MMA

8:38 AM PT -- Jake Paul is going off on anyone who is still hating on his boxing career after the big reveal ... telling any naysayers to simply "shut the f*** up."

"Boxer true and true, better record than me, more wins by KO than me, same weight."

Of course, haters gonna hate ... so it sounds like that'll continue no matter what.

Jake Paul is sending a direct response to his haters with his next opponent -- he just announced he's slated to fight pro boxer Andre August next month.

The Problem Child is going up against a 10-1 cruiserweight fighter with five knockouts under his belt ... and he's referring to the matchup as a serious challenge as he continues his quest to become a legitimate world champion.

"Ask and I shall deliver," Jake said Wednesday. "August has more KO’s then me, more wins then me, more experience then me, but I like to gamble."

"The path to world champ starts here. Just straight up boxing."

26-year-old Paul is 7-1 with four KOs in his career ... but many have criticized him for taking on older MMA fighters with little to no boxing experience.

The one boxer he actually has on his record is Tommy Fury -- and that's his only loss.

35-year-old August is by far the smallest name Jake has ever agreed to fight ... but he's exactly the type of opponent the purists would want to see him face off against.

The 5'10", 200-lb. Houston native last fought in August, when he won via unanimous decision. His only loss came in 2018. According to his Instagram page, AA claims to be a Texas state champion.

August addressed the upcoming event in a statement ... saying, "I don't talk very much. I’m all about that action! Jake Paul has the money, the fame, the team and the resources but he doesn’t have my hunger."

"When that bell rings, I am going to go straight to Jake Paul and ring his bell and send him back to YouTube for good."

The bout is slated to go down December 15 at the Caribe Royale in Orlando.

A former MMA fighter used his combat skills to open a can of whoop-ass on a knife-wielding assailant in self-defense... and the dramatic scene was caught on video.

Javier Baez drove back to his Miami apartment complex after a night out on Halloween ... and spotted Omar Marrero screaming and brandishing a knife in the parking lot, according to WPLG News.

After Baez parked his car, Marrero reportedly walked over and started hitting his window with the knife.

Marrero then opened the driver's side door and tried to slash Baez, who got out to dial down the escalating tension.

But it didn't work ... Marrero kept swinging the knife at Baez and retrieved a second blade from his vehicle nearby.

Baez wasn't intimidated, though, reverting back to his days as a mixed martial arts fighter and making quick work of Marrero.

Check out the video ... Holding one of the knives, Marrero charges at Baez, who lifts him up and body slams him to the ground. Baez then disarms Marrero and puts him in a chokehold.

Baez later told a WPLG reporter, "Once I started putting the choke in, he kind of just let it go because no one is worried about anything else but breathing when you’re losing air."

Baez added, "I was able to hold him down with my knee and call the cops, and he woke up, cops came, and it was good, easy peasy!"

Francis Ngannou isn't sending mixed signals ... he wants a rematch with Tyson Fury next, and if that means waiting a few months until The Gypsy King fights Oleksandr Usyk, he tells TMZ Sports that's exactly what he'll do!

The 37-year-old combat sports superstar joined Michael Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" show (airs weeknights on FS1) ... where the guys talked about Francis' future in the ring now that he's the hottest commodity in the sport.

"I would be willing to wait [for Fury to fight Usyk]. I know that they are going to fight, they had a contract already, so they are going to fight sometime in February instead of December 23, which is my fault," Ngannou said smiling ... "I shouldn't have cut him. He would've fought December 23, and maybe we would've run it back early next year."

Of course, Francis is referring to the cut he opened up on Tyson's head ... a big reason he won't be able to turn around and fight in less than 2 months. The cut has to heal.

So, a fight with Fury, barring the Usyk bout completely falling apart, will not happen until, at earliest, mid-2024.

In the meantime, Anthony Joshua, through his promoter Eddie Hearn, has said he's down to fight The Predator in Saudi Arabia on December 28. We asked Ngannou if he was interested.

"First of all, it's too soon. Secondly, my focus, as boxing is concerned, is a rematch with Tyson. That's the most important thing for me right now, everything else for boxing comes after."

In addition to AJ, Deontay Wilder and Joseph Parker are names that have been thrown out as possible future opponents for Ngannou.

All this doesn't necessarily mean Francis won't fight before Fury ... he just won't box. Remember, Ngannou is signed to PFL (as a fighter and Chairman of PFL Africa).

Last week we spoke to PFL CEO Peter Murray ... who previewed some of the promotion's plans for their superstar fighter.

There's also much more with Francis ... from whether he believes Fury trained for him to how his life has changed since the epic performance.

10:00 AM PT -- Jorge Masvidal spoke outside the courthouse ... just minutes after accepting a plea deal in the Colby Covington battery case. Beef squashed?? Not exactly! 😬

Jorge Masvidal struck a sweet deal with the district attorney prosecuting the Colby Covington case ... the retired UFC superstar pled no contest to misdemeanor battery, and will not serve a minute behind bars, or on probation, TMZ Sports has learned.

As a result of the plea agreement, the two felonies Jorge faced were dropped, aggravated assault and criminal mischief, according to Masvidal's attorney, Bradford Cohen.

We're also told there is no stay-away order in the plea.

According to the DA's office, the case was "adjudicated guilty," though Masvidal never admitted guilt, according to Cohen.

Masvidal had been facing over a decade behind bars.

Of course, the incident happened in March 2022 outside of Papi Steak in Miami Beach ... where Colby was having dinner with the Nelk Boys. When CC left, Masvidal was outside waiting, and the attack was on.

Covington told police Masvidal punched him twice, breaking his tooth, and even causing an alleged brain injury.

The fight outside the steakhouse came just weeks after Colby beat Jorge by unanimous decision at UFC 272 ... pitting the former best friends-turned-enemies against one another.

Colby hasn't fought since UFC 272 ... meanwhile, Jorge retired in April 2023 after fighting Gilbert Burns. Masvidal then launched his own fight promotion, Gamebred.

Francis Ngannou signed with PFL earlier this year, and now the promotion has arguably the hottest combat sports star in the world ... so, what's the plan? We asked PFL's CEO, Peter Murray.

"In 2024 [Ngannou] will absolutely make his debut with PFL, and he'll return to the cage and MMA and we're putting that fight together as we speak," Murray told TMZ Sports just days after the Fury fight.

Remember, 37-year-old Ngannou signed with Professional Fighters League in May 2023 ... to a deal that allows him to fight MMA, while also taking boxing matches outside the promotion (hence the Fury fight). Francis will also serve as the chairman of PFL Africa.

Clearly, there are some big potential fights out there ... we asked Peter which were on his radar.

"Francis wants Jon Jones, and Jon Jones wants Francis. Francis wants Stipe [Miocic], and Stipe wants Francis. And there's a conversation going on with Deontay Wilder, whether it's boxing, whether it's modified rules. That could be exciting, so that's a real consideration."

Obviously, there are some massive hurdles when you're talking about Francis vs. Jon or Stipe ... as both men are signed to the UFC. Dana White, in the past, hasn't been open to cross-promotion fights, and the UFC honcho and Francis aren't exactly on the best terms right now.

So, we'll see.

On the other hand, Wilder would seemingly be a lot easier of a fight to make ... and it'd be a highly anticipated matchup pitting arguably the hardest-punching boxer vs. the hardest-punching MMA fighter!

38-year-old Wilder last fought in October 2022 ... knicking out Robert Helenius in the very first round of their bout in Brooklyn. 42 of Deontay's 43 wins have come by knockout.

We also spoke to Francis earlier in the week ... and we asked him about The Bronze Bomber.

This never happened coding ... Mark Zuckerberg tore his ACL training MMA, and was forced to go under the knife, delaying a real deal fight Zuck had scheduled for early next year!

The Facebook founder shared several photos from his hospital bed Friday afternoon ... announcing he's suffered a serious injury to his left leg.

"Tore my ACL sparring and just got out of surgery to replace it. Grateful for the doctors and team taking care of me. I was training for a competitive MMA fight early next year, but now that's delayed a bit. Still looking forward to doing it after I recover. Thanks to everyone for the love and support," 39-year-old Zuck wrote on Instagram.

The bit about the upcoming fight is news, too. No one ever publicly announced Mark scheduled a mixed martial arts bout.

A bunch of MMA stars wished Zuck well after hearing about his injury, including former UFC champ-champ Henry Cejudo, who wrote ...  "Speedy recovery Mark! 🙏"

Through training, Zuckerberg has befriended many of the world's top fighters like Israel Adesanya and Alex Volkanovski.

FYI, the ACL, or the anterior cruciate ligament, is a band of tissue that connects your thigh and shinbones together and is a common injury among athletes.

Of course, Zuckerberg and Elon Musk spent months negotiating terms for an MMA fight, though it never came to fruition. The billionaires blamed each other for the breakdown.

Earlier this week Musk went on Joe Rogan's podcast and again reiterated that he would fight Zuckerberg "anytime, anywhere, any place."

ACL recovery typically takes around 9 months, give or take, to return to competition post-surgery.

Until then, Mark's likely not fighting anyone.

Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, the biggest fight that never happened, ain't dead just yet ... 'cause the billionaire X owner says he's still ready to beat up Zuck!

52-year-old Musk joined Joe Rogan's JRE pod on Tuesday ... when the convo turned to the fight with the 39-year-old Facebook founder. For the first time, Elon explained, from his perspective, why negotiations broke down, torpedoing the bout.

“Italy actually was willing to let us use the Coliseum,” Musk told Rogan.

“I was like, well, can’t turn that down. Then I was like, well, if it’s going to be in the Coliseum, I like UFC and everything, but we don’t have tons of ads in UFC branding on the Coliseum 'cause it’s a place of great history. You don’t want to have it be all like NASCAR. And then Zuck pulled out.”

Of course, talk of the fight between the two ultra-wealthy moguls started around the time Zuck launched his X-competitor, Threads. Elon tweeted he was "up for a cage match," and Mark responded, channeling Khabib, saying ... "Send me location."

And, we were off ... unfortunately, a deal never materialized, and Zuck accused Musk of screwing around with no intention to actually fight.

"[Zuckerberg] accused me of not being serious, and I said, ‘Listen, at the end of the day, I’ll fight you any place, anywhere, under any rules,’” Elon told Joe.

As for who'd win the fight, Elon's clearly heard the people who say Mark would kick his ass because of his jiu-jitsu experience. He doesn't agree.

“I’m like 50% heavier than him,” 6'2", 240-ish lb. Musk said.

“I’ve got my patented 'walrus' move. I just lie on him. A walrus doesn’t need martial arts training because it’s really big.”

Bottom line ... the fight may be on life support, but Elon's indicating there's still a chance it goes down, and he says he's ready to crack right now.

“I don’t need any time, no time at all."

Elon Musk y Mark Zuckerberg, la pelea más grande de la historia, no es una idea que quedará en el olvido ¡porque el multimillonario propietario de X dice que todavía está listo para golpear a Zuck!

Musk, de 52 años, se unió al podcast de Joe Rogan el martes. La conversación giró en torno a la pelea con el fundador de Facebook, de 39 años. Por primera vez, Elon explicó por qué las negociaciones se rompieron y terminaron por detener el combate.

"Italia en realidad estaba dispuesta a dejarnos usar el Coliseo", dijo Musk a Rogan.

"Yo estaba como, bueno, no puedo rechazar eso. Luego me dije, bueno, si va a ser en el Coliseo, me gusta la UFC y todo, pero no pondremos toneladas de anuncios de la marca UFC en el Coliseo porque es un lugar histórico. No quieres que sea todo como la NASCAR. Y entonces Zuck se retiró".

Por supuesto, se empezó a hablar de la pelea entre los dos magnates ultrarricos en el momento en que Zuck le lanzó amenazas su competidor por X. Elon tuiteó que estaba "listo para un combate en jaula", y Mark respondió: "Envíame ubicación."

Por desgracia, el acuerdo nunca se materializó y Zuck acusó a Musk de hacer ruido sin la intención de luchar en realidad.

"[Zuckerberg] me acusó de no ser serio, y yo le dije: "Escucha, al final del día, voy a luchar contra ti en cualquier lugar, en cualquier lugar, bajo cualquier regla'", dijo Elon a Joe.

En cuanto a quién ganaría la pelea, Elon ha escuchado claramente a la gente que dice que Mark le patearía el culo por su experiencia en jiu-jitsu. Él no está de acuerdo.

"Soy como un 50% más pesado que él", dice Musk, de 1.90 m y 80 kilos.

"Tengo mi movimiento "morsa" patentado. Me tumbo sobre él. Una morsa no necesita entrenamiento en artes marciales porque es muy grande".

En pocas palabras, la lucha puede estar peligrando, pero Elon dice que todavía hay una posibilidad de que esto pase y dice que está listo.

"No necesito tiempo, nada de tiempo".

Jon Jones is on the road to recovery after going down with a serious injury ahead of UFC 295 ... showing off his bandaged-up pec following surgery last week.

Bones was forced to back out of his big heavyweight championship bout against Stipe Miocic after he tore his muscle right off the bone in a training session ... postponing the highly-anticipated matchup until 2024.

Jones wasted no time fixing his ailment by going under the knife ... and on Tuesday, he posted a video revealing Steri-Strips -- which are used to hold incisions together -- near his shoulder.

Jones didn't talk in the short clip ... but he really didn't have to -- you can tell by his facial expression he's just as bummed as everyone else about not being able to fight on Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden.

In the meantime, Sergei Pavlovich will now take on Tom Aspinall for the interim heavyweight title at the Garden ... which will be the co-main event alongside the Jiri Prochazka vs. Alex Pereira fight.

Jones also shared a post-op vid last week ... confirming he had gotten the procedure done and was ready for the next steps in his comeback. Dr. Neal ElAttrache -- who recently worked on Aaron Rodgers' Achilles -- performed the surgery.

Stipe claims he wasn't asked to stay on the 295 card ... but either way, he's ready to get the title back from Jones when the time comes.

"The fight being canceled, it sucks," Stipe said. "No question about it. Unfortunately, that’s just the game we’re in. It happens. Like I said, I hope he’s okay. You want to be the best; you’ve got to beat the best. I want that belt back. It’s my belt. It’s going to happen."

Dana White said it will take eight months for Jones to get back to 100%, but orthopedic surgeons like Dr. David Abbasi say he could be back in half the time.

Francis Ngannou's performance against Tyson Fury, despite losing on the scorecards, totally changed how many fans view MMA fighters vs. boxers ... a little too much according to undefeated pugilist Shakur Stevenson, who has a message for any UFC stars having thoughts of stepping in the ring.

Of course, Fury edged Ngannou by split decision in Saudi Arabia on Saturday ... a fight many expected to be a cakewalk for the world's best heavyweight boxer. In reality, it was anything but ... and now some mixed martial artists are emboldened by what went down in the squared circle.

"I say if they feel that way, give it a try. I think that you got some MMA guys that want to come get in the ring with somebody like me, I would love the opportunity to beat up an MMA guy and show them that there's real levels to it," 26-year-old Stevenson told Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

20-0 Shakur continued ... "I just think Tyson Fury was off that night and them [MMA] dudes need to relax and stay in their lane."

We followed up with Shakur ... asking if he had an opponent in mind.

"What's that dude's name, Sean ...?" Shakur asked.

He was talking about "Suga" Sean O'Malley, the UFC's bantamweight (135 lb.) champion.

Babcock asked Shakur if he had a message for Suga.

"Tell him we can get it in. I'm ready to lock in with him," Stevenson told us, adding ... "It's levels to this s**t. If he wants to come try his hand, I'll beat the s**t out of him."

Of course, O'Malley previously called out Gervonta "Tank" Davis ... so it's clear Sean's hunting for a big-time boxing superstar.

Shakur fits that bill to a T.

O'Malley is under contract with the UFC, but Dana White has shown he's willing to make big, crossover fights. Look no further than Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather in 2017.

As for the Fury and Ngannou fight, Shakur says regardless of what Fury says, he doesn't believe Tyson trained 3 months for Francis.

"I don't believe the fact that he says he trained for 12 weeks. He didn't look like he trained. Didn't look like he threw too many punches. He usually throws punches. He seemed real hesitant, and I don't know how good of shape he was in," Stevenson said.

"Usually I'm a big fan of Tyson Fury. That night he didn't look too good."

Boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya's breaking down Francis Ngannou's odds of beating Tyson Fury in the boxing ring Saturday night ... putting his chance squarely at "ZERO," flat out telling us it ain't happening!

TMZ Sports was chatting with ODLH -- as he was promoting boxing star Ryan Garcia's upcoming return to the ring -- when we asked him about today's fight in Saudi Arabia ... pitting The Predator, MMA's most feared striker, vs. The Gypsy King, the best heavyweight boxer in the world.

"I think I have a better chance at beating Tiger Woods in golf," Oscar told us ... not mincing a single word.

We followed up ... no chance at all?!

"Zero," De La Hoya responded.

"I'll tell you one thing about Tyson Fury and Ngannou. It's gonna be entertaining, while it lasts I believe. Tyson Fury, you have to realize, he went in there against [Deontay] Wilder. He goes in there vs. Wladimir Klitschko, so he's a fighter all his life inside the boxing ring."

Despite clearly seeing no way the former UFC champ can win, Oscar still gave him credit for accepting the bout.

"Ngannou, I commend him for even trying this. I take my hat off to him for even trying this. He's gonna make a s***load of money. I just think when Tyson Fury gets his number and his rhythm, he's gonna play with him and probably knock him out."

FYI, Francis last fought in January 2022 -- a UFC contest -- against heavyweight contender, Ciryl Gane. Ngannou won by unanimous decision. Tyson last fought and beat Derek Chisora by TKO in December 2022.

Fury is regarded as not just the best heavyweight boxer of his era, but of of the greatest ever, period. Meanwhile, Ngannou, a striker who puts fear in his opponents, has never boxed professionally.

Bottom line, there might not be anyone out there who knows boxing better than De La Hoya ... but as they say, there's a reason they play the game, or in this case, have the fight.

Justin Gaethje is manifesting a title shot.

The #2 ranked lightweight, despite being ranked a spot below Charles Oliveira, probably has the strongest case for the next crack at the 155 lb. belt ... and the UFC superstar tells us he's preparing to fight Islam Makhachev in early 2024!

"No, I haven't had any conversations yet [with the UFC about fighting Makhachev]," Gaethje told Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weeknights on FS1), adding ... "I'm expecting to fight [Islam] February, March of next year, so that's what I'm getting ready for."

34-year-old Gaethje's coming off an impressive KO win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 in July 2023. Justin's now ranked 2 at lightweight, while Charles is 1, and Islam's champ.

Oliveira and Makhachev were supposed to fight in the main event at UFC 294 on Saturday, but Charles was forced to withdraw less than 2 weeks before the fight over an injury.

Justin clearly believes Charles, who previously fought and lost to Islam by submission in late 2022, has missed the bus on a title shot ... at least in the immediate future.

"Like I said, Oliveira had his chance and then he had his second chance and backed out," Gaethje said.

It's clear JG believes the fight's his, so we asked him ... how do you match up with the champion?

"With the experience I've had with Khabib, I understand that he's not the same fighter. I wasn't scared of Khabib, but that's an intimidating guy to go up against, and that factor will not be there. I'm more confident," Gaethje said, reflecting on his experience with Nurmagomedov, and how the Makhachev fight would be different.

"I think I'm a great matchup. I think it's a much better match-up for myself than Khabib was, and I think I'll be able to really be effective with my striking and then create some opportunities to maximize the damage that I'm creating."

Dana White just put his haters in a rear naked choke -- the UFC honcho is adamantly denying he's a sellout for getting back in bed with Bud Light following the Dylan Mulvaney controversy ... saying the deal had nothing to do with money.

UFC announced earlier this week that Anheuser-Busch was back as the promotion's official beer sponsor for the first time since 2019 ... which certainly ruffled some feathers with people who boycotted the brewing company over its partnership with the transgender influencer back in April.

Dana was asked about the backlash following "Power Slap 5" on Wednesday ... and he wants to make one thing clear -- he couldn't care less about what people think of the business deal.

Dana started off by slamming the "dummies" who said it was only about money ... pointing out all sponsorships are about stackin' cash.

Dana labeled it "f***ing stupid" to think Bud Light was a last resort ... claiming there were multiple offers on the table, but he chose AB due to its values as a company.

"Everybody on every side of this deal that were involved -- other beer companies and everything else -- absolutely, positively knows that this was not about money for me," Dana told the media. "We were going to end up with money no matter who we ended up with."

In fact, he points out specifically what attracted him to the deal ... saying the company has initiatives to support the military, law enforcement and local farmers -- which separated them from the rest of the pack.

As for those who think Dana is just a puppet reciting lines to look good in the media -- he's got words for you, too.

Henry Cejudo's family officially has a fourth member ... after his wife Ana gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Enzo, on Monday!

36-year-old Cejudo broke the news to his followers on social media late last night, writing, "Help us welcome our handsome little boy Enzo Carlos Cejudo. Life goes by so quick! I still remember vivid memories of me being a toddler. Welcoming another human with the beautiful little girl that we’ve been blessed with is beyond words."

Triple C then talked about Enzo's amazing mom.

"To my wife [Ana Karolina Cejudo] who has to endure the crazy pain for 9 months and than going through labor is like climbing Mount Everest. As parents, we have to make sure we guide them with faith, truth and love."

The baby comes at a tremendously difficult time for the Cejudo family. Henry's sister Gloria tragically died in September after a courageous two-year battle with cancer.

Henry talked about Enzo's arrival in the midst of the family's loss.

"Losing my sister last month and the birth of our son puts life into perspective. We are all passengers in this world so let’s have the best trip ever! Welcome to this world Enzo 💙"

Back in November 2021, the couple, shortly after they were married, welcomed their first baby, a daughter, America Maria Cejudo.

And, there are signs we may have a little fighter on our hands. When the couple arrived at the hospital on Monday, Cejudo said this ... "My wife’s water just broke! Wish us luck on safe delivery. Baby Enzo is wrestling his way out. 👶💙"

Jake Paul has zero interest in getting in the boxing ring with Nate Diaz again -- saying if the ex-UFC star wants to take another stab at beating his ass ... he'll have to meet him in an MMA cage.

The Problem Child's Most Valuable Promotions just issued an official response to Diaz's public request for a boxing sequel on Monday ... slamming the door on his hopes of avenging his loss back in August.

"For the record: Jake Paul will not be boxing Nate Diaz again," MVP said on X.

The promotion also stated both Paul and Diaz have received an offer to rematch in the Professional Fighters League ... and while the former Disney star has accepted, his former opponent has not.

Remember, Paul -- who is signed to PFL for his MMA career -- told TMZ Sports back in September he was willing to cough up $10 million to get Diaz in the SmartCage ... but Diaz "ducked" the opportunity.

Diaz responded to Paul's comments ... saying, "Here’s your Mma fight bitch your (sic) easy af we can box or fight mma at ⁦@RealFightINC⁩ no problem f*** PFL and f*** u p***y 👊🏼."

Paul has since announced he will enter the boxing ring again in December ... but his opponent has not been revealed.

Nate Diaz le está dando a los luchadores un gran regalo de bienvenida. Repartió lujosos colgantes bañados en oro y diamantes.

TMZ Sports informa que la leyenda de la MMA se acercó a la famosa tienda Ice Box para conseguir algo especial para la gente que se unió a la promoción Real Fight Inc. que se lanzó en 2022.

Nos dicen que ordenó un total de siete colgantes y cada uno viene con poco menos de 10 quilates de diamantes y más de 50 gramos de oro. Las piezas también vienen con una cadena de cuerda de oro de 14 quilates a juego.

No estamos seguros de qué combatientes obtendrán el nuevo bling, pero los que figuran en la lista de Real Fight Inc, con exclusión de Díaz, son Chris Ávila, Alan Sánchez, José Sguayo y Luciano Ramos.

Díaz, que luchó por última vez contra Jake Paul en agosto, está tomando su promoción muy en serio después de salir de la UFC el año pasado, diciendo que su objetivo es centrarse en el boxeo, MMA y BJJ.

"Dije que cuando saliera, iba a hacer mi propia promoción como Jake estaba haciendo con Most Valuable Promotions (MVP)", dijo Díaz en Full Send.

"Bueno, me metí de lleno y sentí que el negocio era mío todo el tiempo".