MMA

Jake Paul's fight against Nate Diaz was on the same level as one of the most popular fights in combat sports history -- so says former boxing champ Shawn Porter, who tells TMZ Sports Saturday's event felt "just as big as" Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor!

Porter -- who was on the mic in Dallas for the big matchup -- said the vibes were off the charts throughout the Jake vs. Nate fight ... calling the experience Super Bowl-esque.

"This was just as big as Mayweather and McGregor," Porter emphatically told us on Monday.

FYI -- Floyd vs. Conor is widely reported as the second-highest-selling fight in Pay-Per-View history (behind Floyd vs. Manny Pacquiao) ... so to compare the energy at Jake vs. Nate to that is quite a compliment.

Of course, "Showtime" is no stranger to the biggest events in the sport -- whether he competed in or attended them, he's witnessed some electric crowds over the years.

But Porter said the spectator support of Diaz was second to none ... adding, "I've never heard anything like that before."

"MMA fans, man. They show up, they show out, they have a lot of fun and they are extremely loud. I was loving it."

As for the fight, Shawn gave Jake a C grade on the night, despite getting the victory ... explaining the Problem Child still has to work on finishing off his opponents after landing big punches.

Justin Gaethje is arguably the hottest fighter in the UFC right now after his highlight-reel knockout of Dustin Poirier, and that's why Conor McGregor is calling out the lightweight star on social media ... he's clout chasing, according to JG's manager.

TMZ Sports talked to Ali Abdelaziz days after his star client went home with the BMF belt, which he won during the main event of UFC 291. While people were in awe of Gaethje's fight-ending head kick, The Notorious wasn't one of them ... Conor quickly hit up Twitter and trashed Justin.

Just jealousy, according to Ali.

"Conor McGregor, he lost himself. He doesn't know who he is. He's a guy who isn't even a fighter. He's a retired fighter. He's not in the USADA program, he probably weighs almost close to 200 pounds. He just wants clout," Abdelaziz told us.

"Justin Gaethje's a gladiator. Dustin Poirier's a gladiator. Kamaru Usman, Islam, Max Holloway, all those guys are gladiators. He's not a gladiator anymore."

Speaking of Poirier, McGregor hasn't fought since breaking his leg against Diamond at UFC 264 in July 2021.

"Conor McGregor is a pretender right now," Abdelaziz said.

"He gets in fights in bars and at Grammy's, street fights. He gets in fights when he has security there to protect him."

Conor is/was supposed to fight Michael Chandler (who coached opposite him on TUF), but that fight hasn't yet been made, and reports indicate McGregor isn't in the USADA test pool yet, meaning he couldn't fight for at least 6 months.

Listening to Ali, it very much seems Conor and Justin is NOT going to happen. Question is, who will it be? Abdelaziz breaks it down.

3:07 PM PT -- Elon Musk might need more time to train and get ready for a cage match against Mark Zuckerberg -- but the Facebook founder says he's ready now.

Zuck fired back at Elon's chirping this weekend, taking to his own platform (Threads) to point out that he's all set to rumble, and at a moment's notice. He also says he suggested a date of August 26 when Elon first challenged him -- but claims EM is stonewalling.

Finally, MZ takes a jab at Elon's proposal of streaming the bout on X -- suggesting Threads would be a better place for generating actual revenue (for charity). Twitter/X has been in dire financial straits for months now.

Elon's teased the fact that he's pumping iron in preparation, but also notes ... Mark probably has him beat on stamina -- and that if they duke it out, he'd wanna end it quickly.

Elon Musk plans to make some loot for his company formally known as Twitter, because he's planning on live-streaming his highly anticipated fight with Mark Zuckerberg on X ... so he declared Sunday.

TMZ has been reporting, Zuck and Musk are both all in for mixing it up in the UFC octagon.  There were actually talks between UFC and the Italian Foreign Ministry about holding the fight at the Coliseum, but our sources say that's not going to happen.

We're also told if the fight goes down, it will likely take months. We're surmising from what we're hearing Elon needs more time to train ... something Zuck has been doing for a long time.

Despite their height and weight disparity -- Zuck's 5'7" and 150 lbs, while Musk towers over him at 6'2" weighing 230 -- M.Z. had a big edge when it comes to stamina.

The more these guys jawbone back and forth, the more likely it is they'll fight, because neither one is prone to blinking.

Stay tuned.

Some spectators at the Jake Paul/Nate Diaz fight wanted a piece of the action, because not one but several crazy brawls erupted after the match.

It's unclear why people were fighting, although the simple explanation is they were just looking for a brawl. It's kinda like projection ... they all wanted to be Jake, so they took a swing at it.

Doesn't seem anyone was seriously hurt, and they all got their money's worth. Jake won by unanimous decision.

As for the fan fights ... people trashed the brawlers on social, calling it embarrassing.

BTW ... Jake chose to fight Nate over a rematch with Tommy Fury, whom he lost to a few months back by decision.

Conor McGregor took his growing family out to the beaches of the South of France this week ... and the UFC superstar was clearly excited for his baby on the way -- kissing his partner's tummy during the outing!!

The Notorious and Dee Devlin threw on their bathing suits and soaked up the sun during their getaway ... chowing down on some food, running in the water and taking selfies.

Conor also showed his love for his unborn fourth child ... rubbing all over Dee's stomach and hugging her.

As we previously reported, Conor revealed back in June his partner is pregnant again ... and he couldn't be more excited about the new addition.

The whole family appeared to be in great spirits at the beach ... despite the recent controversy surrounding the former champion outside the Octagon.

As we previously reported, Conor was accused of raping a woman at the Miami Heat NBA Finals game in June ... which is still under investigation. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Conor was also spotted rushing out of a funeral in Ireland last month ... although details surrounding the incident remain unclear.

Themba Gorimbo's days of living in the gym are over -- the UFC fighter now has his own place to call home ... thanks to an incredible gesture from his idol, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

The movie superstar and WWE legend surprised Themba at his gym in an emotional meetup last week ... holding up on a promise he made after hearing the mixed-martial artist's story about fighting with just 7 dollars to his name.

But, as it turns out, their interaction at the gym was just the beginning of their special time together ... 'cause Themba's hero had something else up his sleeve (even though he wasn't wearing any).

Here's how it went down -- The Rock initially said they were going to meet up with his friend, Jay, at his apartment in Miami ... but once they got to the pad, Themba would soon find out there was no "Jay."

After walking around and seeing framed family photos all over the place ... Themba quickly realized he was standing inside his new apartment!!

"I was so moved by your story," The Rock told Gorimbo. "When I found out you were sleeping on the couch in the gym ... now there's no more couch sleeping. This is your house. Welcome home!"

"Now you can bring your kids here, man, your family. This place is yours. You don't have to think about anything. The only thing you think about is your family, getting them over here, getting them with you, training, and becoming a champion."

Themba was overcome with emotion ... thanking Johnson for the act of kindness.

The violence simply couldn't wait for Saturday night -- the Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz press conference ended in an all-out brawl involving both fighters' security ... with multiple punches thrown.

The chaos went down minutes ago in Dallas ... shortly after Jake and Nate jawed back and forth in their last media event prior to their big fight at the American Airlines Center.

Something happened on stage as Nate and Jake faced off ... and a huge scuffle ensued.

It appears Nate was exchanging words with Jake's manager, Nakisa Bidarian ... when Paul's security intervened.

In footage from the incident, you can see punches thrown ... but thankfully, the scrap was handled rather quickly -- and both boxers appeared to steer clear of it.

Jake and Nate unleashed on each other earlier in the event ... with Paul saying, "I'm going to bend him over and f*** him like a cowboy."

"I'm gonna ball on his face, like Luka Doncic dropping 40 on his face. Knock him out, Luka Doncic on his head ass."

There were also some homophobic comments made ... with Diaz referring to Paul as the f-word during a heated exchange with a member of Betr Media.

The real fight goes down in just two days ... getcha popcorn ready.

Kamaru Usman says he's wanted to fight Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson for some time ... and with both men in need of an opponent, the former UFC welterweight champion has an idea -- fight each other!!

"I've done everything there is to do. The only guy that, to be honest, that even make sense right now is Wonderboy, 'cause he needs an opponent," 36-year-old Usman told TMZ Sports on Tuesday.

"Wonderboy's been around for so long, and he's just that name to where it's always a good fight."

40-year-old Thompson, a mainstay at the top of the 170 lb. division for years, has one of the most unique styles in all MMA (Kempo) ... and that's a challenge that excites Usman.

"His style is very, very difficult to fight. He's just one of those names, he's in my era, that I never really got to fight."

Of course, Wonderboy was supposed to fight Michel Pereira at UFC 291 on Saturday ... but the fight was scrapped after the Brazilian fighter missed weight, tipping the scale at 173 lbs.

Some fans and others around the sport have criticized Wonderboy for not fighting, despite the fact he cut and made weight, and Pereira didn't. Kamaru says those people are full of crap.

"I know everyone is crucifying [Wonderboy] for not taking that fight. But why? I don't understand that. Why?" Usman asked.

"People are like, 'He's a bitch.' 'He's scared.' 'He didn't want to take the fight.' Why? We signed on a contract, and [Pereira] said he was going to make this weight. He decided not to make this weight, and [Thompson] told him, 'Ok, I need you to go back and make this weight.' And if he's not going to try, why is that [Wonderboy's] fault? No, absolutely not [his] fault. People need to stop that."

"Wonderboy did his job. He came in there, he made weight, he trained for the fight. What more could you ask of him?"

There's much more ... we also talked to the future UFC Hall of Famer about his close friend and gym-mate Justin Gaethje's incredible KO win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 291, with the BMF belt on the line.

Kamaru talks about why the win was so important for his squad/coaches.

Mark Zuckerberg's training so hard for a potential MMA fight with Elon Musk that he's eating 4,000 calories EVERY DAY to avoid widening the huge size difference between the billionaires!

Zuck's been busting his ass training with some of the best UFC fighters in the world ... and even recently disclosed he installed an Octagon on his lawn!

In order to maintain his already slight stature, MZ revealed his McDonald's order on Threads, and it's a hefty amount of food for a 145-lb. guy.

"20 nuggets, a quarter pounder, large fries, Oreo McFlurry, apple pie, and maybe some side cheeseburgers for later?" Zuck said.

Assuming Zuck got two cheeseburgers "for later" (vet move), the Mickey D's alone is over 2,300 calories.

UFC fighter Mike David didn't totally agree with the nutritional choice.

"You’re in camp! No McDonalds 😂" the 10-2, 30-year-old MMA fighter wrote to Mark.

Good luck getting Zuck to stay away from the Golden Arches ... the Meta CEO responded soon after, justifying his diet choices.

"Not cutting weight so I need ~4000 calories a day to offset all the activity. And it's so delicious..." Zuckerberg explained.

Translation, Mark doesn't have to lose weight in order to fight. In fact, it's the opposite. It would behoove him to gain weight, 'cause Musk tips the scales around 230 lbs., and if the guys were to step foot in the Octagon today, Zuckerberg would be at an ~85 lb. disadvantage.

Zuck's huge caloric intake shows how hard he's been training. Just last month, he was working out with UFC champions Israel Adesanya and Alex Volkanovski. A gang of other fighters have also offered to help.

Ask and you shall receive!!

Mike Tyson is granting Francis Ngannou's wish ... officially joining the former UFC champion's team to help him train for his upcoming boxing match against Tyson Fury.

Remember, Francis told TMZ Sports last month he would love to work with Iron Mike leading up to his October 28 bout against Fury (33-0) ... saying, "I think getting some advice or some training from Mike Tyson would be good."

"I also think of somebody like Lennox Lewis, which could be good."

Well, it's happening ... 'cause Michael Benson of talkSPORT confirmed on Thursday the legendary heavyweight champ will be part of Ngannou's training camp and be in his corner for his fight in Saudi Arabia.

Tyson actually gave Ngannou tips on how to beat Fury in the past -- after he appeared on the Hotboxin' podcast, Mike showed the 36-year-old how to throw a body shot on the 6-foot-9 beast.

Mark Zuckerberg's preparation for a potential fight with Elon Musk might just relegate him to sleeping on the couch ... because the billionaire revealed Wednesday his decision to build an Octagon at his home has really ticked off his wife.

Zuck got the fighting arena installed in his backyard this week ... and when he pointed it out to his significant other, Priscilla Chan, he appeared to think she'd be stoked about him being able to now grapple just a few feet from his living room.

"It looks awesome," he said over text to Chan ... adding, "We have plenty of yard space!" when he noticed she wasn't exactly thrilled over it.

That's when, however, she dropped a bomb on him ... saying, "I have been working on that grass for two years."

Seems Zuck knows he now needs to at least consider getting rid of his new training toy ... because he posted a poll asking his followers whether he should "Keep the octagon" or "Save the grass."

For now, the masses believe he should say bye-bye to the sod ... 'cause, after all, dude might be fighting Musk in just a matter of months.

Justin Gaethje got congratulations messages from all kinds of people following his big win over Dustin Poirier ... but maybe the most notable to call was Donald Trump, who actually sent an invitation to the UFC star to golf with him as part of his well-wishes chat.

Gaethje said the former POTUS gave him a ring shortly after his stunning KO victory on Saturday night ... telling TMZ Sports the call was "awesome."

"He f***ing loves fighting, man," Gaethje said of No. 45. "He loves it."

The 34-year-old tells us ... Trump said he was proud of the performance that Gaethje put on -- while also saying "how impressive of a show it was."

Then, Gaethje said Trump told him he wanted to tee it up with him whenever he's in New York or Florida next.

Of course, the two have formed a good bond over the years ... you'll recall, Gaethe actually attended one of Trump's presidential rallies back in 2020 -- where Trump shouted out him and other UFC fighters in attendance during his speech. Seems their relationship has only grown stronger since.

As for what's next for Gaethje aside from a potential 18 holes with DT ... he told us there are plenty of options on the table -- including Charles Oliveira, Islam Makhachev ... and, yes, maybe even Conor McGregor.

Of the trio, Gaethje seemed to want Oliveira the most (assuming he's able to beat Makhachev in their title fight in October) -- telling us he'd love to avenge the loss he suffered at UFC 274 in 2022.

"Kids, I'm sorry ... you gotta go to public school now."

Jorge Masvidal was down bad after Dustin Poirier got knocked out at UFC 291 ... not only because he hated seeing his friend lose, but he also kissed a whopping $100k goodbye after betting on the fight.

The retired UFC star revealed his woeful wager shortly after his American Top Team teammate lost to Justin Gaethje via a vicious leg kick during Saturday's BMF belt matchup ... admitting he was so confident "Diamond" would come out on top, he was willing to risk a hefty chunk of change.

FYI -- Poirier was a -150 favorite to beat Gaethje, which means Jorge would have pocketed an extra $66k had it gone the other way.

Gamebred told TNT Sports he "probably shouldn't" be making bets of that magnitude ... and joked his three children will suffer from the financial blow.

Of course, Jorge will be okay -- he previously said in an interview he once made $5 million off one fight alone ... and he has his own Gamebred Boxing and Bareknuckle promotions that are taking off in his retirement.

As for the fight, Jorge felt Dustin had the upper hand in the first round ... but Gaethje had the "perfect kick" in the second that knocked him out.

"So hats off to Justin, man," the former BMF title holder said. "Great fight, great competitor always."

Kayla Harrison is still itching for a fight with Amanda Nunes ... telling TMZ Sports if the UFC's G.O.A.T. ever comes out of retirement, she wants to throw hands with her badly!!!

But, don't get it twisted ... there's absolutely no bad blood on Harrison's end toward Nunes -- she just wants the scrap to prove that she can beat the best ever.

"She is the greatest of all time," Harrison said of The Lioness. "She was the woman. And I wanted to be the woman. And, to me, that's like the greatest compliment I can give someone. I value what you have so much and who you are so much that I'm like chasing you."

Problem for Harrison is ... it doesn't seem like Nunes has any intention of getting back in the octagon ever again.

You'll recall ... the 35-year-old officially called it a career after she beat Irene Aldana at UFC 289 last month -- and she seemed dead serious about the decision, saying it was "the perfect night to retire."

Harrison tells us it all bummed her out -- even though she was ultimately happy for her former training partner.

"She's done everything she's wanted to do," Harrison said. "She's got a beautiful family, she's living the dream."

Errol Spence and Terence Crawford ain't the only boxers fighting in Las Vegas ... Caleb Plant and Jermall Charlo got into it on Friday as well -- and the altercation between the two stars was wild.

You can see in video shot at T-Mobile Arena ... Plant and Charlo were backstage at the Crawford vs. Spence weigh-ins, when Plant charged at Charlo and slapped him right in the face.

Plant's hand connected so flush with Charlo's cheek, it actually made a loud sound that forced a gasp out of at least one bystander.

The two seemed to want to escalate things further ... but, thankfully, a security guard ushered Plant away from the scene -- which calmed everyone down.

It's unclear why Plant hit Charlo, but after the squabble was broken up, Caleb yelled, "Don’t you ever grab me by my motherf****in' face again like that, boy."

The two have had beef for a while ... with Plant calling out Charlo prior to his fight against David Benavidez in March.

At the time, he said he wanted Jermall if he couldn't see Canelo Alvarez next. Coincidentally, Canelo is next slated to fight Jermall's twin brother, Jermell, in September.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson just made UFC fighter Themba Gorimbo's dream come true -- surprising the welterweight at the gym in an incredibly emotional video.

Remember, Gorimbo said he only had 7 bucks in his account before UFC Fight Night in Vegas last month ... a similar story to The Rock, who was also scrambling for cash at the beginning of his career.

The movie superstar got wind of Gorimbo's story and reached out to him on social media at the time ... saying he was so moved by his journey, he wanted to meet in person.

That day finally came on Thursday ... with the two linking up for the very first time -- and Gorimbo could barely keep it together as he saw his hero in the flesh.

Gorimbo -- who was doing a staged interview -- turned around, bolted up and hugged Johnson ... choking up as he realized what was happening.

"We’ve never met but I had to fly to Miami to look this man @thembagorimbo_mma in the eyes, hug him and shake his hand," The Rock said of the interaction.

"I’ve been moved & motivated by his story ❤️"

Gorimbo also spoke about the special meeting ... saying, "I am very grateful to have finally met @therock today after he saw about my $7 bucks situation."

"Big man with a big heart and he has changed my life completely today and I shall forever be grateful. I didn’t know how to thank him because words aren’t enough."