MMA

Belal Muhammad doesn't plan on waiting for Leon Edwards and Colby Covington to fight ... the UFC star, coming off a decisive win over Gilbert Burns, tells us he wants to jump "Chaos" and scrap with "Rocky," and he knows precisely when and where.

UFC 294, October 21, Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi. UAE.

"I’m still hoping and praying that since Leon wants to fight in Abu Dhabi and he wants to fight in October that they’ll just let me fight him because that makes the most sense in the world," Belal told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

"There’s not a bigger fight they can make in Abu Dhabi than me fighting for the belt in Abu Dhabi."

Dana White previously said Colby would get the next title shot. Assuming the UFC prez sticks with his original plan, we asked Belal if he's been told he has next.

"Yeah, for sure," Muhammad said, continuing ... "I saw Dana in the back. He said, ‘Yup, you got it, man. You earned it. You got your spot now.’ When you hear it from the boss’ mouth that’s all I need to hear. That’s like freakin' -- the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. You’re like, ‘Uh, got it, finally.’"

Of course, 34-year-old Muhammad beat Burns by unanimous decision at UFC 288 ... and is now the 3rd ranked welterweight, behind the champ, Edwards, former champ Kamaru Usman (#1), and the aforementioned Covington (#2).

FYI, Belal's resume is about as strong as it gets. He's won 9 fights in a row and hasn't lost since January 2019 (Geoff Neal). Over the course of the win streak, Muhammad has beaten the likes of Demian Maia, Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson, and Vicente Luque, amongst others.

Muhammad already fought Edwards in 2021 ... but the fight was stopped near the start of the 2nd round after an inadvertent eye poke forced Belal out of the fight. The bout was ruled a "no contest."

Belal believes he's done more than enough to run things back with Leon ... who is coming off a victory over Usman, the welterweight G.O.A.T.

"I’ve done everything I can do. I have five ranked wins. What else is there to do? There’s nothing else."

Check out the clip ... there's much more with the UFC star, from his breakdown of the fight with Burns to his plans to train with Khabib Nurmagomedov later this month.

Nate Diaz clearly ain't sweatin' his criminal case down in Louisiana ... the former UFC star actually had a laugh about it all with Jake Paul on Tuesday.

Paul was the one who brought up the choke-out incident to Diaz during a news conference to hype up their August boxing match ... wondering if the MMA fighter thought he was scrapping with his brother, Logan Paul, when he choked out a guy on Bourbon St. during an April 22 melee.

Diaz smiled and then pretended to truly believe it was Logan who he put to sleep on the popular New Orleans roadway.

"You're going to act like that wasn't Logan?" Nate said with a grin. "Come on, man!"

"You thought it was Logan?" Jake asked again ... before Diaz responded with a giggle, "It is Logan, what are you talking about?"

Of course, the case shouldn't be much of a laughing matter for Diaz ... officials have charged him with second-degree battery after they allege he caused the man to suffer a head wound during the incident. Diaz is now facing time behind bars if ultimately convicted.

Diaz, though, did get serious about it all for at least a few seconds during the presser ... appearing to say he took it easy on the guy by choking him instead of throwing hands.

"You don't want to just hit people out there," Nate said. "That's f****** dangerous. You know what I'm saying? Give him a little nap."

Diaz didn't elaborate on it all further ... but he's been adamant since the incident went down that he did nothing wrong -- and was simply acting in self-defense.

Paige VanZant is crediting her haters for a change she's making after being fat-shamed on YouTube -- the combat sports star is vowing to portray a more authentic image on social media going forward.

29-year-old PVZ opened up late Monday night, revealing she's gained "probably 20+ pounds" and for it, she's been bullied online ... but Paige says the jerks on social media have actually helped her come to a realization.

"The truth is, yes, I have gained a lot of weight... probably 20+ pounds but I also gained strength, power, muscle and a f*** ton of happiness," VanZant wrote.

"I see every single comment on my YouTube channel about how I look pregnant, obese, fat as f***, and won’t be able to fit through a door soon. But one thing I have always remembered. Happy people ain’t haters and haters ain’t happy."

Alongside the lengthy caption, Paige, who last boxed in July 2021, posted a video where she flexes in the mirror, and shows off her front and side profile. Going forward, she's vowing to continue showing the "real me" from here on out.

"I promise from this day forward to show the real me, forever. The fat me, the broken me, the skinny me, and the happiest f***ing version of me I have ever been," VanZant said. "Social media will never be real but I’ll try and be better."

Paige even took a little jab at the haters ... thanking them for lining her pockets with money!

"I’ll be damned if I don’t continue to profit off of THE BEST HATERS IN THE WORLD. Yours in thickness - PVZ."

😂😂😂

She had a lot of fans backin' her up, including mixed martial artist Scorpio Sky who posted lyrics from Chris Brown's "Look At Me Now" song in the comments.

"I think he's now 'Double C.' Maybe even just 'One C' now. Maybe he's just Henry. He's just Henry now. He's just Henry. I took his gold medal. I took his gold belt. I don't know, there's not much left."

That's 33-year-old UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, who just defended his belt (for a record 3rd straight time) against future Hall of Famer Henry Cejudo ... joining Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show on Monday (airs weekdays on FS1), and crowning Triple C with a new nickname.

Henry.

Of course, Cejudo's Triple C moniker derives from his propensity to win titles ... starting with his 2008 Olympic gold medal. A decade later Cejudo beat the legendary Demetrious Johnson for the UFC flyweight title, before defeating Marlon Moraes for the bantamweight strap in 2019.

Cejudo -- who many believe is in the MMA G.O.A.T. convo -- returned after a 3-year layoff ... and now that Aljamain beat an all-time legend, he's eager for fans to finally pay him the respect he deserves.

"'You're supposed to be the greatest of all time. So what happens when I beat you? What does that say about me?' So I need the fans to keep that same energy, the ones that were doubting me, and said I had no chance."

Aljo continued ... "He's a two-division champ and an Olympic gold medalist, and my wrestling 'sucks' compared to him. I'm like guys, I am now the Olympic champion. I beat the Olympian in a wrestling match. Four takedowns, baby. How many takedowns did he get?"

We also talked to Sterling about the judging ... which the champ believes was trash.

FYI, he officially won via split decision ... though Aljo thinks it should've been unanimous.

There's more ... Sterling also talked about his next scrap with rival, "Suga" Sean O'Malley.

Dana White indicated he wants that fight to happen on August 19 in Boston ... but Sterling says he has other ideas of when and where they'll settle the score.

As for Cejudo ... a parting shot from Aljo.

"I tip my hat off to Henry, but I think I did the universe a favor and finally ended the cringe."

Mark Zuckerberg's putting his martial arts training to good use -- the Facebook founder won gold and silver medals at a local jiu-jitsu tourney in Northern California ... his first time competing!

38-year-old Zuckerberg kicked ass at a tourney on Saturday in Redwood City, CA -- about 10 miles from Palo Alto -- where he put his new skills on display, competing in both Gi (jacket) and no Gi.

It's super impressive for a guy who has only been training for a short amount of time. In fact, Zuckerberg told Joe Rogan last year that he began practicing martial arts during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite Mark winning most of his matches, the day wasn't without controversy. During one fight, Zuckerberg became visibly upset with a ref. It's unclear why Zuck was upset, but after a short, but rather heated convo with the official and his opponent, everyone shook hands.

But, all in all ... Zuck was awesome.

And, some of the biggest stars in MMA congratulated him on the medals ... with guys like Israel Adesanya, Brandon Moreno, and Alex Volkanovski heaping praise on the billionaire.

"Wow congrats 👏👏," Moreno, the UFC flyweight champ wrote.

Volk, the UFC featherweight champ commented ... "Legend! Love the shorts mate"

"When the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world gives you shorts, you wear them" ... Zuckerberg responded to Alex.

UFC fighter Tony Ferguson was no match for cops early Sunday ... he was busted for DUI.

Tony apparently crashed his pickup truck into 2 parked cars outside a Hollywood club just before 2 AM. His truck flipped on its side. Miraculously, he was not injured nor was anyone else.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Tony refused to take a field sobriety test and was "very uncooperative" at the scene.

According to our sources, the cops who eyeballed him say he reeked of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes.

Tony was arrested at the scene and is facing misdemeanor DUI. He's also facing license suspension for refusing the field sobriety test.

Rapper Cash Gotti, the owner of one of the cars Tony allegedly hit says he came out of the club to find his Mercedes destroyed.

Dana White says as long as Jon Jones is around, Henry Cejudo can't be the greatest UFC fighter of all time.

"There's no doubt the guy has broken a lot of records. He's accomplished a lot here. But, to go out there and start saying, 'Hey, I should be on the Mount Rushmore' when you've been retired for 3 years, and when you retired, in my opinion, sort of early," White told Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

Dana continued ... "Listen, you beat Aljo, there are still a few fights out there for him to really cement himself as one of the greatest of all time."

Of course, Cejudo -- who is making his return to the Octagon after three years away -- recently told us he'd be on the Mount Rushmore of fighters if he defeated the current 135 lb. champ, Aljamain Sterling ... saying he'd join Anderson Silva, Demetrious Johnson, and Jones.

But, that's not the ceiling for Henry ... who went on to tell us he believed he could become the greatest of all time with several key wins, starting with Aljo, then rival "Suga" Sean O'Malley, before going up to fight 145 lb. king, Alex Volkanovski.

With that, Triple C would be Quadruple C ... a feat never before accomplished.

Dana told us he agreed Henry would have a place on Rushmore if he were to beat Sterling at UFC 288, and then O'Malley and Volk ... but he still wouldn't see him as the best ever as long as Bones Jones is still walking around.

"While I agree he would be on the Mt. Rushmore, still tough to call himself the G.O.A.T. while Jon Jones still exists."

First things first, Cejudo has to beat Sterling.

Also fighting at UFC 288 in the co-main event are top ranked welterweights Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad ... two guys Dana tells us he has a "ton of respect for," especially considering both guys stepped up on short notice.

There's much more talk with the UFC honcho ... including whether Gilbert or Belal can do enough to jump Colby Covington, and earn a title fight vs. Leon Edwards.

Speaking of, we also talked to Burns and Muhammad about the title eliminator ... arguably the biggest fight in both guys lives.

Jorge Masvidal's father has been arrested for attempted murder ... after he allegedly shot a man in the arms during a dispute at the ex-UFC star's Miami-area home on Thursday afternoon.

Jail records show Jorge Masvidal Sr. was booked at 1:33 AM Friday ... following allegations the 67-year-old opened fire on a man near the kitchen of Jorge Masvidal Jr.'s house roughly 12 hours earlier.

According to an arrest affidavit, obtained by TMZ Sports, Masvidal Sr. was at the Florida home with a man named Luis Leoncini -- when the two got into a verbal argument.

According to the docs, authorities say Leoncini told cops Masvidal Sr. shot him after the tiff, inflicting gunshot wounds to both of his arms.

It's unclear what sparked the alleged dispute ... but according to the affidavit, Leoncini was transported to a local hospital.

Meanwhile, Masvidal Sr., officials say in the docs, was taken into custody at 3:26 PM -- and later booked on a charge of attempted second-degree murder with a deadly weapon with a firearm.

Authorities added in the docs that following a search of the home, they found a .38 caliber revolver inside a kitchen cabinet.

It should be noted cops told us on Thursday evening that Masvidal Jr. was not present during the alleged shooting -- and "did not have any involvement" in it all.

A man was shot at Jorge Masvidal's Miami area home Thursday afternoon following a verbal altercation ... before being transported to the hospital with at least one gunshot wound to the arm area, TMZ Sports has learned.

The recently retired UFC superstar was NOT home at the time of the incident ... and was not involved in the incident in any way, according to officials.

However, Jorge's dad, Jorge Masvidal Sr., is currently in custody, where he is being interviewed by police.

Miami-Dade PD tell us they received a call around 3 PM. When they arrived, EMTs were already on the scene "rendering aid to an adult male who was shot in his upper extremities."

Cops say the victim told them he was "involved in an argument that escalated when the subject produced a firearm and shot him."

The cause of the argument, and who was involved, is currently unclear ... though police tell us the parties know each other.

We're told the victim was transported to a local hospital where he is now in stable condition.

38-year-old Masvidal recently retired from the UFC ... but is still one of the most popular fighters in the world.

Jorge is scheduled to have a Gamebred Bareknuckle event in South Florida on Friday night.

Henry Cejudo believes he's one win away from securing a spot as one of the greatest four fighters in MMA -- joining legends Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, and Anderson Silva -- and all that's left to do is beat champion Aljamain Sterling.

36-year-old Triple C joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... where he talked about his return to the Octagon after 3 years away, and what a win would mean for his legacy.

"I think that puts me on the Mount Rushmore of MMA. I'm probably not better than Demetrious or Jon Jones or Anderson Silva, but I think that puts me at number four," Henry said.

"I think that puts me in a league, I'm a two-division champ, Olympic champ. I come back three years later, I do believe in my heart that I am the greatest combat athlete of all time, just by my resume, just by my accolades, but I think this fight right here puts me on Mount Rushmore."

Of course, Henry hasn't fought since he beat the legendary Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May 2020. He was in the midst of a 6-fight win streak, including dubs over Mighty Mouse, Marlon Moraes, and T.J. Dillashaw.

FYI, Cejudo won an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling back in 2008 in Beijing.

Now, Henry will look to earn that spot on Mt. Rushmore ... with a win over bantamweight Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 on May 6.

If he gets past Aljo, Henry says he'd like to fight rival "dirty Q-tip Ronald Meth-Donald" 'Suga' Sean O'Malley.

Once he does all that, Cejudo believes there is a path to becoming the greatest ever, period. In order to do that, he believes he needs to beat current pound-for-pound king Alex Volkanovski for a third belt ... which has never been done before.

Former UFC fighter Felipe Colares tragically died at 29 years old on Monday after he was hit by a bus in Brazil.

Colares -- aka "Cabocão" -- was struck in the streets of Guaratiba, a large neighborhood in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, according to Globo Esporte.

The Brazilian outlet reported Colares had just finished a training session when the accident occurred. The MMA fighter's teammate, Kleydson Rodrigues, confirmed the awful news to Sherdog reporter Christian Stein on Monday afternoon as well.

Colares began his professional MMA career in 2013 ... and dominated early, winning his first eight fights. He later debuted in the UFC in 2019 against Geraldo de Freitas Jr.

Colares fought for Dana White's fight promotion several more times ... until he was released in 2022.

Colares gained national fame back in January ... when he helped thwart a robbery in Brazil. He said he used his jiu-jitsu skills to corral the suspect ... before police arrived on the scene to take the man into custody.

Colares piled up an 11-4 record in his career ... and following his passing, ARES Fighting Championship -- where he last fought -- sent its condolences to his family and friends.

Conor McGregor stole the show Saturday night at the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship ... and the spirits clearly moved him.

Conor was on hand to watch Mike Perry defeat Luke Rockhold, who threw in the towel after his teeth got messed up in the brawl.

Conor, who was sipping, then swigging, his Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey, toasted the crowd at the 1stBank Center and the crowd ate it up.

But McGregor wasn't done ... Perry invited him into the ring and they faked a face-off. That's when the Irish champ grabbed Perry's BKFC belt ... a move that would ordinarily have triggered another fight, except this one was for s**** and giggles. They stared each other down, WWE style, and that was that.

As for Conor ... he's been sidelined with an injury for 2 years, but he's expected to fight Michael Chandler soon.

Jorge Masvidal, from one bad motherf***** to the next, is coming to the defense of one-time opponent Nate Diaz, telling TMZ Sports the charges against the UFC legend are crap ... 'cause fighters need to be able to defend themselves too!

Gamebred recently joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... where they chopped it up about everything from his friendship with Donald Trump, whether he'd ever run for political office, his very own fight promotion, Gamebred Promotions, and the Diaz incident in New Orleans.

"There's nothing wrong [with defending yourself]," Masvidal said.

Of course, defending himself is exactly what Diaz says he was doing. Still, authorities opted to charge him with second-degree assault. Nate flew to NOLA on Thursday, where he turned himself in, before bonding out and taking a PJ back to Stockton. Diaz is adamant he was not the aggressor and simply was acting in self-defense.

"When it's you against somebody you have no idea if he's got a knife in his pocket, if he's gonna f******* pepper spray you then kick you in the nuts," Jorge explained, adding ... "Obviously this guy's not in the right mind if he's attacking a pro fighter. I just don't like it that people think because we're pro fighters that we're not able to defend ourselves."

"No, we have to defend ourselves. It's a cold world out there."

FYI, Jorge beat Nate for the BMF belt at UFC 244 in November 2019.

We also talked to Gamebred about politics ... with 80-year-old President Joe Biden recently announcing he'll run for reelection in 2024. Jorge has a relationship with Trump and believes the U.S. is headed in the wrong direction under the current POTUS.

"We the people say that please, you're not doing a service for us, you're doing a disservice. You're destroying this country. I don't care about your skin color, your ethnicity, your freakin' religious views. Where we were out 2 to 3 years ago was better for everybody."

Masvidal has gotten more involved in politics, and while he may not be a traditional candidate (stiff, phony, etc.), we asked Gamebred if he had any interest in running for office in the future.

"If you don't like the constitution and you're coming with all this crazy s*** now to try and destroy this country, I can't f*** you, man. But me running personally? No. But I'll def endorse those who I think are actually coming to get it and being a patriot."

There's much more ... while Masvidal says he still feels very comfortable with his decision to lay down his gloves after UFC 287, he's in no way leaving the fight game.

In fact, Jorge has big plans for Gamebred Promotions ... coming off an awesome Gamebred Boxing card that featured the legendary Roy Jones Jr. vs. Anthony Pettis. Jose Aldo and Jeremy Stephens also boxed ... along with Vitor Belfort defeating "Jacare" Souza.

Stacked.

And, Street Jesus says he's in the process of making even bigger moves, putting together massive events.

As for whether he'd fight under his own banner, the answer is ... maybe.

"I would definitely like to get a boxing match in there, I'm not ruling that out, but as of right now I'm just focusing on promoting."

Nate Diaz is now in custody in New Orleans ... jail records, obtained by TMZ Sports, show the ex-UFC star turned himself in early Thursday morning after an arrest warrant was issued for him earlier this week.

According to the records, Diaz was booked at 7:40 AM on a charge of second-degree battery.

No further details surrounding the turn-in were made immediately available.

As we reported, the New Orleans Police Dept. initially issued the arrest warrant for the 38-year-old fighter on Monday ... two days after he was seen on video choking out a man during a large altercation on Bourbon Street.

In the footage, you can see Diaz -- who was in Louisiana to watch the Misfits Boxing 6 event  -- got a guy in a headlock ... and choked him unconscious before he laid the dude down in the street. Cops said the man suffered a head wound in the altercation.

After the arrest warrant was issued, Diaz's rep, Zach Rosenfield, said Diaz was innocent ... and "acted entirely in self-defense."

Diaz is slated to fight Jake Paul in a boxing match later this summer. It's unclear if Wednesday's arrest will alter any plans for the much-anticipated fight.

All's well in the Askren household ... despite accidentally insulting his wife in an appreciation post earlier this week, Ben Askren proved Wednesday night he ain't in the doghouse with his spouse after all!!!

The former UFC star shared a cute video of him and Amy Askren on the couch ... revealing she isn't the least bit upset at him for inadvertently calling her unattractive in a sappy tweet that he penned on Tuesday afternoon.

In the video, Ben can be heard asking Amy if she was offended ... and she responded with some sarcastic quips.

She later said in the clip that she knew what Ben's intentions were with his message, joking he's so attracted to her physically, she has to "beat" him "away with a stick."

Amy, however, did admit she could see how Ben's post was misconstrued ... and she went on to praise her defenders as "very sensitive and thoughtful."

Ben then earned a few brownie points with Amy ... 'cause after he asked her, "How do you feel about being one of the best wives ever?" she responded, "I'll take that compliment."

Floyd Mayweather's next fight isn't just going to be a boxing match, it's also going to be a big music event, too ... 'cause TBE will be squaring up against John Gotti's grandson, John Gotti III -- and music superstar Ozuna will be performing!!

TMZ Sports is told the bash will go down on June 11 in Sunrise, Florida ... and Floyd (50-0, 27 KOs) is expected to make the exhibition bout official at a press conference on Thursday.

We're told Ozuna -- whose songs have billions of views on the internet -- will be taking the stage for a special set during the extravaganza ... making it an entertaining night in both sports AND music.

Gotti III -- a mixed martial arts fighter (5-1-0) -- is 2-0 (1 KO) as a professional boxer ... and the fight is being promoted as a "Last Names Matter" spectacle ... which makes sense, considering his grandpa is one of the most infamous crime bosses ever.

"Floyd was the first to start the exhibition concept, and everyone followed. Now he is adding some spice to the mix," James McNair, Mayweather’s pal, and president of the Money Team, told TMZ Sports.

"A boxing exhibition and musical performances all under one roof."