MMA

UFC star Leon Edwards says he's going to beat the snot out of Jorge Masvidal ON SIGHT -- whether it's in the Octagon or in the street.

... and he's not kidding.

That bad blood between the two fighters goes back to May 2019 -- when they clashed backstage at a UFC event, resulting in Masvidal socking Edwards in the face multiple times.

Or as Masvidal described it ... he hit 'em with a "3 piece and a soda."

29-year-old Edwards -- the #3 ranked UFC welterweight -- felt the attack was basically a flurry of unprovoked cheap shots ... and now he's hellbent on revenge.

"What happened with me and him, that's away from fighting. That's street stuff," Edwards tells TMZ Sports.

"So, if that's what he's about, we’ll do it that way."

Of course, Edwards would rather get PAID to fight Masvidal -- so, he's hoping the UFC puts that bout together. But, if not, they're still gonna scrap.

"You best get your ass in the Octagon 'cause it's either on the street or in the Octagon but you're gonna get it."

"Wherever you want it, you choose, in the Octagon or on the street, I'm good to go either way."

But, before that fight happens, Edwards -- who's on an 8-fight win streak -- is set to take on Belal Muhammad at UFC Fight Night 187 on Saturday.

Edwards is confident he'll run through Muhammad -- setting himself up for a shot at the welterweight title

What's interesting ... Edwards hasn't lost a fight since 2015 -- and the last man to beat him is the reigning welterweight champ Kamaru Usman.

We also talked to Edwards about Khamzat Chimaev -- who Leon was supposed to fight on multiple occasions.

But Khamzat -- one of the most exciting young fighters in the UFC -- has been battling COVID and there's a timetable set for his return.

"As far as Khamzat, I kinda put him behind me because he's only had 2 fights, 3 fights in UFC," Leon says.

"He got little health issues now so I wish him well, wish him full recovery, that's number one. If he works his way up the division then for sure, I intend to fight him."

"You know I contracted COVID a little over a week ago ... and uh, s**t ain't been going f**king good for me."

That's UFC rising star Jamahal Hill explaining why his main event fight against Paul Craig has been postponed -- detailing a bloody bout with COVID-19.

The 29-year-old undefeated fighter (8-0) is coming off a big victory over Ovince Saint Preux and was slated to headline the big UFC on ESPN card on March 20 against the #14 ranked light heavyweight Paul Craig (14-4-1).

But, Hill revealed he was recently diagnosed with coronavirus -- and it's taking a heavy toll on his body.

"I started out with a fever and I've been dealing with all types of symptoms ever since then," Hill said in an emotional video posted Wednesday ... "Chest tightness, chest congestion, my breathing is off."

"Even as recent as yesterday, I was coughing ... I coughed up blood. I coughed up, spit some mucus out and it was blood inside of it."

Despite his condition,  Hill sounded off on Craig for the way he broke the news to his fans on social media ... when Craig said, "Fight has been cancelled due to Hill pulling out."

Hill felt Craig's description made it seem like he had a choice -- when in fact, the decision was out of his hands the moment he tested positive for the virus.

"It's my health," Hill said in his video ... "My health is in question. That's gonna get my undivided attention. That's my work. That's my job. My job is to make sure my body is okay and my body is good and able to perform and do what it does."

"So for Paul Craig to even sit up and say I pulled out and even make it seem like that like its any type of fear in my heart. That's disrespectful as f**k to me and you gonna feel that s**t. Real talk."

“[Yan] threw a fight-ending knee and it hit me in the side of the head, a shot I didn’t see, and if you think I’m faking that, let me do that to you. Please let me do that to you."

That's bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling clapping back at the "clowns" and "jokers" who accused Funk Master of pretending to be hurt during his UFC 259 title fight -- all to steal the belt.

TMZ Sports asked the 31-year-old fighter how he was feeling physically after Petr Yan blasted him with the illegal knee.

"I was a little cloudy, I’m definitely better today. I couldn’t even drink the night of cause I was worried about my head. I felt nauseous. I ended up throwing up later that night."

Sterling went to the hospital the night of the fight -- and has since seen a doctor -- and now must wait to be cleared to begin training again.

As for his future fight plans, Sterling says he's interested in a fight with former champ-champ Henry Cejudo ... but 1st wants to rematch Yan.

And, Aljo says after 4 rounds with Yan -- he's never been more certain he can beat the Russian fighter.

“If anything, I think my confidence got better from this," Aljamain says.

"Everyone made him out to be this guy that was the boogeyman, that he hits super hard, that he’s in your face the whole time, when I was the one backing him up the whole time.”

And, about all those Oscar Award memes on social media ... Sterling sent a closing message to the haters.

“For anyone trying to say I quit, I never quit in anything that I’ve done in my life. Oscar, whatever you guys wanna say, I know who I am. I don’t have to prove anything to nobody."

“It’s unacceptable, obviously. It's heartbreaking to hear what [Meghan Markle] went through, what she’s still going through.”

That's Leon Edwards -- one of the baddest MMA fighters alive -- who is also a Black man that was raised and still lives in the United Kingdom ... commenting on Markle's shocking allegations during her interview with Oprah.

Of course, Markle told Winfrey that someone in the Royal Family had conversations about baby Archie's skin color ... implying it might be too dark for the role of Prince.

TMZ Sports talked to 29-year-old Edwards -- who moved to England as a 9-year-old -- about the allegations of racism made by MM.

“[Meghan's] a new mom, know what I mean? Just got married. This should be a fun time in her life. Should be enjoying her family, enjoying her baby, but this is what she has to deal with," Edwards says.

"I think that’s part of the UK. There's racism, but it’s very hush racism, right? It’s not like in America, there’s blatant racism sometimes. But, in the UK, it’s like very down low racism, but it's there, and it's sad to see in 2021.”

We asked Leon if the Royal Family was in need of major changes given the allegations ... and he said it's absolutely time.

“You can’t keep an old monarchy in 2021. You can’t do that. They need to come up to date with the times. Hopefully, like I said, I wish [Meghan] well, and she can get through it.”

BTW, Edwards has a huge fight Saturday against Belal Muhammad at UFC Fight Night 187. We talked to him about his next move ... and whether he still has beef with Jorge Masvidal.

UFC star Andrei Arlovski -- the former heavyweight champion -- says he has NO PLANS to retire at age 42 ... and wants to keep bangin' away until he's 45!!!!

Arlovski made his UFC debut at UFC 28 back in 2000 -- 21 YEARS AGO -- and has been fighting consistently ever since.

He won the UFC heavyweight title in 2005 -- and has been in wars with superstars like Francis Ngannou, Stipe Miocic, Frank Mir, Stefan Struve, Alistair Overeem ... you get the picture.

But, Arlovski's coming off a 2nd round loss to 27-year-old Tom Aspinall -- his 10th loss in his last 16 fights -- begging the question ... is he considering hangin' up his gloves???

"Oh, f**k no," Arlovski told us while out shopping in Beverly Hills ... "If the UFC doesn't kick me out, [I'd like to fight] probably like 2, 3 more years. We'll see. Why not?"

In fact, Arlovski is still calling for tough opponents -- "Someone tough and young!"

By the way, since Andrei has fought both Stipe and Ngannou -- we asked for his prediction on who will win that massive heavyweight title fight at UFC 260 later this month.

UFC fighter Tim Elliott was multi-tasking Saturday night as he pounded away at his opponent, accusing him of beating his ex-girlfriend ... something the opponent's manager calls "reckless slander."

Elliott was dominating the flyweight fight to an empty arena, when Elliott appeared to say, "I heard you choked your girl in 2018. Are you a woman beater? She messaged me." The opponent, Jordan Espinosa, responded, "Did she? You don't know the whole story." Elliott shot back, "I know enough," to which Espinosa said, "You don't know s***."

Elliott won the fight by unanimous decision. When it was over, Espinosa's manager, Bryan Hamper, called the accusation, "Reckless slander."

UFC light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz says he's got a secret weapon for beating Israel Adesanya on Saturday night -- his newborn son!

The Polish powerhouse's fiancee gave birth to their first child, JJ, back in December -- and Jan says it's changed his whole outlook on life and fighting.

"Mentally, I'm stronger," 38-year-old Jan told TMZ Sports ... "Bigger motivation for everything right now. To hit harder, work harder."

"I do this for him right now."

As for his fight with Adesanya -- the undefeated middleweight champ -- Blachowicz knows it'll be the biggest challenge of his career but he's confident he'll end it in less than 2 rounds.

"I believe that I'm going to be the first one who beat him after this Saturday," Jan says.

"He gonna be 20 and 1, this what I believe and that's it. I know that he's really great fighter, amazing fighter, one of the best in the world but anyway I got my time right now, it's my division and I will stop him."

There's talk of a possible matchup with Jon Jones down the line -- but Jan says he's focused on Israel ... and will deal with Jones when the time comes.

UFC star Aljamain Sterling is finally getting his title shot this weekend -- and he's predicting a 2nd round victory over the champ, Petr Yan.

But, it's bigger than just a belt for Sterling who tells TMZ Sports becoming the first Jamaican champion could be huge for the island nation.

31-year-old Sterling was born and raised in New York -- but both of his parents are from Jamaica and he feels a strong sense of American and Jamaican pride.

But, the fact is ... no UFC fighter of Jamaican descent has ever held a UFC belt and Sterling says he's looking to make history when he steps into the octagon against bantamweight champ Petr Yan on March 6 at UFC 259.

"I think he's the real deal," Sterling says ... "He's a tough guy, he did what he had to do with all the guys that they put in front of him so I gotta pay him respect for that but at the end of the day, this is my time! This my time to put on a show."

Sterling -- who's 19-3 and on a 5-fight win streak -- says he's confident his grappling game will simply be too much for Yan to handle ... culminating in a 2nd round TKO.

And, if Sterling's prediction comes true, Alja believes a Jamaican champion could inspire a whole new generation of MMA fighters.

"It would be a catalyst for the entire country to really get the sport picked up and get it rockin' and rollin'."

Sterling says he's working on plans to spread the sport to the masses in Jamaica -- with the goal of keeping the cost of entry down.

When Claressa Shields hits the ring on Friday night -- she'll be rocking custom fight trunks paying tribute to Kobe Bryant and Gianna.

25-year-old Shields is taking on IBF super welterweight champion Marie-Eve Dicaire -- in a fight to unify the super welterweight division.

Claressa has established herself as the top fighter in women's boxing -- she's 10-0 as a pro ... with TWO gold medals in the Olympics.

She was clearly inspired by the greatness of Kobe and his daughter Gianna -- which is why she decided to put their names on her trunks.

Shields tells TMZ Sports she's laser-focused on her fight with Dicaire -- explaining, "I wanna knock her out but I also wanna have a great performance."

"She's gonna come out there and try to perform but I just know that I can get her out between rounds 5 and 7. It just depends which round that I'm really feeling it."

As we previously reported, Shields is also training to make the jump from boxing to MMA ... with her first MMA fight scheduled to take place in the summer.

Still no word on who Claressa's first MMA opponent will be -- but she doesn't care! Bring on ANYONE!

"My only job is just to prepare. I don't really care who they put me in there with I'm just gonna do my best."

Don't get it twisted ... Shields says she'll continue to box -- maybe the first true two-sport star in all of combat sports?

"I fight my first MMA fight in the middle of June and I'll be having a boxing match in maybe December and maybe another MMA fight in August, September. I'm not even sure but I know for sure June I'll be back, I'll be in the cage for sure."

"Nothing happened behind the scenes. They’re both great guys who have had incredible careers here."

That's Dana White telling TMZ Sports his decision to release Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos from the UFC wasn't personal, just business ... and everyone's still on good terms.

Junior dos Santos signed with the UFC in 2008. Overeem has been with UFC since 2011.

Both guys were cut from the UFC roster this week -- so when we spoke with Dana on Thursday ... we asked why.

"People get cut every week … I think those two are pretty self-explanatory. It's nothing negative, it's just part of the sport.

40-year-old Alistair is coming off a loss to Alexander Volkov -- he was 6 and 4 in his last 10 fights.

37-year-old JDS is on a 4-fight losing streak -- most recently suffering a TKO loss to Ciryl Gane in Dec. 2020.

"If you look up what they’ve done recently ... you look at their age ... you look at everything that's going on, it's pretty self-explanatory," White said.

White praised both guys as being super tough and consummate pros.

"Alistair Overeem never said no to a fight, never turned down a fight … would fight anybody."

"And, JDS is one of the nicest human beings in the sport, I have nothing but amazing things to say about both guys."

Bottom line -- "Age, it gets us all man."

There's more ...

Dana is FIRED UP for UFC 259 on Saturday -- especially the main event, middleweight champ Israel Adesanya vs. light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz.

Only Jan's belt is on the line on Saturday -- so, if Israel wins, he'll be the UFC's next Champ Champ!

"Jan Blachowicz might not be very well known but I feel like this is his coming-out party," White says.

"If he can beat the undefeated midweight champion Israel Adesanya, everybody will know him and be talking about him on Sunday."

Another big fight is UFC superstar Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson.

"The thing that makes this fight real fun is both of these women have knockout power. We'll see lots of fun female fights that are very technical, fast pace, etc -- these two women can knock other women unconscious and the fact that they have that kinda power, makes this fight very badass."

52-year-old Roy Jones Jr. says he's ready for ANOTHER boxing match after that war with Mike Tyson -- and he's eyeing a UFC legend.

Roy has his sights set on 45-year-old superstar Anderson Silva -- widely considered one of the greatest MMA athletes of all time.

So, why Silva ... and not a rematch with Iron Mike?

"I think [Mike Tyson is] gonna do a fight with Evander Holyfield," Jones said ... "what I'm thinking is I'll probably fight somebody else."

"Truthfully speaking ... my dream next fight will probably be Anderson Silva."

Roy says he's been trying to lock up a fight with Silva for years -- but the timing finally seems right.

"Anderson's available now, I'm available now. So, we've been wanting to box for the longest time. Why not me and Anderson go out there and put it on for the people?!"

Silva was an excellent striker in his heyday -- and as RJJ points out, Anderson had a stint as a pro boxer before he switched to MMA.

In other words, "He knows how to pro box."

Anderson racked up a 34 and 11 record in MMA -- with wins over guys like Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort, Rich Franklin and more.

Jones says there's no doubt he would DESTROY Silva if the two fought during Roy's prime years -- "but now that I'm older and I'm older than him ... it's something good to look at now because I think his chances are better now than they ever were before."

UFC rising star Khamzat Chimaev is NOT moving on from MMA, despite a cryptic IG post suggesting otherwise, this according to Dana White.

26-year-old Khamzat -- one of the hottest rising stars in the sport (9-0 record) -- has been battling COVID since January 2021 ... and he's still suffering from symptoms.

In fact, Khamzat's manager said the fighter was even hospitalized due to some pretty serious symptoms at one point.

Fast-forward to Monday night ... when Khamzat went to Instagram and posted an apparent farewell note to his fans.

"I think I’m done," Khamzat said ... "Yes, I know that I didn’t take the belt, but this is not the most important victory in this life. It may upset you, but my heart and body tell me everything.

He also posted a photo of a blood-spattered bathroom sink with the caption, "The main thing is I do not know what this disease is but it is not easily outlived."

But, Dana White says he spoke with Khamzat -- who's currently in Las Vegas -- and he's not buying the retirement talk.

"When he got here, the doctors took care of him, and they put him on prednisone, which is a nasty f**king steroid,” White told MMA Junkie.

"So he’s on prednisone, and he’s supposed to be taking this thing and chilling, relaxing, and letting himself recover. He went in and f**king trained today, felt like s**t, and got super emotional and posted that."

“He’s not supposed to be training, but you know, this guy’s a savage. He wants to fight like every f**king weekend, and now he can’t even train, so he just got emotional and posted that, but he ain’t quitting.”

UFC star Paulo Costa is blaming the a-a-a-a-a-alcohol for his loss to Israel a-a-a-a-a-Adesanya at UFC 253 ... saying his decision to crush a bottle of wine the night before cost him the fight.

"I was kind of drunk [when] I fought," Costa said in Portuguese (subtitled in English) on his YouTube channel ... "Maybe, on hangover."

29-year-old Costa was on a 13-fight win streak before his main event throwdown with Israel ... and was coming off an impressive victory over MMA legend Yoel Romero.

But, Izzy smashed Costa in just 2 rounds in an unexpectedly one-sided beatdown on September 27 ... leaving many fans asking the question, what the hell happened!?

Now, Costa is finally opening up about the loss -- claiming he simply boozed too hard the night before the fight.

"I had wine, too much wine, a bottle [of wine] to try to blackout," Costa said on his YouTube channel.

And, why would he want to get blackout drunk before the biggest fight of his life?

"I couldn’t sleep because of the [leg] cramps."

In other words, Costa claims he was using the wine for pain management so he could try to get some sleep that night.

"I had a glass and didn’t work. Two glasses, it didn’t work. Half bottle, didn’t work. I had it all."

Costa continued, "Keep in mind that the fight happens at 9 a.m., we have to wake up at 5 to get ready, stretch, wrap the hands. The UFC told us to wake up at 5 in the morning to go to the arena to fight. I hadn’t slept until 2:30."

We all know what happened next ... Israel pummeled Paulo so badly, the ref stopped the fight in the 2nd round.

Costa is set to return to the Octagon in April to fight Robert Whittaker.

UFC rising star Ciryl Gane says there's only 1 way he'd fight his former training partner and friend Francis Ngannou ... if the UFC title was on the line!!

30-year-old Gane is a beast ... he's 6'5", 247 lbs., and has never lost a professional fight (he's 7-0).

The #7 ranked heavyweight fighter -- who beat Junior dos Santos in December -- is taking on #4 ranked, 32-year-old Jairzinho Rozenstruik at the main event of UFC Fight Night 186 Saturday night.

If Ciryl wins, he'll be in the mix for a title shot ... and the champ could very well be Ngannou.

The issue? Gane and Ngannou -- who's fighting Stipe Miocic for the title at UFC 260 next month -- used to train together at MMA Factory in Paris under coach Fernand Lopez.

So, we asked Gane if he'd ever fight Francis.

"I think it’s a little bit shame if we do it before the belt because we’re both from [French Cameroon]. For me, we were born in the same gym, with the same coach and this is something."

Ciryl added ... "But, if the UFC wants to do that, that better be for the belt."

We asked CG if it'd be hard to hurt someone he likes and respects.

"For me, It’s a sport," Gane said, continuing ... "I don’t need to get mad in my career to do something in the cage. Outside the cage I’m a good kid, I’m always like that, and when I’m in the cage I do my job. That's it, it’s a sport for me. So yeah, I think for me it would be possible."

Now, there's a 255 lb. man who hits like a truck and is hellbent on wrecking any plans for a future Gane-Ngannou fight.

We talked to Rozenstruik -- who himself wants to fight Ngannou and avenge a 2020 loss -- and he says it's time to derail the Ciryl Gane hype train and get himself closer to a title shot.

Gilbert Burns' title hopes were crushed by Kamaru Usman only days ago ... but the UFC star's already plotting his return to the Octagon -- and he wants Colby Covington!!

TMZ Sports talked to Burns following his 3rd round TKO loss to Usman at UFC 258 last weekend ... and the 34-year-old fighter made it clear he ain't looking for R&R after having his 6-fight UFC win streak snapped.

"[Covington's] the one that I want with all my heart. That's the fight that I asked right after he beat Demian Maia. That's the one that I want."

Still, Burns -- who says he suffered NO serious injuries in his fight -- knows he isn't the only one lookin' for an Usman rematch (Chaos wants one too) ... so GB's down to fight any of the top guys in the welterweight division.

"Sometimes we don't get what we want, but I'm open to any one of the top 6, top 7 guys," Burns tells us.

Gilbert says he doesn't care about Colby's trash-talking and antics outside the cage ... he just wants to get his hands on the #1 ranked contender.

"Just sign the contract. Let's fight. You can call me whatever you want. Let's fight sooner than later. I'm in my prime, you're in your prime, we both want the rematch. Let's see who wins first."

Burns says the ultimate goal is still a UFC goal ... and he wholeheartedly believes he will fight Usman again -- in the not too distant future -- and that he will win this time around.

Kamaru Usman established himself as one of the greatest fighters ever ... and now the UFC superstar is looking to expand -- to the ballroom!!

Usman didn't just TKO Gilbert Burns over the weekend ... he made history. The Nigerian Nightmare broke GSP's record for consecutive welterweight wins in the UFC (Usman now holds the record with 13 straight).

So, when TMZ Sports talked to the champ, we asked if he'd be interested in "Dancing with the Stars" -- and Usman made it clear there could soon be a mirrorball trophy next to his UFC belts.

"I do my thing! I do my thing! That's the thing with me, I understand that practice makes perfect and I'm disciplined enough to be able to train at it," Kamaru tells us.

"So anything, if I need to work at it, do the moves, learn 'em, boom! I'm in there! I can get it down."

Usman wouldn't be the 1st UFC star to be on DWTS ... Chuck Liddell was on the show in 2009 (he was eliminated 5th). Paige VanZant was a contestant in 2016 ... and nearly won the show, finishing 2nd.

Primetime TV isn't new to Usman ... he previously told us he'd like to be the 1st Black 'Bachelor' (Matt James ended up landing the gig after 25 seasons).

But, with all the drama surrounding the 'Bachelor' franchise (see Chris Harrison), Kamaru's looking for less TV romance -- and more dance.

"It's a tough one now because with the controversy going on, now it kinda soils the name, ya know?"

Don't worry ... we also talked to Usman about his beefs with Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington.