MMA

Jorge Masvidal says he ain't getting a fair shake in his aggravated battery case ... claiming in new court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, that Colby Covington received preferential treatment from cops during their altercation in Miami last year.

In the docs, Masvidal says he has evidence that on several occasions during their confrontation on March 21, 2022, outside of a popular restaurant ... Covington was treated with "favoritism" by the Miami Beach Police Department.

Specifically, Masvidal says after the alleged attack ... Covington did not call 911 -- but instead phoned a high-ranking MBPD sergeant who was the UFC star's "pal and training partner ... so he could receive concierge police intervention."

Masvidal claims after Covington called the sergeant, the officer then radioed the matter into the station as a "Code 3" -- which, according to Masvidal, is "reserved for shooting and active dangerous felonies." Masvidal also says the sergeant "made additional calls to individual officers to 'get over immediately' to the scene" -- while also diverting "over 20 officers from their duties and responsibilities" to make sure they got Covington help.

In addition, Masvidal says Covington made a statement during a podcast interview prior to the street encounter that he "rolls with the Miami Beach Police Department" -- which Masvidal claims further proves he may have gotten special treatment on the night of the alleged attack.

Masvidal's attorney, Bradford Cohen, now wants several things -- including Covington's podcast comment -- to be admitted into evidence for the UFC fighter's impending trial in the case ... believing it will help prove his client is getting a raw deal.

"From our investigation and witness depositions it's clear that protocol was not followed that evening and Mr. Covington received preferential treatment," Cohen said in a statement this week. "Sadly, the people of Miami Beach that needed an officer that night, at that time probably suffered due to over 15 officers responding to a misdemeanor offense."

We've reached out to the Miami Beach Police Department for comment -- but so far no word back yet.

As we previously reported, Masvidal is facing serious jail time in the case after he was hit with charges of felony aggravated battery and felony criminal mischief following allegations that he punched Covington twice in an ambush outside of Papi Steak.

Meanwhile, Covington -- who claims to have suffered a brain injury, a chipped tooth, and a damaged Rolex watch in the attack -- appears to have recovered from the altercation ... as he's been rumored to be the next opponent for UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards.

Jorge Masvidal vs. Leon Edwards is the fight fans badly want ... and while they're almost certainly not gonna get it next, Dana White says it's closer than you might think.

The UFC honcho joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... when we asked Dana whether Gamebred could do enough to jump Colby Covington and earn the next title shot.

"Let me tell you what's going to happen, if [Masvidal] goes in and does that against a guy like Gilbert Burns, who I have a ton of respect for, Gilbert Burns is an absolute badass. Then you have Colby Covington vs. Leon Edwards, and if Leon Edwards beats Colby Covington, the history between Leon Edwards and Masvidal, then they both win these fights, that fight will be so huge people will be dying to see that fight."

White then added ... "it will be absolutely massive, and maybe we do it back in Miami."

FYI, Masvidal told us earlier in the week he felt he could impress enough vs. Burns at UFC 287 to garner the Edwards scrap.

Of course, White declared Covington next in line after Rocky beat Kamaru Usman at UFC 286, but many fans want Jorge and Leon to scrap because the men have serious beef.

The two fighters were involved in a backstage altercation in 2019 after Edwards yelled something at Masvidal as he was being interviewed backstage after beating Darren Till.

It's not Masvidal's personality to take something like that lying down ... so he walked up to Rocky and punched him in the face, now known as a "3-piece and a soda."

Hoping to ruin Jorge-Leon is 36-year-old Burns ... the number 5 ranked UFC welterweight.

We recently talked to Burns, coming off a dominating win over Neil Magny, before he headed out for fight week ...

There's a bunch more with Dana ... we asked him if this was Israel Adesanya's last shot to beat his rival, Alex Pereira. We also talked to White about the new UFC-WWE deal ... and whether we could now see stars like Conor McGregor cross over to professional wrestling.

Jorge Masvidal apparently doesn't want to wait 'til Saturday night to fight ... 'cause he nearly came to blows with someone on the streets of Miami on Friday morning.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of the UFC star outside of the UFC 287 weigh-ins at the event's host hotel ... and you can see in the footage, he was clearly enraged at someone.

It's unclear exactly who the 38-year-old was quarreling with -- but one witness tells us the person yelled at Masvidal, "You're a clown."

The video shows Masvidal repeatedly trying to go after his heckler ... although he was constantly held back from exploding on the person. He eventually walked away from the scene before things got physical.

Masvidal tipped the scales at 171 pounds at the Friday morning weigh-in in preparation for his Saturday fight with Gilbert Burns. It's not known yet if this video was taken before or after the ceremonies.

Of course, this is not the first altercation Masvidal has been involved in this week in the leadup to the Burns fight ... he and Kevin Holland got into a heated spat on Wednesday at the UFC 287 host hotel as well.

Jorge Masvidal vs. Conor McGregor is arguably the biggest fight you could make in MMA, and one Gamebred wants, but unfortunately thinks he won't get, telling us "that dude ain't trying to get in there with me!"

38-year-old Street Jesus recently joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... where he was asked about a potential super fight with 34-year-old McGregor.

"From that perspective of us breaking records, I think 100%. I've sold myself 1.3 million pay-per-views and Conor, I mean, the story goes without saying, you know, just 1.3 million in one night against me and Usman, the first one. It's definitely just a promoter's dream. It's a dream fight for a promoter but the UFC can't get him to sign the dotted line."

Why not? You'd think Conor would relish a fight with Masvidal ... as he isn't going to drag you to the ground. He'll stand up and kickbox without the fear of being taken down.

"I think in many ways I'm really, really bad for Conor's style, brass, and brand because I'm not gonna take him down and see what he smells like. I'm gonna beat the f***ing piss out of him. I'm gonna make him quit, stand up, I'm gonna take his shots, laugh at him and then give 'em right back and break him," Jorge said.

The UFC superstar continued ... "I know that he knows that, he said it, Dana has said it, I'm a bigger, stronger, meaner guy so I can't put a gun to his head to sign. That dude ain't tryna get in there with me, man. We've had some similar opponents where I dismantle them and he's taken them to decision, especially at 170."

Of course, before Masvidal-McGregor or Masvidal vs. anyone else, Jorge first has to contend with fellow UFC star Gilbert Burns, one of the top-ranked fighters in the world. The men will battle in the co-main event on Saturday night in Miami.

Donald Trump may be public enemy No.1 in the eyes of some ... but not to Jorge Masvidal -- the UFC star visited the former President at a rally in Florida Tuesday evening hours after 45 was arraigned in NYC.

Masvidal says he was invited to Mar-a-Lago ... the same night Trump returned from the northeast aboard his private jet, where he appeared before a judge in a Manhattan courtroom, pleading not guilty to 34 felony charges.

"I didn't even sneak in here," Masvidal can be heard saying before he enters Trump's event. "This is Trump Nation."

During the packed rally, Trump ripped Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg for what DT says is a politically motivated attack.

“This fake case was brought only to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election and it should be dropped immediately,” Trump told the crowd, which included Jorge.

Of course, the charges relate to a $130k hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels during his first presidential campaign.

DT also sounded off on Judge Juan Merchan, calling him a "Trump-hating judge."

It's unclear if Masvidal got any FaceTime with Trump -- the resort was packed.

The visit shows Jorge is still rockin' with his friend, despite the world's most polarizing man now facing criminal charges ... though it's not really surprising.

Trump and Masvidal have a friendship. Jorge even stumped for the former prez as he ran his re-election campaign in 2020.

Now, the question is, might Donald make an appearance this Saturday in Miami ... where Jorge Masvidal is fighting Gilbert Burns in the co-main event at UFC 287.

Dana White's adamant Leon Edwards' next fight will be against Colby Covington ... but Jorge Masvidal isn't quite so sure, telling us he believes he can change the UFC honcho's mind with a win over Gilbert Burns, and snatch the fight from "cop-calling charlatan bitch ass Cupcake Covington."

"100% [I can jump Colby]. I feel it in my heart, I see it in my mind," 38-year-old Masvidal told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1).

"UFC, at the end of the day is a pay-per-view selling business, and Colby's bitch ass has never sold over 300,000 pay-per-views except when it was against me. What are him and Leon gonna do?"

31-year-old Edwards defeated Kamaru Usman last month, retaining the welterweight title. Following the fight, White told reporters Covington was next in line, to the chagrin of some fans who were really hoping to see Masvidal vs. Edwards.

Of course, Jorge and Leon have serious beef -- er, chicken -- which came to a head in the UK in 2019, when the two men were involved in a backstage altercation after Edwards yelled something at Masvidal as he was being interviewed backstage after beating Darren Till.

Gamebred didn't take kindly to what Rocky said, so he served him up a "3-piece and a soda."

First, Masvidal has to beat fellow contender, Durinho Burns, the 5th-ranked fighter in the division, at UFC 287 on Saturday ... a fight Jorge believes suits his style.

"In the Gilbert fight, I don't have a standout wrestler conditioning freak like that where he can just continue to go for takedown after takedown. He doesn't have that, he's never shown that," Masvidal said.

"And on the standup, yeah, he throws hard, but he doesn't understand the sweet science. He doesn't understand setups. He doesn't understand distance, timing, fakes, things like that. From a technical standpoint, I think this is a great match for me. I just have to show up, put my hard hat on, put my mouthpiece on, and get to work and just put the holes in this guy's face."

When Jorge and Gilbert step into the Octagon, they'll be doing it at Miami-Dade Arena in Masvidal's hometown of Miami, where Gamebred, just a kid, grew up fighting older and bigger dudes in backyards and in the streets.

Masvidal reps MIA heavy to this day ... and the card is especially important to him because as a kid, he told a friend he'd bring a big UFC card back to South Florida one day, and now he has.

"I looked over to my friend who I was with and I told him 'One day I'll bring a show over here to Miami.' It took 20 years but now we're in this bitch!"

And, Jorge says the city couldn't be happier or more grateful.

Finn Balor needed 14 staples to close the huge head gash he suffered during his Hell in a Cell match with Edge at WrestleMania 39 ... and if you didn't believe it, the WWE Superstar is providing the gnarly photographic evidence.

Balor posted pics of the staples he received following his brutal match with the Rated R superstar ... and the images of all his injuries are not for the faint of heart.

Remember ... Edge threw a ladder at Finn during their match on Sunday, causing the Demon King to bleed profusely from his head -- and the contest to be temporarily stopped.

WWE referees and medical staff tended to Finn immediately ... but the damage was already done, and Balor's body marks just go to show how physical his match was.

Balor and Edge have been engulfed in a rivalry for a while ... and you can tell by the level of physicality each Superstar was out to prove something to the other.

Finn's head wasn't the only part of his body affected at WrestleMania ... Edge hit Balor with several kendo sticks multiple times throughout the night, leaving his back bruised.

It wasn't all one-sided -- Finn had his fair share of moments against Edge, most notably when he put him through a table and delivered his signature Coup de Grace finisher.

In the end, it didn't matter -- Edge pinned Balor after finishing him off with his famous ConChairTo, but Finn earned the respect of many WWE fans for his gutsy performance.

Despite losing to Alex Pereira last year, Israel Adesanya is a slight favorite against his bitter rival heading into their rematch at UFC 287 ... and Izzy admits it surprises him, and shows the oddsmakers in Las Vegas actually do know a little something about fighting.

"I am surprised [that I'm the favorite] to be honest, cause I thought these bookies were not as smart as they are," 33-year-old Adesanya told Mike Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

"I'm surprised they actually picked me as the favorite cause I am the more polished fighter, but he's the guy who got the tools, he's got that nuke. Only a few fighters in history have that," Izzy continued, explaining why he assumed oddsmakers would've given Pereira the advantage.

"[Coach] Eugene said in an interview, you're lucky to face a Mike Tyson, you're lucky to face a guy like David Tua, you're lucky to face a guy like Deontay Wilder even just once in your career. You're lucky to face a guy like Alex Pereira even once in your career. So, lucky me."

BetOnline.ag has Adesanya as a -137 favorite (risk $137 to win $100). Pereira, who won by 5th round TKO -- a fight he was losing on the scorecards -- is listed at +117 (bet $100 to win $117).

FYI, bookmakers aren't necessarily picking who they believe will win a fight when they set odds. It's about trying to get as close to even money wagered on both sides -- allowing the sportsbook to collect the vig (essentially a fee charged by the sportsbook). However, bettors generally pick the man or woman they believe will win a fight. So, Adesanya's the favorite.

Sticking with the first UFC fight, we talked to Izzy about the end of round 1, where he landed a 3-piece combo, buckling Alex's legs.

"One more shot, one more shot is all it took. I did the same thing when I fought my guy Rob [Whittaker] at UFC 243, the last second I dropped him. I'm dangerous every second of every fight."

There's much more ... we talked to Izzy about parallels he sees between him and Muhammad Ali and whether he's added size to combat Pereira, a huge middleweight. Also, with Endeavor buying WWE, to go along with UFC, which Ari Emmanuel's company already owns, we asked Adesanya if he'd consider wrestling.

"That's later on down the track. Later on down the track."

Here's one for the "wrestling is fake" crowd -- WWE Superstar Finn Balor just showed off the aftermath of getting rocked with a ladder during his Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania ... revealing a massive gash on his head.

Balor suffered the injury in his showdown with Edge on Sunday ... which required WWE medical staffers to pause the match to get him checked out.

Balor and Edge were pretty much torturing each other in the squared-circle, but things took a turn when Edge yeeted a ladder at Balor.

To make matters worse for "The Demon," the match finally resumed ... just for Edge to end up taking the win over Balor.

"Just a flesh wound," Balor joked on social media as he put the cut on full display ... with many wondering in the comment section how he was able to fight through the pain.

It wasn't the only injury to happen during the event -- Shane McMahon tore his quad shortly after entering the ring against The Miz, which led to Snoop Dogg finishing the job.

Here's hoping everyone heals up in time for WM40 in Philly next year!!

The romance between Jake Paul and Jutta Leerdam has taken the next step -- the two are now IG official!!

The Dutch speed skater posted three pics of her and the YouTuber-turned-star-boxer in announcing their relationship status ... one of which showed the two holding hands on a boat.

Jake, meanwhile, threw up two photos of the couple on recent dates ... confirming their relationship as well.

"Im Dutch now," Paul wrote in his caption.

"That's it," Jutta said in hers.

Paul also shared a snap of the two on his IG stories Monday -- showing the couple cuddled up on a beach somewhere.

Of course, Paul was most recently linked to model Julia Rose until last year ... and Jutta previously dated fellow speed skater Koen Verweij.

We broke the story, 26-year-old Paul and 24-year-old Leerdam were spotted kissing on a dinner date in Miami last month ... but it was unclear if it was anything more than just two, hot young people enjoying each other's company.

Seems we've now got our answer ... and we're here for all of it!

Francis Ngannou is still a free agent -- arguably the biggest in the combat sports world -- and although he has a ton of options on the table, MMA legend Randy Couture tells us the former UFC heavyweight champ should press pause on boxing, and sign with PFL.

TMZ Sports talked to Couture, UFC Hall of Famer and current Professional Fighters League commentator, ahead of Saturday's PFL 1 in Las Vegas (more on that in a minute), when the conversation turned to 36-year-old Ngannou's fighting future.

"Honestly, I'm hopeful that we do get him signed [to PFL]," Randy said.

Couture says PFL, which has traditionally aired for free on cable, will soon start putting on pay-per-view shows, and Randy believes that could draw big stars.

"I think that's where you're going to see stars like Kayla Harrison show up, and hopefully maybe Francis and some of these other big-named guys that we have. It's going to be interesting to see where he shows up. Obviously, there are other promotions with opportunities, I know Bellator is still on the playing field. He could end up going back [to the UFC]. Everybody wants to see him fight Jon Jones. I'm one of those guys, too."

Of course, Francis last fought at UFC 270 in January 2022 when he defeated Ciryl Gane by unanimous decision after a competitive 5-round fight. Unfortunately, Ngannou and Dana White couldn't agree on a new contract, so Francis and the UFC went their separate ways.

"I'm glad that Francis is stepping up, standing up for himself, demanding some advocacy that we as fighters deserve. It wasn't about the money, they're gonna make him out to be some greedy kid that wasn't just enough money, and I just don't think that's accurate, that's not what's really going on. So, good for Francis, I hope he ends up where he wants to be."

Where he wants to be could also be a boxing ring. Ngannou, the hardest puncher in all MMA, has flirted with the idea of switching sports ... with Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury being rumored opponents.

Randy, who once fought heavyweight champion James Toney in MMA in 2010 (Couture won via first-round submission), says that might not be the best idea.

"There's some chatter in the professional boxing world that he might show up there. Some people are talking about potentially fighting him. I honestly feel like he has some work to do there to be operating at that level."

Randy continued ... "Those guys have been entrenched in professional boxing as long as he's been doing MMA and stuff. He's always gonna have a puncher's chance, he's got that power. But those guys are as technical of boxers as I've seen in the sport in a long time."

Justin Gaethje's gearing up for a title run, and the UFC star tells us he has the power to dethrone champ Islam Makhachev ... but he knows he has to earn the fight, and he's ready to run through Dustin Poirier to prove his worthiness!

34-year-old Gaethje, the #3 ranked UFC lightweight, joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... where we talked about everything from who he wants next, to how he'd fare against the current champ, to how much longer he sees himself fighting, and Conor McGregor recently calling him "handicap" on Twitter.

On who Gaethje, who is coming off a dominating win over fellow contender Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286 in March, wants next:

"I think that's the obvious choice, Dustin. He's sitting at number 2 right now, I gave the new guys a chance and I proved that I am elite, and I need to fight elite fighters to fight for a belt. I think Dustin's the obvious choice. I think the loser of Dariush and Oliveira is also an option, but outside of those two, I do not see an option."

FYI, Justin and Dustin fought back in 2018 ... a classic fight that Poirier won by fourth-round TKO.

Of course, Islam, who was just in battle with 145 lb. king Alex Volkanovski (Makhachev won by the thinnest margin), is the lightweight champ. We asked Justin how a fight between the men would look.

"I think [Islam is] a hard fight for anybody. Just create damage. I'd have to fight the perfect fight," Gaethje told us, adding he recognizes he wouldn't be on the Dagestani fighter's level when it comes to "submission grappling," but Justin believes with his power, he can shut anyone's lights out.

"I think I can knock him out. I think I can knock anybody out with the power that I possess."

We asked Gaethje, who lost by submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2020 at UFC 254, to compare The Eagle and Makhachev.

"I think they're very similar. I think the biggest difference is Islam has been finished. He's lost a fight. He's been finished. So that aura of invincibility is there, but it's not based on 100% facts like Khabib has, I think that's the biggest factor, the biggest difference."

We also talked to Gaethje about retirement.

"I have never thought about retirement. I haven't thought about my life after retirement. I'm still working for the goal that I've set for myself," Justin said, explaining he has faith that his family and friends would tell him when it's time to hang up the gloves. But, that's likely years away, according to JG, who believes he's just hitting his stride as a fighter.

"34, I think we are at our peak, mentally, physically. Between 34 and 36, so I can't see myself being done in the next two years. I'd say two to four years is def a timeline that makes sense. I'm not trying to fight when I'm 40, and after 36, I don't see myself getting better."

Lastly, Conor recently tweeted "Justin Gaethje is a handicap," before deleting the message shortly after. We asked JG for his reaction.

"One of my best approaches in life is to make everybody think you're stupid and then go into a conversation or situation where you can take advantage of everybody feeling like that. It plays perfectly into my hands. I love when people think I'm handicapped or dumb -- that's not a guy, I don't believe I'll ever fight him."

Gaethje vs. McGregor is a fight fans clamored over for years ... but Justin says the guy simply doesn't want to step foot in The Octagon with him.

There's a new lady in Jake Paul's life -- the Problem Child was packing on the PDA with beautiful Dutch speed skater Jutta Leerdam while on a dinner date on Tuesday ... TMZ Sports has learned.

A witness at the venue tells us the 6-1 boxer and 24-year-old world champion were spotted getting cozy at LPM Restaurant in Miami ... and apparently kissing was on the menu, 'cause the two couldn't keep their lips off each other.

Our sources say 26-year-old Jake and Jutta met through Instagram late last year and began talking over the past couple months ... which evolved to spending a good amount of time together in Florida recently.

In fact, Jutta is slated to appear on the internet superstar's "B.S. With Jake Paul" podcast ... which she teased on social media earlier this week.

If you're not familiar with Leerdam, she's a superstar sprinter on the ice -- she won an Olympic silver medal in the women's 1000m race in Beijing in 2022, and has numerous world championships under her belt as well.

Jutta previously dated fellow speed skater Koen Verweij before splitting in August 2022 ... and Jake was famously tied to model Julia Rose until late last year as well.

It's unclear the current "status" of Jake and Jutta's relationship ... but they're both single, wildly successful and good-looking, so whatever it is -- it seems to be a great match!!!

Caitlin Clark has turned John Cena into a huge fan of hers -- because after the Iowa star hit the wrestler's signature celebration during a historic game Sunday night ... he showed her big love on his social media page!!!

Clark went crazy in the Hawkeyes' 97-83 win over Louisville in the women's NCAA tournament's Elite Eight ... and at one moment in her triple-double performance, she broke out Cena's signature "You Can't See Me" move.

The gesture was, of course, fitting ... because Louisville simply couldn't stop the Iowa guard -- who finished the night with 41 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.

Cena eventually got word of it all on Tuesday afternoon -- and gave Clark a HUGE shoutout on Twitter.

"Even if they could see you," the wrestler wrote, "they couldn’t guard you!"

"Congrats on the historic performance @CaitlinClark22," he added, "and to @IowaWBB on advancing to the Final Four!"

The two sports stars both now have some big weekends coming up -- Clark plays South Carolina on Friday night with a trip to the national championship on the line, while Cena will throw down with Austin Theory on Saturday evening at Wrestlemania 39.

WWE Superstar Alexa Bliss is giving an up-close look at her skin cancer surgery recovery ... showing off several stitches on the side of her face and joking she's "lookin' like Frankenstein!!"

As we previously reported, Bliss went under the knife last week ... after docs discovered she had basal cell carcinoma, which is one of the most common types of skin cancer in the U.S.

Alexa is now on the mend after the "quick and easy procedure" to remove the spot on her face ... and things appear to be going well, 'cause she's cracking jokes about it all now.

"Went from looking like glam to looking like Frankenstein," Bliss tweeted alongside a pic of her stitches.

Although Bliss is still recovering, the 31-year-old didn't let it stop her from hitting up the iHeartRadio Awards on Monday with her husband, Ryan Cabrera.

With Bliss in L.A. for the awards show, WWE fans began to wonder if she'll appear at WrestleMania 39 this weekend at SoFi Stadium ... and while she confirmed to Cinema Blend she'll be there, she didn't reveal whether she would be entering the ring.

"I will be in L.A. for WrestleMania," Bliss told the outlet. "I will be at the arena. Who knows what that leads to? Because, you know, in WWE, you never know what’s going to happen. It's the company where you always expect the unexpected. We'll have to see."

Dana White, fans, fighters ... just about everyone was shocked MMA judge Joel Ojeda scored Marlon Vera, despite being thoroughly beaten, the winner over Cory Sandhagen, and now UFC star Gilbert Burns tells us law enforcement should investigate.

"I think this judge needs to be investigated," Gilbert told TMZ Sports, adding, "We need the FBI on this judge. Those judge might be working with the betting company."

If you missed it, 30-year-old Sandhagen (ranked 5th before the fight) and 30-year-old Vera (ranked 3rd) fought in the main event at UFC Fight Night on Saturday night in San Antonio ... a 5-round scrap that went to the judge's scorecards.

After the fight, both men stood at the center of the Octagon, as Bruce Buffer announced a "split decision" ... and, cue the head-scratching.

Judge Sal D'Amato scored the fight 50-45 for Cory (5 rounds to none), while Chris Lee scored it 49-46 (4 rounds to 1 for Sandhagen). But, Ojeda, was seemingly watching another fight ... scoring the bout 48-47 for Chito (3 rounds to 2).

D'Amato and Lee have loads of experience, while Ojeda has worked only a handful of UFC fights (4).

Now, Chito is one of the baddest dudes in the world, but Saturday just wasn't his night ... by just about every metric.

"Chito's my guy and I want him to win, but, theres no way he won that fight," Burns said. "It's clear to anyone. What's wrong with that judge?"

Further proof ... according to the UFC's official stats, Chito landed 73 strikes to Cory's 187. Sandhagen was also credited with 3 takedowns, resulting in over 7 minutes of control time. Vera attempted 1 takedown but was unsuccessful.

Even Dana was floored.

“I was literally coming out of the bathroom and I was like, ‘What the f**k?’”

The UFC honcho continued ... "It could have been 5-0, it could have been [4 rounds to 1], but [split decision]? Wow, that’s pretty scary.”

We reached out to the Texas Dept. of Licensing & Regulation, who oversee judges in the state, and they told us "TDLR is aware of the concerns about the scoring in one of Saturday's UFC fights. All TDLR officials receive ongoing training and we monitor each fight for consistency and accuracy in scoring."

When we followed up, questioning whether the judge was being investigated, TDLR said they couldn't comment on individual judges, but added they review performance after each event.

We also talked to Gilbert about his upcoming UFC 287 co-main fight with rival Jorge Masvidal ... a fight he says he's gunning to win by knockout our finish 'cause -- can't trust the scoring!