MMA

Kamaru Usman had a nearly impossible decision to make Wednesday morning ... travel nearly 8,000 miles and fight Khamzat Chimaev on 9 days notice, and now the former welterweight champ is opening up on why he decided to step in against one of the most dangerous men in the world!

"I leave training and I get the call from [manager Ali Abdelaziz] and I'm immediately excited. That's where you are, you're excited about what could potentially be," 36-year-old Usman told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" show on Friday (airs weekdays on FS1).

But, the UFC legend said he didn't want "to be hasty and do something unintelligent," so after speaking with his coaches, who didn't object, Kamaru told his people he'd take Tuesday night to decide.

When the sun rose Wednesday morning, the choice was crystal clear for Usman, who "texted Ali and said, 'Let's do this!'"

Of course, Usman is stepping in for Paulo Costa -- the middleweight contender -- who was originally scheduled to fight Chimaev. unfortunately, Costa is dealing with a medical issue, and wasn't going to be cleared.

With less than two weeks before UFC 294, the co-main event was in serious jeopardy ... but then Kamaru saved the day.

Now, Usman faces a huge challenge in the 29-year-old, undefeated Khamzat ... who Kamaru admits is very dangerous.

"He's very skilled. He's strong, he's big. He's fast, he can wrestle, he can grapple, he can strike. He has everything," Kamaru said, "But so do I."

"At the end of the day, we're all human beings. Everyone feels invincible until someone pokes that balloon."

Usman (#1) and Chimaev (#4), are both top 5 ranked welterweights ... but the fight's being contested at middleweight (185 lbs.)

We asked the Nigerian Nightmare if he's been told a win earns him a title shot.

"I mean, it's a no-brainer," Kamaru said, before making it clear he's solely focused on KC.

"I've got a mountain in front of me that I have to scale. We'll get through that first and then we'll worry about what's next."

Check out the full interview ... there's much more with Kamaru, including whether we've seen the last of him at welterweight, where he's arguably the G.O.A.T.

1:09 PM PT -- Logan Paul was, indeed, bloodied during Thursday's skirmish with Dillon Danis ... with a new angle of the scrap showing blood pouring out of the WWE Superstar's eye area almost immediately after he was hit by the microphone.

But, he says despite the wound, Saturday's fight will go on as planned.

"Dillon can’t escape me," Paul said on X. "The fight is very much happening, the stakes just got higher."

Paul also shared a selfie on his Instagram page just minutes ago ... showing that while the side of his face seems to be somewhat swollen, he's in good spirits.

"Can't see the haterz," he captioned the pic.

10:23 AM PT -- Dillon Danis just posted a photo of blood spatter on the ground near Thursday's altercation ... insinuating he made Logan Paul bleed with the microphone throw.

"Play with fire get burnt p****," Danis captioned the photo.

Dillon Danis and Logan Paul just got into a wild altercation at their prefight press conference Thursday ... one in which Danis actually hurled a microphone full speed at Paul's face.

The fracas happened just minutes ago as the two were on a stage trying to promote their Saturday boxing match ... when Paul chucked a bottle at his bitter rival as they were set to walk toward each other for a ceremonial staredown.

In response to being hit in the gut by the object ... Danis went nuclear -- and hurled a heavy microphone directly at his opponent.

It appeared to catch the WWE superstar in the face -- and then everyone jumped in to try to separate the two.

Several people were seen throwing more objects as Paul and Danis were whisked off stage ... though it's unclear if anyone -- including Paul or Danis -- was hurt in the melee.

The tilt was hardly the only notable moment from the contentious presser -- as just minutes before chaos erupted, Paul brought out Chris Hansen to mock Danis ... someone whom he's repeatedly called a "predator" over the last few weeks.

Danis and Paul are slated to box each other in just about 48 hours ... that is, of course, assuming no one sustained any fight-altering ailments during the onstage battle.

10:23 AM PT -- Dillon Danis acaba de publicar una foto de salpicaduras de sangre en el suelo cerca del altercado del jueves, insinuando que hizo sangrar a Logan Paul con el lanzamiento del micrófono.

"Si juegas con fuego te quemas", decía debajo de la foto.

Dillon Danis y Logan Paul acaban de vivir un altercado salvaje en su conferencia de prensa antes de la pelea  del jueves. Danis le lanzó el micrófono en la cara a Paul con todas sus fuerzas.

El altercado se produjo hace apenas unos minutos cuando ambos estaban en un escenario tratando de promover su combate de boxeo del sábado. Paul lanzó una botella a su acérrimo rival cuando se disponían a caminar el uno hacia el otro para un cara a cara ceremonial.

En respuesta a ser golpeado en el intestino por el objeto, Danis fue nuclear y le lanzó un micrófono pesado directamente a su oponente.

El micrófono impactó en la cara del luchador y todo el mundo saltó rápidamente para tratar de separarlos.

Varias personas fueron vistas lanzando más objetos cuando Paul y Danis fueron sacados del escenario, aunque no está claro si alguien —incluyendo Paul o Danis— resultó herido en el tumulto.

La pelea no fue el único momento destacable de la polémica rueda de prensa, ya que minutos antes de que estallara el caos, Paul sacó a Chris Hansen para burlarse de Danis a quien ha llamado "depredador" en repetidas ocasiones en las últimas semanas.

Danis y Paul están programados para boxear en tan solo 48 horas..

Former UFC champion Kamaru Usman was chillin' last night ... today he's prepping to fight Khamzat Chimaev across the world next week after Paulo Costa was pulled from the fight over an illness.

Costa and Chimaev were co-main event of UFC 294 -- going down October 21 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi -- until Paulo came down with Staph infection.

The MMA star released a short statement explaining the situation ... "I am hospitalized and had to do a second surgery yesterday. According to doctors, a third surgery will be necessary on Friday. So, I will not be medically cleared to fight on October 21st."

But, have no fear ... Dana White showed he's a miracle worker once again. Just a day after saving the main event when Charles Oliveira was pulled with a laceration on his face (Alex Volkanovski will face Islam Makhachev), the UFC honcho got on the horn with Usman and his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, and we have a fight!

Of course, Usman is a legend, a future Hall of Famer, and one of the best welterweights to ever step foot in a cage. But, he's lost two in a row to champ Leon Edwards.

Before the two fight skid, the Nigerian Nightmare won an astonishing 19 fights in a row. A win over Borz would presumably catapult Usman into the title picture in the welterweight and middleweight divisions.

As for Khamzat, Chimaev is a perfect 12-0 as a pro fighter (6-0 in the UFC) and counts victories over stars Kevin Holland and Gilbert Burns.

An OnlyFans model asked Dillon Danis to choke her out ... and he did just that.

The wild scene went down at the Misfits Boxing open workout on Wednesday ... when Elle Brooke wanted to get a firsthand understanding of the former Bellator fighter's submission skills.

Logan Paul's nemesis -- wearing a cap that read "I went on a date with Nina Agdal and all I got was this stupid hat" -- happily granted Brooke's request ... getting behind her and putting her in a rear naked choke.

The influencer/celeb boxer appeared to go out cold -- shaking as Danis and two others kept her from crashing to the ground.

Brooke came to several seconds later, and gave her immediate review of the experience ... comparing it to being on MDMA.

"Oh my God, that's so much better than drugs!!" Brooke said after the demo.

MMA stars are no strangers to doing tutorials on regular folk -- remember when Paige VanZant nearly made our idiot reporter Lucas go lights-out in the TMZ studio a few years ago?!

Our sources tell us Lucas didn't want to tap ... but Harvey made him.

As for Dillon and Elle, it looked like everyone left the experience on good terms ... even if it did look a bit scary. In fact, Brooke shot her shot with Danis on social media after the encounter ... saying, "Next time can we do it naked?"

The interaction comes just days before Danis is slated to fight Paul on the Prime Card in Manchester after months of ruthless trash talk ... and based on all the drama surrounding the bout, it's gonna be a movie.

https://www.tmz.com/2023/09/18/dillon-danis-served-nina-agdal-trolling-lawsuit-logan-paul-boxing-match-fight/

Perry, de 32 años, se unió a Mike Babcock en el programa de televisión TMZ Sports (todos los días en FS1) esta semana y nos explicó su papel como luchador de reserva para el esperado evento.

"Me estoy preparando para una pelea normal como si yo fuera el que lucha", nos dijo. Pero claro, hay una buena probabilidad de que nunca lance un puñetazo.

"Pienso que si Danis sube al ring, responde a la campana y se presenta, yo seguiría subiendo al ring y lucharía contra Logan".

Obviamente, si eso llegara a pasar sería algo nunca antes visto en el deporte.

Las peleas entre Logan (y su prometida Nina Agdal) y Dillon han sido tan intensas que la supermodelo interpuso una demanda contra el ex luchador de Bellator y obtuvo una orden de alejamiento contra él.

Paul nos dijo previamente que hay una cláusula en el contrato de Dillon que le multará con una cantidad sustancial de dinero si no se presenta a pelear.

Si Dillon se presenta y pelea, Mike dice que está dispuesto a arrinconarlo si no tiene un equipo con él.

"Mi entrenador incluso me dijo algo hoy, ¿qué pasa si Danis pelea y necesita ayuda en la esquina, y yo lo arrincono?".

Si Perry no está peleando en el ring, o en la esquina, dice que tal vez golpee a alguien en las gradas. 😅

"Puede que pelee esa noche entre el público. Quién sabe quién estará allí. ¡Quién sabe si alguien quiera hacer alguna estupidez!".

Quién pelea y dónde ¡lo descubriremos en cinco días!

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Logan Paul and Dillon Danis are scheduled to fight in less than a week ... but there's real concern the fighter-turned-internet won't actually show up for the scrap. If he doesn't, "Platinum" Mike Perry says he's ready to step in and whoop some ass!

32-year-old Perry joined Mike Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) this week ... and walked us through his role as a backup fighter for the highly anticipated event.

"I'm preparing for a fight like normal like I'm the one fighting," Platinum told us ... but of course, there's a good chance he never throws a punch.

"They told me all the way up until the point where if Danis gets into the ring, answers the bell, and walks out of the ring to say that he was there and showed up, I would still get in the ring and fight Logan."

Obviously, that's unheard of ... but this is an event like we haven't seen before.

The trash talk between Logan (and fiance Nina Agdal) and Dillon has been so intense, the supermodel filed a lawsuit against the former Bellator fighter and got a restraining order against him.

Paul previously told us there's a clause in Dillon's contract that fines him a substantial amount of money if he doesn't show up and fight.

If DD does show up and fight, Mike says he's willing to corner him for the fight ... if he doesn't have a team with him.

"My coach even said something to me today, what if Danis comes and he needs help in the corner, and I corner him?"

If Perry isn't fighting in the ring, or coaching in the corner, he says he just may beat someone up in the stands. 😅

"I might fight that night in the crowd. Who knows who's gonna be there. Who knows who's gonna do some stupid stuff!"

Who fights and where ... we'll find out in 5 short days!

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Pat Miletich and Mike Jackson used to be close friends -- key words, used to be -- now the men are about to scrap in an MMA cage, and they both have designs on seriously hurting each other!

Miletich and Jackson are fighting October 14 at Caged Aggression 36 in Davenport, Iowa ... and we talked to both men as they prepare to battle.

Miletich, a UFC Hall of Famer (2014), is 55 years old and hasn't fought in nearly 15 years. But, because the guys don't see eye to eye when it comes to life and politics, this was a fight Pat couldn't pass up.

"We got a pretty severe problem and there has to be some retribution for that. Do I hate Mike Jackson? No. Will I pull his arm off? Depends on my mood."

Pat continued ... "I can take him down at will. If I wanna be compassionate, take him down and choke him really quick. That's probably an option, to be honest with you."

Ah, compassion.

As for 38-year-old Mike, he rose to prominence in 2018 when he beat (it was later overturned and ruled a "no contest" over a failed drug test for weed) professional wrestler turned fighter CM Punk.

"If I'm being honest with you, only one objective is for him to be carried out of a stretcher, whether he's unconscious or not," Jackson told us.

"I don't want him walking out on his own like that's my only objective."

Jackson then went on to explain the nature of their beef and how it started (it concerns January 6/The Capitol) ... and it's clear the men have serious issues.

Because of the backstory, MJ says the fight means more to him than CM Punk ... which put Mike on the map with casual fans.

"I know the Punk fight was a really big fight in the MMA sphere given the platform it was on, but personally given where I am currently in my life and what I'm fighting for and all the things that's going on in the social sphere, this fight means way more to me. It's not just a fight."

Cain Velasquez has been given the all-go to corner Usman Nurmagomedov's Bellator 300 fight this weekend despite his ongoing criminal case ... and Usman tells TMZ Sports he couldn't be more pumped to have the UFC legend by his side.

"I'm so excited," the MMA star said.

It was unknown a few weeks ago if Velasquez would be able to help out in Nurmagomedov's championship tilt against Brent Primus in San Diego on Saturday night ... as he's still facing 10 charges for allegedly trying to shoot Harry Goularte, a man who had been accused of molesting one of his close relatives.

But, according to MMAFighting.com, Velasquez was cleared by the courts recently to help coach in the bout ... and Nurmagomedov -- who's been training with Velasquez at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose in the leadup to the match -- is thrilled.

"Cain he's like, he talks with everybody the same," the 25-year-old said. "If you're a star, he doesn't talk with you different."

"He's, like, a very good person," Usman added. "Family guy. He's really humble, too. Very kind guy."

Cain isn't the only MMA legend to help Nurmagomedov gear up for his match ... he said his cousin, Khabib Numagomedov, has called to give tips and advice as well.

"If LeBron wanted to fight with me, it wouldn't be close!"

That's UFC fighter Bobby Green aka "King" saying he'd wash Bron in a purely hypothetical fight for the royal nickname.

See, TMZ Sports was talking to the 37-year-old lightweight before his Fight Night main event scrap against 29-year-old Grant Dawson, the 10th ranked 155 pounder.

Dawson's nickname is "KGD" ... said to stand for "King Grant Dawson"

When we asked Green if he had a message for Grant, he told us ... "There can only be one King. I just found out that Grant Dawson's fight name is KGD. There can only be one king. Let's go find out. The other one's gonna get his head cut off!"

Okay, okay. Obviously, the most famous "King" going right now this side of Charles is LeBron ... and given the age-old debate about skill vs. size, we asked BG if he could beat the 6'8" hoops legend.

"It wouldn't be close!" Bobby said.

We mentioned the size discrepancy ... Bobby's 5'10" and fights at 155 lbs. (we'll assume he walks around in the neighborhood of 185). James is 10 inches taller, and weighs 250 lbs., according to the Lakers website.

Irrelevant, according to Bobby.

"He's a big dude but he doesn't have the skills I'm sorry. Skills pay the bills, sir."

But, would Green actually fight King James?

"In a drop of a dime. In a heartbeat, without even thinking about it. Hell yeah. I'll wax his ass!"

"No puedo imaginar después de todo lo que ha hablado en X, después de toda la m*** que ha dicho, lo que será estar atrapado en un ring conmigo... ha cometido un grave error. Y suponiendo que se presente, el 14 de octubre será la peor noche de su vida".

Logan Paul está ansioso por vengarse de Dillon Danis cuando se enfrenten oficialmente en su combate de boxeo el próximo mes y le dice a TMZ Sports que su oponente se va a arrepentir de haberlo hecho algo personal.

Por supuesto, el ex luchador de Bellator ha estado en la vorágine de las redes sociales antes de la pelea, con todo el asunto de su prometida, la modelo de Nina Agdal, a tal punto de que tuvo que presentar una orden de restricción y una demanda en su contra.

Hablamos con Paul sobre las tonterías en la previa a la pelea y aunque dijo que sabía que Dillon lo insultaría y haría todo este tipo de comentarios, señaló que es un poco diferente cuando se tienen que involucrar abogados.

"Es un llorón, legítimamente", dijo Paul. "No estoy diciendo esto solo para actuar como un compañero de pelea pesado, que quiere maltratarlo. Es un cobarde. Ha hecho de esta pelea un asunto de mujeres, eligió pelearse con una mujer. Ella se defendió. Él está lloriqueando por eso. Está molesto. Está poniendo excusas a diestra y siniestra".

Logan añadió que cree que Danis nunca planeó realmente seguir adelante con la lucha y solo accedió a ella para obtener influencia y atención.

"Es el rey de los "patos", todo ladrido, pero nada de mordida".

A pesar de molestar a Agdal, dijo que no está ni un poco preocupado de enfadarse demasiado antes de entrar al ring, pues no hay nada que Danis pueda hacer para meterse en su piel.

Hablando de Agdal, Logan dijo que estará en la pelea en Manchester, ya que ambos han estado luchando sus propias guerras contra Danis a su manera.

"I can't imagine after all the talk he's done on X, after all the s*** he said, what it's going to be like to be trapped in a ring with me -- he has made a grave error. And assuming he shows up, October 14 will be the worst night of his life."

Logan Paul is champing at the bit to get revenge on Dillon Danis when they officially face off in their boxing match next month ... telling TMZ Sports his opponent is going to regret making it personal.

Of course, the former Bellator fighter has been on a tear on social media leading up to the bout ... targeting Paul's model fiancee, Nina Agdal, to the point she had to file a restraining order and lawsuit against him.

We spoke with Paul about the pre-fight antics ... and while he said he knew D.D. would bring the trash talk, he pointed out it's a bit different when lawyers gotta get involved.

"He's a crybaby, legitimately," Paul said. "I'm not just saying this to be like a mean fight companion trying to rile him up. He's a coward. He's made this fight entirely about a woman -- he chose to pick a fight with a woman. She fought back. He's whining about it. He's upset. He's making excuses left, right and center."

Logan added he believes Danis never planned to actually go through with the fight ... and only agreed to it so he could get clout and attention.

"He's the king of the ducks, all bark, no bite."

Despite going after Agdal, Logan said he's not worried one bit about getting too angry before entering the ring with his nemesis ... saying there's nothing Danis could do to get under his skin.

Speaking of Agdal, Logan said she WILL be at the fight in Manchester ... as they've both been fighting their own wars against Danis in their own ways.

Strange time for a nap ... Alex Jones literally went to sleep while appearing as a guest on Craig Jones' (no relation!) show on Thursday after the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champ sent the controversial host to La La Land with a super tight rear-naked choke! 😴

49-year-old Jones' was appearing on Craig's "El Segundo Podcast" when the IBJJF world champ got to live out the real-life fantasy of many of Alex's opponents, literally putting the Infowars host to sleep square in his chair on set.

It's unclear what led up to the submission (Alex was clearly down with it) ... and given Craig's one of the best in the world when it comes to strangling people (he coaches Alex Volkanovski and Israel Adesanya), it didn't take him long.

Craig posted video of the incident ... and had some fun with the caption, writing, "The CIA sent me but I couldn’t do my dad like that"

Again, no father-son relation here.

The clip starts with the choke already in deep. After about 8 seconds of pressure, Jones' eyes rolled back, and he was out cold.

Almost 10 seconds later, Alex finally wakes up ... but clearly had no idea what the hell just happened -- common among people who have been choked out.

"What? What'd I just do?" Alex asked, looking around.

Presumably, Craig will drop more videos with Alex when the pod episode debuts.

Nate Diaz is no longer facing any time behind bars for his role in an altercation on Bourbon Street earlier this year ... prosecutors have just dropped the criminal case against the former UFC star.

A spokesperson for the Orleans Parish District Attorney's office confirmed to TMZ Sports on Monday afternoon that Diaz's second-degree battery charge has been dismissed. No further details surrounding the case's disposition, however, were given.

Diaz's rep, Zach Rosenfield, said in a statement that he was pleased with the decision ... reiterating yet again that he believes when Diaz choked out Rodney Petersen in the middle of the famed New Orleans street back in April, he was doing nothing more than defending himself.

"Since Rodney Peterson sought out to fight Nate on Bourbon Street, we have maintained Nate's actions were 100 percent in self-defense," Rosenfield stated.

"It was clear on the video, clear in pictures and clear from the multiple other videos Rodney posted before and after."

"Nate has a right to defend himself against those who want to make a name for themselves and did so," Rosenfield added.

"We appreciate the Orleans Parish District Attorney taking the time to review all aspects of this case and their decision to not proceed with it."

Diaz never seemed to be too bothered by the criminal case ... he actually joked about it all with Jake Paul in May -- laughing with the YouTuber/boxer at their pre-fight press conference.

Israel Adesanya just issued an apology to his family and beloved fans after pleading guilty to drunk driving ... saying he was wrong to get behind the wheel.

The incident happened on August 19th ... after the 24-3 UFC star had dinner and a few drinks with friends in Auckland, New Zealand.

While driving home, the 34-year-old came across a random breath testing unit ... and allegedly had a reading of 87 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters, which exceeds New Zealand's legal limit of 50 milligrams.

"I want to apologize to the community, my family and my team for the decision I made to get behind the wheel after drinking at a dinner," Adesanya said in a statement.

"I am disappointed with my decision to drive, It was wrong."

Style Bender continued ... "I know that people might follow me and I want them to know I do not think this behavior is acceptable."

Adesanya pleaded guilty in court on Monday ... and is facing a max penalty of three months in jail or a $2,600 fine.

This arrest happened three weeks before Adesanya lost to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia ... which cost him his middleweight title.

Stipe Miocic fights Jon Jones at Madison Square Garden in less than 50 days, but not even the biggest fight of his career could stop the heavyweight G.O.A.T. from working his less glamorous, but more important day job.

Of course, Stipe is a firefighter in his home state of Ohio ... a job he's dedicated himself to for over a decade. But, Jon recently suggested Miocic “take time off from being a firefighter right now” as he prepares for the biggest fight of his career.

It's advice Stipe did not take ... because when TMZ Sports talked to him this week, we asked if he'd stepped away from the department until after the title fight at MSG.

"No, I'm working tomorrow but I have days off, vacation days, and stuff so. I'm pretty lucky the fight's in November 'cause a lot of guys don't take off so it's easy for me to take time off that time of year."

We asked Stipe what it said about him ... remaining on the job while preparing to fight the man many believe is the most dangerous MMA fighter ever.

"My mom raised me right," Miocic said. "I think just hard work pays off and nothing's ever given until it's earned."

Miocic hasn't fought in 2.5 years ... when he dropped the rematch to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260.

Before the scrap with Ngannou, Stipe beat Daniel Cormier twice.

Speaking of DC ... the UFC great fought Jones on two occasions, so we asked Miocic if he's reached out to Daniel for advice on how to fight Jon.

"We're friends but I haven't really asked. That man's a busy man. DC, I give him credit, he's so busy but I get it, he's doing stuff. I'm never gonna bother him. If he ever called me, yeah, for sure I'd talk to him but that's it."

There's much more with Stipe ... including how he believes he'll beat Jon, to who hit hardest out of all the beasts he's fought -- Ngannou, DC, Mark Hunt, Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos, and more.