MMA

Conor McGregor certainly looks like a guy hellbent on resuming his fighting career ... 'cause he's already back in the gym, less than a month after gnarly leg surgery!!

The UFC superstar showed off some pics from his late-week workout on Friday ... and by the looks of the photos, it seems Conor ain't holdin' back much in the weight room.

The 31-year-old got in some quad work, some pull-ups and some shoulder exercises ... a truly remarkable feat, given what he went through just days ago.

As we previously reported, Conor went under the knife for nearly four hours on July 12 to fix a broken leg he suffered while fighting Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.

The procedure was not a simple one ... docs had to place plates and screws in his lower leg to repair all of the damage.

Many wondered if it could be career-ending... but Conor's dropping major hints that he's eyeing a comeback -- writing on his social media page along with the workout pics, "There are no limits to what we can overcome."

"Find the way!"

McGregor has stayed in great spirits since the injury ... laying poolside with drinks, rehabbing with MLB star Ronald Acuna, and even hanging with Justin Bieber.

UFC superstar Amanda Nunes has tested positive for COVID-19 ... and her fight against Julianna Pena next weekend at UFC 265 is off.

The UFC is planning to reschedule the title fight once Amanda is 100% healthy.

Nunes and Pena were scheduled to be the co-main event of the August 7 event ... on a card that also features a highly anticipated heavyweight matchup pitting Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane against each other.

The events going down at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX.

It's a matchup 31-year-old Pena -- who has wins over Cat Zingano and Jessica Eye -- has been champing at the bit for ... previously telling us she was the GOAT's "kryptonite."

Interesting to note, back in June 2020, Amanda -- who's currently on a 12-fight win streak -- speculated she may have battled COVID ... saying she experienced all of the traditional symptoms, and was in bed for several days.

Nunes says her wife, UFC contender Nina Nunes, was so sick they took her to the hospital.

No word yet on whether the UFC will replace Nunes-Pena with another fight.

Story developing ...

Tyron Woodley should be VERY concerned about his upcoming fight against Jake Paul ... so says Gilbert Burns, who tells TMZ Sports he thinks Paul has a shot to destroy the MMA star.

The bout is set to go down in Cleveland at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Aug. 29 -- and it will be Paul's 4th boxing match -- and Woodley's first.

And, according to Burns, don't be surprised if the YouTuber is the one who walks away from the ring victorious.

"Jake Paul is really proving himself as a hard worker, a great boxer, heavy-handed," Burns said. "He's very big ... I don't see an easy fight for Tyron Woodley."

Burns knows a thing or two about that ... remember, the Brazilian MMA fighter beat Woodley pretty good in a UFC match back in May 2020 -- winning by unanimous decision.

Woodley went on to lose his next two fights after that ... and it's all got Burns really wondering if the fighter can pull out the win over Paul.

"I see the pressure's on Tyron Woodley," Burns says. "He has to win that fight. Otherwise, it's going to be a horrible way to recover from."

As for if Burns has any tips for Paul, Gilbert says the key to beating Woodley is pressure and the counter punch.

"The one thing that I learned for Tyron Woodley, he's very afraid to get tired," Burns says. "I think Jake's go-to stay calm, put pressure on him, watch out for that right hand, but at the same time when the overhand right comes, it opens a lot of things."

Burns continued, "I got to watch this one close, but I'm not that confident that Tyron Woodley's gonna pull that one-off."

Cody Garbrandt is ALL IN on a fight with Brandon Moreno ... telling TMZ Sports he wants a tilt with the champ, and he's promising a knockout or a submission when it happens!!

"No Love" broke it all down for us outside the Roosevelt Hotel on Friday ... saying he's been eyeing a move from bantamweight to flyweight for a while.

And, he tells us a fight with Moreno -- who just called Cody out this week -- is the perfect opportunity to finally make that happen.

"I'll finally get to fight at my natural weight [of 125 pounds] where I think I can perform my best," says Garbrandt, who tells us he's already started the process of changing around his diet and workout routine.

"I feel like I'm a way better fighter than him."

Don't get it twisted, though ... Garbrandt respects the hell out of Moreno -- telling us he believes the dude is a legit champion.

But, if the fight does get made ... Cody says he sees it all ending with him on top via some kind of finish.

"I'll finish him for sure," Garbrandt says. "KO, submission. Whatever."

Jonathan Lipnicki is putting his MMA skills to good use ... trying to prevent more anti-Semitic attacks from happening in the L.A. area by escorting Orthodox Jews to temple.

We got the "Jerry Maguire" star in the Fairfax District near The Grove Friday, where he and fellow actor/martial artist Remi Franklin were on the ready to help worshipers safely enter and leave temple.

Jonathan and Remi organized after an attack last May ... where a group of pro-Palestinian men attacked Jewish diners outside Sushi Fumi.

Justin Bieber and Conor McGregor -- "The Biebs" and "The Notorious" -- are just a couple of bros having a "proper" breakfast together ... shirtless, of course.

JB and the MMA star were hanging out in Bev Hills Friday, as McGregor continues to recover from his gnarly leg injury suffered at UFC 264 in his loss to Dustin Poirier.

It may seem surprising -- especially since Bieber used to be tight with Conor's nemesis, Floyd Mayweather -- but Justin and Conor have been getting pretty chummy of late.

Bieber was super supportive of McGregor after his January loss to Poirier and also leading up to their latest fight, and Conor actually hopped on his Instagram Live days before UFC 264 to thank him for all the love.

JB also shouted out CM after his injury to send good vibes his way ... and now, here they are, enjoying good vibes together.

Justin captioned the photos, "Breakfast of champions." and tagged Conor's Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey ... which they both appear to be enjoying.

Forget Advil and ice ... Conor McGregor's clearly found a better way to recover from a broken leg -- a pool, some drinks and L.A. sunshine!!!

The UFC star showed Wednesday he's doing just fine 1 week after docs surgically repaired his busted ankle ... posting pics of him loving life in Beverly Hills.

The photos showed Conor is clearly in great spirits despite the lengthy rehab process ahead of him ... getting in what appears to be some cocktails with friends on a lounge chair.

The pics, though, also showed just how brutal McGregor's injury truly is.

Check out the cast on his left leg ... it wraps all the way from his toes to his knee -- and it's bulky too.

As we previously reported, McGregor needed a rod, a plate and screws to fix the leg he broke during his fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.

The surgery went on for 3.5 hours ... and Dana White has said he believes the recovery process will take a full YEAR.

But, Conor doesn't seem too down about it all ... he even filmed himself getting a haircut by the pool Wednesday while flashing a big grin.

UFC star Sean O'Malley and 6ix9ine made their bromance permanent this week ... 'cause Suga let the controversial rapper tattoo his '69' logo on him!!

The duo had a helluva weekend together in Miami ... clubbing, playing softball and eating expensive ass meals out in South Beach.

But, while the good times may fade away, there's one part of their bro-down that won't -- the wild new ink O'Malley got ... with Tekashi taking the matters into his own hands and doing the job himself!!

You can see shirtless O'Malley sitting while Tekashi, needle in hand ... is going to work on his right shoulder.

Granted, celebrity tattoo artist Tatu Panda was there to make sure Tekashi69 didn't screw up ... and eventually took over after the first few minutes.

O'Malley was pleased with his big and bold 69 tat ... saying "you da man!" in the comment section on the Instagram post.

But, Suga wasn't the only one to get tatted by Tekashi ... it looks like YouTuber SteveWillDoIt let him start a tat on his left hand, too!!

No word on if 6ix9ine got a tat as well ... but the dude's clearly running out of room on his body, so who knows?!

Suga recapped the whole weekend on his podcast ... saying Steve even gifted him a sick new Rolex in the process!!

UFC's newest flyweight champ Brandon Moreno is hunting for his next big fight ... telling TMZ Sports he wants to take on the ex-bantamweight champ Cody Garbrandt -- if the dude's willing to drop some pounds.

We caught up with the 27-year-old Mexican star fresh off last month's huge win over Deiveson Figueiredo ... and while "Deus Da Guerra" wants an immediate rematch, Moreno says he's got some work to do before getting the trilogy fight.

"I think he needs to fight against another guy because the last fight wasn't even close," Moreno tells us. "Domination from the first through the third round."

"I'm open to fight against him, but I think he needs to fight again with somebody," he added. "Not because I'm scared or something like that -- it's hard to get scared in this sport because a lot of brave people here in this sport -- but I think it's not my next fight."

So, if DF is out of the question, who's next??

Moreno loves the idea of scrapping with "No Love" -- the guy who held the bantamweight belt in 2016 -- saying it's exactly the type of opponent he's looking for.

"I'm interested in that fight because he's a huge name. He's a possibility."

Of course, Moreno and Figueiredo's first fight in 2020 ended in a draw ... and "The Assassin Baby" got the W last month via 3rd round submission, becoming the first Mexican-born UFC champ.

Conor McGregor's got 99 problems, but a ship ain't one -- the UFC superstar finally received his beloved Lambo yacht this week ... and the thing looks incredible!!

As we previously reported, the Notorious purchased a Lamborghini Tecnomar 63 -- referred to as a "Supercar of the Sea" -- for (at least) nearly $4 MILLION back in October.

Worth noting, that number might be even higher ... 'cause there's a chance the boat has even more bells and whistles. After all, this is Conor we're talking about.

The shiny, new toy couldn't have come at a better time for McGregor -- the guy is recovering from a devastating snapped leg at UFC 264 against Dustin Poirier ... and now he has a ton of space to rest up on the water.

Conor's yacht is 63 feet long, weighs 24 tons, can reach up to 60 knots and has a 4,000 horsepower engine.

The yacht is one of just 63 made available to the (superrich) public ... with Conor getting the 12th in honor of his Proper 12 whiskey.

Remember, the dude was the highest-paid athlete in 2020 with $180 million -- due in large part to the booze biz -- so it's only right he pays tribute with the green boat.

Conor previously said it'll take about 6 weeks on crutches to recover from his injury ... and now we know where to find him if we need him.

Gilbert Burns wants to be UFC champion and he's willing to fight Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal -- 2 of the baddest dudes in the welterweight division -- all in order to earn a rematch with 170 lb.-king, Kamaru Usman.

TMZ Sports talked to 34-year-old Burns fresh off a convincing, unanimous decision win over Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson at UFC 264 ... and "Durinho" is open to scrapping with any of the high-ranked welterweights.

"I want the one that will get me a clear way to the title. If that’s Leon Edwards, that’s the one I want. If I need two more fights, give me Masvidal now then give me Leon Edwards later."

Remember, Burns and Usman -- who used to be training partners in Florida -- fought in February 2021 ... and Usman won via 3rd round TKO.

At the end of the day, who Gilbert fights first ain't all that important ... 'cause he says he ultimately wants smoke with all the best guys in the division.

"Every top opponent I want to face. I still have a dream battle against Colby [Covington]. I still want a rematch with Kamaru. I want to beat Masvidal. I want to beat Nate Diaz. I want to beat Leon Edwards. I want to beat every single guy, especially a tough one in that division."

FYI, Burns is the #2 ranked welterweight. Edwards is #3 and Masvidal -- who's coming off a loss to Usman -- is ranked 7th ... but is one of the UFC's biggest stars.

Miesha Tate says her UFC return isn't about money or fame ... it's about regaining her championship belt, and showing her kids women can be good moms and kick ass!!

TMZ Sports talked to 34-year-old Tate -- who hasn't been in the Octagon under the bright lights of the UFC since November 2016 ... when she lost to Raquel Pennington.

FYI, that happened to be UFC 205 -- the Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez card -- one of the fights that made The Notorious a global superstar.

1,708 days later, Tate is taking on 44-year-old Marion Reneau as the co-main event at UFC Fight Night ... and we asked the UFC star what she wanted to accomplish this 2nd time around.

"This is not just a cash grab, it’s not just a fight. I want to be a champion again."

In fact, Tate -- who beat Holly Holm for the bantamweight title in 2016 -- tells us the layoff actually made her a BETTER fighter.

"Much better. I’m not gonna lie, much better. But, I have to prove that, so just let me glow up and then I can prove it to you guys."

And, Miesha says the comeback isn't only about her ... it's also about showing her kids that women can be great moms AND also have a badass and super-successful career.

"I love my kids more than anything, but at the same time, I want to show them that just because you become a mother, you know mothers get lost a lot of times in our world. It’s ok for the dad to do and be, but the mom just kinda just be the mom," Tate says.

Conor McGregor was released from a Los Angeles hospital ... just days after surgeons used a rod, plate and screws to fix The Notorious' broken leg.

TMZ Sports talked to Dana White ... who updated us on McGregor's status.

"I think they just released him right now from the hospital about 10, 15 minutes ago."

Remember, Conor cracked his tibia AND fibula during the last 10 seconds of the 1st round of his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier.

We broke the story ... McGregor underwent successful 3.5-hour surgery at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles Sunday afternoon.

Doctors surgically placed an intramedullary rod in the tibia ... and attached a plate and screws to the fibula.

After the surgery, Conor made a video message addressing his fans, saying, "Everything went perfect. I'm feeling tremendous" ... adding after 6 weeks on crutches "we begin to build back."

Count the UFC prez as a believer ... 'cause Dana told us he expects McGregor to return to the Octagon.

"He'll be back in a year."

As for Conor's immediate plans ... White says the UFC superstar will spend some time recovering in SoCal.

"He'll be in L.A. for a little while. I don't know if he's gonna fly home, or what he's gonna do."

FYI, today is Conor's 33rd birthday ... and being released from the hospital ain't too bad a present.

Kris Moutinho ate 230 significant strikes, but won over MMA fans across the world with his unreal toughness ... and for it got a $75K bonus -- life changing money for the UFC fighter.

TMZ Sports talked to 28-year-old Moutinho -- whose UFC 264 scrap with "Suga" Sean O'Malley was stopped with only 27 seconds left in the 3rd and final round -- about his Fight of the Night bonus ... and how the windfall of cash will change his life.

"I’m extremely happy, man. It’s another step to taking care of my family and putting money into the right avenues to be able to take care of my family, and never have to work another job and just do this again. Do this. The thing I love for the rest of my life," Moutinho says.

In fact, Kris says he's never gotten so much money before ... and admitted he doesn't know how to manage the nearly 6-figure sum -- or what to do with it.

"I gotta figure out what I even got to do with it. I’m not like, I’m not built like this bro. I don’t know what all this is. What, how to pay taxes on this, and how to do that. I’m just trying not to end up broke cause of it, you know what I mean?"

So, the bank account is right ... but how does Moutinho feel physically after taking such a beating??

"Great" ... and what else would you expect from Kris?

"I feel great man, I feel great. Pride’s a little sore from losing, man, because a loss is still a loss. I don’t care how great everybody says the fight is. Man, I still lost, and it still hurts. That’s the only thing. The face, it doesn’t really bother me. I can take pain, I can take blunt force, or I wouldn’t do this, you know?"

And Moutinho -- who has a 9-5 record as a pro -- wants everyone to know his UFC career won't just be one-and-done ... and he would even be down for a rematch with Suga down the road.

"There’s no person I’m afraid of on this earth. It doesn’t matter what [O'Malley] did to me. Punches are so miniscule to the amount of pain I’m willing to endure in my life. This is nothing to me."

Kris continued ... "The only thing I fear on this planet is God, and Sean O’Malley isn’t him. Sean O’Malley isn’t him. It is what it is. He beat me. He beat me up a little bit. Hey next time I’m gonna, for my next fight I’m going to improve. I’m going to fix all these little flaws and you’re gonna see a different person when I step in that cage."

Conor McGregor had Proper 12 whiskey ... and now UFC superstar Nate Diaz has a limited edition, 14k gold chain -- available for his diehard fans to cop.

36-year-old Diaz just dropped the 24 inch cuban link chain and pendant through his company -- Represent -- and they're sick.

Nate showed us his (slightly bigger) version of the piece when we ran into him at a meet and greet at the Las Vegas Fight Shop, Friday night.

The Italian 14-karat gold piece costs $1,200 and contains 12 grams of gold ... and only 209 were produced.

The significance of 209? That's the area code for Stockton, CA -- Nate's hometown.

Diaz's partner tells us all of the pieces -- which were handcrafted in the US -- come with a certificate of authenticity ... and are numbered 1 through 209.

This is even better than snatching Floyd Mayweather's cap -- Jake Paul says he dropped $100k for a chain and pendant depicting Conor McGregor out cold, and it comes with a big warning.

Jake has been hurling insults for months at the UFC legend, trying to get him to agree to a boxing match -- but on the day Conor's returning to the Octagon to fight Dustin Poirier in Vegas ... JP's decided on this big-ticket troll ... his Sleepy McGregor chain.

The piece -- which he flaunted off with its designer, Benny The Jeweler -- shows McGregor unconscious, right after Poirier's 2nd round TKO back in January.

As trolls go, this one's pretty epic.

Jake says, "McGregor you better win tonight, otherwise we're not gonna be able to fight, because if you lose your career is over. And, that $50 million offer I gave you won't be on the table anymore."

So far, Conor's largely ignored Jake's efforts to get under his skin ... except to dismiss him and his brother, Logan, as "dingbats." However, this chain might do the trick, especially if Conor sees the video.

JP taunts him one last time, saying ... "Don't go sleepy sleepy! Goodnight, McGregor."

Here's the thing ... Jake tweeted this week that  "Conor has lost 'it'" ... but, he obviously recognizes he still has something -- the keys to a HUGE payday.

Remember, Jake's basically had 2 boxing matches -- only one against a pro fighter, albeit MMA's Ben Askren -- so he knows fighting a major professional draw like Conor is the fastest way to score the most money.

Arguably, McGregor would be more likely to accept JP's offer IF he loses tonight at UFC 264. If he wins, he'll probably be more focused on getting a UFC title shot than an exhibition boxing match ... even one that pays well.

One thing's for sure, Jake will be watching tonight ... and most likely with Sleepy McGregor around his neck.