his first non-Contender Series appearance ... and it's on a big card, UFC 285, headlined by Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane. Jones hasn't been in the Octagon since beating Dominick Reyes in February 2020, over three years ago.

Nickal will face MMA veteran, Jamie Pickett at middleweight (185 lbs.) in the first fight on the main card.

Bo has visions of winning a UFC title, but isn't looking past his first fight ... a scrap he intends to end with a knockout or submission, and early on in the fight.

"I think first and foremost, I plan on just focusing on one fight at a time. Taking care of business this next fight, putting on a spectacular performance. I'd like to get a first-round finish. I'm expecting to finish this guy, regardless."

"Getting a finish in my UFC debut is really most prominently on my mind."

To say Bo's pumped about the Pickett fight may be an understatement ... he's ready to go!

Alexander Volkanovski doesn't plan to abandon the featherweight division -- the weight class he's dominated for years -- after he wins the lightweight title at UFC 284, telling TMZ Sports he's committed to being active across both divisions.

We talked to the UFC's featherweight champion/#1 pound-for-pound fighter ahead of his highly anticipated main event fight against Islam Makhachev, lightweight champ, in Perth, Australia ... as Volk attempts to be the latest double-champ.

Historically, champ-champs have not been able to defend both belts, something Alex is adamant he'll do.

"I made a promise that I'll keep both divisions busy and I'm a man of my word. I've always been a man of my word and that's just who I am and that's what I plan on doing."

"Obviously, you never know what happens, right? You break bones and all that type of stuff. I mean, I want to be active. I want 2023 to be active and this is the year that will define my legacy. This is the one that everyone's gonna be talking about. This is what I really want so I need to be active. So I want to do both divisions. I really do. I said I was gonna do it and I'm gonna try my best to actually do that."

Now, beating Islam is easier said than done. He's right behind AV when it comes to the P4P list, and he's been nothing short of dominant on his way to the 155-pound title.

But, Volkanovski believes he has the blueprint to win the fight ... but readily admits if he employs the wrong gameplan, he could lose.

"If I have the wrong strategy, if I do things wrong, [Islam] could win. He could get a decision. He could submit you. So you need to fight a great, great fight and you need to capitalize on the feet. You're gonna see me really, really wanna capitalize on the feet."

Often, fighters don't want to reveal their strategy ... Volk isn't the average fighter. He flat out says he's looking for the knockout.

"You're gonna see me really go and get him on the feet. Really go for it, really try to take that head clean off, you know what I mean? And look for that chin and do what I need to do. I need to capitalize on the feet so I really do believe that I can get the finish."

We also talked to Alex about his ascension to the top of the pound-for-pound list, if he would ever go up to welterweight on the quest to be the UFC's first-ever triple champ, and much more.

Francis Ngannou needs a new promoter after parting ways with Dana White and the UFC ... and Jake Paul could be his guy, 'cause the Problem Child tells us he's talked to The Predator about signing with Most Valuable Promotions!

26-year-old Paul joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) ... where MB asked if he'd talked with 36-year-old Ngannou, and it turns out he has.

"We have talked," Jake said, "The Most Valuable Promotions team, we talked to Francis, and we think we can do a great job for him. We share the same vision on a lot of things. Hopefully, Francis sees this as well but regardless, we're always gonna be there to support him."

Paul went on to say he's "working on something" in MMA, before adding, "Francis is a great guy and I think there's a lot of opportunities for us together."

Aside from being a 6-0 boxer himself, Jake runs MVP ... where he's signed undisputed champion Amanda Serrano, arguably the baddest female boxer in the world. With Paul's guidance, Serrano was part of the biggest female boxing match in history when she took on fellow champ and star, Katie Taylor.

Jake also signed 19-year-old, 8-0 boxer Ashton Sylve in 2022 ... who Paul calls the "next big star," as well as 12-0 female boxer, Shadasia Green.

Paul has a huge fight coming up on February 26 in Saudi Arabia, against his bitter rival, 23-year-old undefeated boxer Tommy Fury, and Jake says he's added to his repertoire, and he's ready to show he's better than ever.

"[Training camp was] good, man, it's really really good. I've reached new levels, implemented new skills into this camp, and I'm excited to put those on display against a professional boxer from a legendary bloodline and a legendary family."

Of course, heavyweight champ Tyson Fury is the half-brother of Tommy.

Paul and Fury were previously supposed to fight on two occasions, but Tommy pulled out (first for an injury, second for travel issues). Earlier this week, Fury failed to show up for a promotional media event, which frankly pissed Jake off.

"It's typical Tommy behavior. It's unfortunate because he's really just harming the event, harming the fans, and it's unprofessional, and I'm a bit sick of dealing with him on the business side of things," Paul said.

"But two weeks from now no one's ever gonna have to hear his name again."

For what it's worth, Jake says he believes Tommy will show up for the fight this time around, telling us ... "He's going to be there."

Paul also broke down 8-0 Fury, and was even (somewhat) complementary.

"He's a good fighter. He's fast. He has good range, good combinations, all of these things. But he doesn't have power. He doesn't have what it takes to stop me from coming at him and defeating him."

Tommy seems to see things differently and told us earlier this week he was going to send Jake home in an ambulance.

But, Paul says Fury's "emulating his brother", but with one distinction ... "[Tyson] actually does it and backs it up."

"I'm [Tommy's] first real opponent and it's gonna be a rude, rude awakening for him when he gets in the ring, under those lights, and someone like me is coming at him, punching him up and down nonstop. He's not gonna like this sport."

As for who he wants to fight after Fury (there's no rematch clause per Jake), Paul has a few ideas.

Kyrie Irving's first-ever Mavericks jersey won't have a place in a museum or a Hall of Fame -- no, it'll be somewhere in one of Floyd Mayweather's mansions ... 'cause the new Dallas star gifted the boxing legend with it following his debut on Wednesday night.

Floyd was one of the first people Irving sought out after he helped the Mavs beat the Clippers at Crypto.com Arena for the first time since he was traded on Sunday ... and as soon as the two athletes got within feet of each other on the court, they shared a lengthy embrace.

The guys exchanged words too -- and it all seemed somewhat emotional.

Finally, Irving passed off his jersey to Floyd -- who was with buddy Jona Rechnitz -- before he took off for the locker room.

Mayweather was pumped for the one-of-a-kind piece of NBA memorabilia -- he showed it off to cameras at the arena ... before he eventually headed home.

Of course, the guys have developed quite the bond recently -- after initially meeting years ago, Floyd has been in Irving's corner constantly.

In fact, back when Irving was going through his COVID-19 vaccine controversy with the Brooklyn Nets, Floyd released a video defending the basketball player's decisions.

Clearly, Irving hasn't forgotten the support.

Jim Ross says he spoke with Jerry "The King" Lawler after he suffered a stroke on Monday  ... and the WWE legend is doing okay, but still needs support as he recovers.

Ross shared the update on Lawler's health status late Tuesday night, reassuring fans the 73-year-old, who has a history of heart issues, is trending in the right direction.

"I spoke very briefly with @JerryLawler tonight," Ross tweeted. "He’s obviously weak but I could understand his affected speech. Jerry’s prognosis is positive but he needs all our thoughts and prayers. #LoveYaKing"

As we previously reported, Lawler suffered a medical emergency, believed to be a stroke, at his Florida home and was rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery.

Ross and Lawler go way back ... the two formed one of the most iconic commentator teams in pro wrestling history, calling some of WWE's biggest matches and moments.

Jerry and Jim were a staple on WWE's flagship show, Monday Night Raw, and their on-air chemistry was unmatched.

Lawler's health scare reverberated throughout the wrestling world ... especially considering the pro wrestling icon went into cardiac arrest in 2012 and suffered a stroke in 2018.

"My message to Jake Paul is good luck and I hope you've trained and I hope you got an ambulance on speed dial because you're gonna need it."

That's Tommy Fury with a very ominous warning for The Problem Child ... just 3 weeks before their highly anticipated February 26th boxing match in Saudi Arabia.

Of course, the men have been scheduled to fight two other times (more on that later) ... and the bad blood is so real, 23-year-old Fury says he's never wanted anything as badly as he wants a win over 26-year-old Paul.

"This is all that's been in my mind for the past two and a half, three years because I'm a professional, legitimate fighter, and my name has been lingering with Jake Paul for quite some time now and Jake Paul is not on my level," Tommy told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

"Jake Paul is not even considered a legitimate fighter and to have my name dragged through the mud with his, I want to prove a point."

Fury continued ... "In three weeks, I get my chance. I don't wanna take it both hands, I wanna school this man. I'm gonna take him to the trenches and he will be drowned. There's no way he can last eight rounds in the ring with me."

Tommy says he's going to put Jake down, and he's going to do it early.

"I see me putting him away early, the way I'm punching in the gym, what I'm doing to people in the gym," Fury said, adding, "There's no way. When the shots land, he will be going down. He will not get up."

Babcock asked Tommy what he'd say to all the people who believe he will find a way out of the fight with Jake.

"I say to those people they need to wake up. Don't worry. I'll be in Saudi Arabia ready for February 26th. I'm ready to go now. I can't wait to get on this plane and get over there."

"I'm gonna hurt this man seriously come February 26th and if he banking on me for not showing, well if that's where he getting his confidence from, then he needs to think again 'cause I'll be there and I'll be right in his face come fight night."

We also talked to former UFC star turned BKFC boxer, "Platinum" Mike Perry ... who Paul has tapped as the replacement fighter, should Tommy fail to make it to fight night.

Derrick Lewis is coming off two straight losses, and some have suggested he's on the verge of retirement ... but the Black Beast insists it's just the opposite -- for the first time in a while he loves fighting!

"I'm feeling good. Rejuvenated. I love the sport again. I love fighting once again. I love doing the training inside of it, once again. I'm feeling pretty good. Feeling confident and feeling ready. Feeling hungry like I used to be whenever I first started and I'm excited to see how it turns out Saturday night."

37-year-old Lewis, the #7 ranked heavyweight, will take on Sergey Spivak at UFC Fight Night from the UFC Apex on Saturday ... and Derrick has visions of working his way back to the top of the division.

Of course, the division is in a bit of flux after champion Francis Ngannou parted ways with Dana White's organization ... and Derrick believes he can still win the strap.

"The path [to the title has] always been there, but you know, I really just got to take my time, fight by fight. I can't really think that far ahead. I believe I still got a couple of fights to go and get back into that [title fight] talk. So, we just gonna take care of business Saturday and see where things go from there."

As for what changed to make Lewis fall in love with MMA again, he says he just realized he was better than how he performed as of late.

43-year-old Michael Bisping's still got it!

The retired, former UFC Middleweight champion, turned Power Slap commentator, joined the 'TMZ Sports' TV show on Wednesday to talk about his new gig ... when we asked Michael, if, for research purposes, he ever doled out a slap.

Turns out, oh yes, he has! Bisping told us the story of the time when competitor Jesse Nutting asked for a slap ... and a slap he got.

"The guy involved, he says to me, 'give me a little slap, Bisping,'" Michael explained, adding, "I did not give him a proper slap, but I gave him just a little mess around. Anyways, he was scheduled for the last slap contest of the day, if you will."

So, Bisping slapped Nutting and went about his business calling the fights.

"We're commentating on the fights and we're waiting for the last one to come out. And, then we're waiting and we're waiting and he doesn't show up. Then the producer comes in and tells me, 'Mike, apparently, the guy that you slapped, afterward, he started feeling all fuzzyheaded and blurry and he said that he can't compete.'"

"'The doctor looked at him and said that he's totally fine.' But, I don't believe this. Controversy follows me wherever I go."

Jesse didn't fight, and Bisping was worried he screwed up the event.

"Dana and all the partners put a lot of money into this. A lot of organization. Our commentator, that idiot Bisping is backstage slapping the fighters and we can't continue. I thought, 'Oh, My God, I'm going to get fired for sure.' Classic me strikes again. I will be slapping nobody. Punching nobody. I'm just going to sit there. Do my job. And, try to be as boring as possible."

We also talked to one of the Power Slap breakout stars, Michael "Slap Jesus" Smith ... about how the former MMA fighter turned into a slap fighter.

"I had my first MMA fight a couple years ago, and I started looking for more fights on Facebook groups and came across a post from one of the producers," Smith said. "I looked it up, seen it was from The Ultimate Fighter people ... and said, 'Let's go!'"

Smith says he loves the slap-fighting experience ... adding, "It's right up my alley!"

Francis Ngannou says he's been in contact with Tyson Fury's camp, and while the Gypsy King's next boxing match will likely be against fellow heavyweight champ, Oleksandr Usyk, the former UFC champ says they could fight mid-year!

"I've talked to somebody. Some of [Fury's] advisors, but they're working on a fight with Usyk in April. So, until then, he will not be free, but I'm trying to see if we can have an agreement before that fight," Ngannou told TMZ Sports from Cameroon.

"That will also give me some time to prepare for a boxing fight. I have no problem with that timeline. I hope will be sometime in June, July, which is doable. Let's see. I think it's too early to make a conclusion. It's too early to say anything about it but it's definitely something that we're looking into."

Of course, Fury and Ngannou haven't been shy about expressing their desire to box -- under somewhat amended rules (think boxing with a hint of MMA) -- and the combat sports stars even came face-to-face in the ring last year after Fury beat boxing star Dillian Whyte.

Francis believes fans want the fight ... even more so than the long-anticipated Fury vs. Anthony Joshua matchup.

"We've been talking about this fight the past two years. I think at this point, the people are waiting for this fight and talking about this fight more than the Joshua fight," Ngannou said while noting Fury-Joshua is still a huge draw.

Brandon Moreno says he's had his last fight with Deiveson Figueiredo and is moving on with his career and life ... but the 125 lb. champ tells TMZ Sports he has absolutely no bad blood with his rival, though he's not sure the feeling's mutual.

We talked to Moreno just days after he defeated the 35-year-old former champion ... and we asked Brandon if he could see himself actually becoming friends with Deiveson.

"Yes, of course. I never feel nothing bad against him. The bad blood was a little bit because he was talking a lot of s**t about me in some interviews."

Moreno continued ... "After the fight, for example, I went with him and tried to shake hands. He didn't. I have a lot of respect for him. At the end, he was trying to sell the fight to get something for his family and I respect that because it's the same with me. I'm just doing this for my family."

We also asked Moreno if he foresaw a 5th fight between him and Figgy.

"Hopefully, no. I'm done. It was nice and we built something huge together. Even for the people, they don't want to see another between us. The smart people understand why we made four fights together, but for sure they don't want to see the fifth one."

"I need to pass the page. I need to rest my body and my mind. But, at the same time, I want to be active and I want to start to put more statements in this division and I want to keep building my legacy."

There's much more.

We also asked Moreno if believed he was the best/most accomplished flyweight in UFC history (obvious contenders are Demetrious Johnson and Henry Cejudo), when he plans to get back in the Octagon, and who he wants to fight.