MMA

Sean Strickland's the UFC Middleweight champ today, but by the end of 2024, Brendan Allen believes the top of the division will look different ... he expects to be the titleholder!

TMZ Sports talked to 27-year-old Allen, the #10 ranked 185-pounder in the promotion, ahead of his UFC Fight Night main event scrap with #13 ranked Paul Craig on Saturday in Las Vegas ... a big fight for the rising star.

We asked Brendan for his assessment of the division.

"I think I'm the best in the world. It's up to me to prove it," Allen said, adding ... "I think Sean [Strickland] will be there for a little bit. Hopefully, ending of next year it'll be 'And new' for me. That's the goal. I don't care who's there when it's my turn. But obviously, the goal is 'And new' when I get my turn."

Allen, 22-5, is coming off a win over Bruno Silva in June ... his 5th straight victory.

35-year-old Craig had lost two in a row -- against Volkan Oezdemir (July '22) and Johnny Walker (January '23) -- before rebounding against Andre Muniz in July. Paul's 17-6-1 over his pro career.

Brendan also weighed in on Paul's decision to go from 205 lbs. to the 185 lb. division ... a move that could come around to bite Craig, according to Allen.

"I think the weight cut will play a role, but it's not the sole or main reason [I'll win]. I just think that I'm gonna be too good, too fast, too strong. He may be bigger, but I'm just a different guy when it comes to this weight class, and I'm gonna show just that.," Brenda told us.

We also talked to Craig ... who is going to do his best to (at least momentarily) stop the Allen hype train.

Floyd Mayweather's returning to the boxing ring to take care of some unfinished business ... the legendary fighter is taking on John Gotti III in Las Vegas over Super Bowl weekend in February, a rematch of their '23 fight that ended in chaos!

TMZ Sports is told the event will happen around Super Sunday (February 11 in Sin City) and will be headlined by 46-year-old Mayweather vs. 31-year-old Gotti III.

Floyd, 50-0, is one of the greatest fighters to ever put on a pair of gloves. Gotti III, grandson of the legendary Gambino family crime boss, John Gotti, was originally an MMA fighter (5-1), who eventually got into boxing (2-0).

The rest of the card will be anchored by Floyd's Mayweather Promotions fighters.

Of course, Floyd and John have history. Back in June, they boxed at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida ... but the bout was called in the sixth round after a bunch of holding and other shenanigans in the ring.

Although the fight was technically stopped by ref Kenny Bayless, it was just the beginning of the fighting ... as mayhem erupted inside the squared circle, and outside of it, too.

In fact, Joseline Hernandez and Big Lex were seen scrapping.

Order was eventually restored ... and reps for the fighters spoke and peaced things up.

Now, the men are set to battle again ... during what was already one of the biggest weeks in all of sports.

And, to make sure there isn't a repeat of the first fight, we're told there are clauses in the contracts that could trigger a financial fine if anyone gets out of line.

The fight, a pay-per-view event airing on Zeus network, will be promoted by Mayweather Promotions, along with partner Hidden Empire Films!

Forget running the UFC ... Dana White now looks like he could straight-up compete in the fighting org. -- and he says it's all 'cause of an 86-hour fast he did this week.

The 54-year-old revealed in a video on his social media page Wednesday night that he began his fast after UFC 295 on Saturday night ... and just a few days later, he's seen incredible results.

White explained in the clip that he began the no-food streak by doing nothing more than drinking water with electrolytes for 24 hours.

Then, the UFC honcho said he incorporated bone broth twice a day into his diet until the fast ended Wednesday morning ... and following it all, he clearly looked great.

But, White said his motivation wasn't exactly to get his 8-pack to pop ... rather, he told his followers he just wanted further help in preventing illnesses.

"Obviously i'm not a doctor," White said on X, "but i've been told by the experts that water fasting can help to significantly reduce the risk of cancer, alzheimers and a ton of other health issues."

Tom Aspinall doesn't want to twiddle his thumbs for a year waiting for Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic to fight -- the interim heavyweight champ says he respects the heavyweight G.O.A.T., but his time has passed -- and it's only right the two champs unify the belt!

TMZ Sports talked to Aspinall on Wednesday and asked about his plans moving forward.

"I want to fight Jon Jones, man. And this is no disrespect to Stipe at all. After a performance like Saturday night, who really cares about 42-year-old Stipe who has not fought for 3 or 4 years coming back and fighting Jon Jones. Ya know what I mean? I just knocked out the scariest dude in the UFC in a minute."

Of course, Aspinall only needed 1 minute and 9 seconds to dispatch of Sergei Pavlovich -- arguably the scariest guy in the division because of his incredible punching power -- at UFC 295, securing the interim title at Madison Square Garden.

Tom went on to make his case for the Jones scrap, saying, "I know it's like a big respect thing. Stipe is like the greatest heavyweight ever and Jon Jones is arguably the greatest MMA fighter ever. I get that. I completely get that, but it's also about relevance. It's also about excitement. It's also about what puts people in seats, what people are gonna buy pay-per-views, and I'm more exciting than anybody right now. I deserve a shot. I'm the champion."

Aspinall continued ... "Jon Jones is the champion. I'm not saying he's not. But I'm a champion as well and Stipe, and this is no disrespect to Stipe at all, I'm a massive fan of his, but Stipe at this point was guy who hasn't fought in three years and is coming off a loss."

Many people around the sport agree with Tom, but that doesn't mean it's a lock to happen. In fact, Dana White has said he intends to re-book the Jones-Miocic fight when Jon gets healthy.

Aspinall was only in the Octagon at MSG because the JJ vs. Stipe fight was scrapped over the injury.

It remains to be seen if the UFC honcho changes course and unifies the belts.

There's much more with the interim UFC champ ... we talked to Tom about how life has changed since Saturday night, how he plans to celebrate achieving his lifelong dream, and what did Pavlovich's power actually feel like?!

Steve-O está haciendo historia en la UFC, gracias al campeón de los pesos pesados, Jon Jones, ¡¡¡porque estamos seguros de que un cinturón de la UFC nunca ha sido emparejado con un martillo para romperle la oreja a alguien!!!

Echa un vistazo a este video de locos, si tu estómago puede soportarlo. La estrella de "Jackass" estaba pasando el rato con Jon en Albuquerque cuando se le ocurrió la delirante idea de que este le diera el golpe.

Se trata de una deformación de la oreja que los luchadores comúnmente obtienen en sus competencias, pero Steve-O tomó un atajo, colocando su oreja derecha debajo del cinturón de Jon y haciendo que él literalmente le martillara el cinturón.

Le costó unos cuantos golpes, pero como era de esperar, la oreja de Steve se convirtió rápidamente en un desastre que no paraba de sangrar 😱.

El estúpido truco forma parte de su especial de comedia "Bucket List", que se estrenó el martes, y Steve lo describe como una recopilación de cosas que no fue capaz de hacer en "Jackass".

Steve-O dice que trabajó en este proyecto durante cinco años y consiguió al comediante Bill Burr para la secuencia de apertura del especial, por el que gastó más de 150 mil dólares solo para la producción de esos 90 segundos de metraje.

Steve-O dice que intentó vender el especial a numerosas plataformas de streaming, pero era demasiado intenso, así que lo lanzó de forma independiente en su propio sitio web.

Steve-O is making UFC history, thanks to heavyweight champ Jon Jones -- 'cause we're pretty sure a UFC belt's never been paired with a hammer to smash someone's ear!!!

Check out the insane clip, if your stomach can handle it -- the "Jackass" star was chilling with Jon in Albuquerque when they came up with the crazy idea for Jon to try to give Steve cauliflower ear.

It's a gnarly deformation of the ear wrestlers and combat fighters commonly get from competition, but Steve-O took a short cut -- laying his right ear under Jon's belt and having Jon literally hammer the belt.

It took a few swings, but as expected, Steve's ear quickly became a bloody mess.😱

The stupid human stunt is part of his 'Bucket List' multimedia comedy special, which dropped on Tuesday -- and Steve describes it as a compilation of things he wasn't able to do on "Jackass."

Steve-O says he worked on this project for 5 years, and got comedian Bill Burr for the opening sequence, and he dropped more than $150k just on the production of that 90 seconds of footage.

Steve-O says he tried shopping the special around to numerous different streaming platforms, but it was just too intense ... so he just released it independently on his own site instead.

The gloves were off as a fistfight nearly broke out between Sen. Markwayne Mullin and Teamsters General President, Sean O'Brien, on Capitol Hill Tuesday ... resulting in a stern scolding from Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Tensions erupted when ex-MMA fighter Mullin read out tweets by O'Brien following a previous heated congressional hearing, in which he was labeled a "clown and fraud," among various other insults.

With his damning gaze firmly on his opponent, Mullin warns of a "time and place to run his mouth" ... and as "two consenting adults," they could "finish it here."

The duo urges each other to "stand their butt up" to duke it out leaving an agitated Sanders to keep the peace and remind Mullin of his responsibilities as a United States senator.

"God knows the American people have enough contempt for Congress," Sanders says, clearly pissed about the showdown that was about to unfold.

Unrelenting, Sen. Mullin -- an Oklahoma Republican -- goes on to taunt his rival for "going quiet" ... only for O'Brien to hit back by likening him to a 12-year-old for challenging him to a cage match. Ouch.

The Iceman won't be showing his icicle on OnlyFans anytime soon ... 'cause even though fellow former UFC fighter Paige VanZant is making a killing by ditching her clothes, Chuck Liddell tells TMZ Sports he's simply not about that life.

PVZ has been making a fortune on the subscription platform ... recently revealing she raked in more dough in one day than she did throughout her whole MMA career.

We spoke with the former champ out at LAX this week about Paige's thriving new venture ... and he's thrilled for the fighter-turned-model.

"That's awesome, that's good for her. I'm excited for her," Chuck told us. "I'm glad she's doing it. She's a cool girl."

While Liddell has nothing but love for Paige, he says he won't be following in her feet pics footprints.

"No, but thank you, though," Chuck said with a laugh.

All silliness aside, we talked about UFC 295 and the big matchup between Jiří Procházka and Alex Pereira ... and he spills on who he's got in the interim light heavyweight bout.

Jiri Prochazka admits Alex Pereira is a good freakin' fighter, but is he the most dangerous man he's ever faced? Prochazka doesn't think so.

TMZ Sports talked to the 31-year-old, #1 light heavyweight contender ... and we asked Jiri if Alex presented the biggest challenge to him over his 10+ year pro-MMA career.

"I will see that when I face him. I will feel that who is he. But what I've saw with his style, I think I've fought with more dangerous guys."

Surprising ... until you look at the opponents he's shared an Octagon with over the years, including Glover Teixeira (submission win, 2022), Volkan Oezdemir (KO win, 2020), and Dominick Reyes (KO win, 2021).

But, as good as those fighters are, none possess the crushing knockout power of Poatan (8-2, 6 KO) ... especially when it comes to his vicious left hook. Alex has put many men to sleep with that shot over the years.

We asked Jiri, a dynamic striker in his own right, if he believed he could win a stand-up battle against Alex, assuming things don't go to the ground where Prochazka would seemingly have the advantage.

"Yes, yes. 100 percent yes," Prochazka said without any hesitation.

Of course, the guys are fighting for the belt held by Jamahal Hill ... who ruptured his Achilles a few months ago.

We asked Jiri what it'd mean to him to once again have the UFC championship belt wrapped around his waist ... and he was at a loss for words.

"I can't talk about it. You will see that in Madison Square Garden, and I believe in that."

As for Pereira, we talked to him, too ... and let's say he sees things going a bit differently.

Tom Aspinall admits he won't be at his cardiovascular peak for his upcoming title fight -- he wasn't planning on being in an Octagon Saturday night -- but the UFC star says he's healthy enough to leave The World's Most Famous Arena as interim heavyweight champ!

TMZ Sports talked to 30-year-old Aspinall, the #4 ranked UFC heavyweight, days before his scrap with 31-year-old Sergei Pavlovich, ranked the #2 contender, during UFC 295's co-main event at Madison Square Garden ... and we asked the fighter from the UK how close he'd be to 100 percent.

"I can't lie and say I'm at my fittest ever because I'm not. But also there's been times when I haven't had a fight that I've been way further away than what I am now. I've still been training. I've been training every day," Aspinall told us.

Tom added ... "Two and a half weeks is enough time to switch on your mind. To get in the mode of fighting, to mentally prepare yourself. I'd say I'm around 80 to 90%. I feel good."

Of course, Aspinall got a phone call from the UFC on October 24 ... with news that Jon Jones wouldn't be able to fight Stipe Miocic after suffering a serious injury to his pec. Tom was offered an interim title fight against Pavlovich, who had already been contracted to serve as the backup for the original Jon and Stipe fight.

Despite Sergei having been in camp already, and Tom not ... he said yes, and here we are!

We asked Aspinall how difficult a decision it was.

"It wasn't really a tough decision to be honest. I don't know why. I think for anybody else it maybe was. That's the fight that I wanted. That's the fight I've been asking for. I wouldn't be asking for it if I felt like I didn't want it.

"Obviously, in an ideal world, I would've liked longer to train. I would've liked longer than the short amount of time, but I believe everything happens for a reason, and I believe it's gonna help me somehow, whatever that is I'll find out Saturday. And I'm very much looking forward to it!"

Pavlovich is one of the scariest fighters in the promotion. He's only lost once as a professional and has won 6 UFC fights in a row. His last loss was to now-retired MMA legend Alistair Overeem in 2018.

Segei's known for his incredible knockout power ... finishing 83% of his fights by knockout.

Aspinall's no slouch, either. He's 13-3, and an incredible athlete ... especially considering his massive frame (he's 6'5", 262 lbs.). Tom's beaten the likes of Marcin Tybura, Alexander Volkov, and Andrei Arlovski since joining Dana White's promotion in 2020.

Adding to the massive moment ... the fight's going down at MSG, where legends like Muhammad Ali have fought over the decades. Aspinall's from Manchester, but we asked him if he cared about UFC 295's distinguished location.

"I personally know that Madison Square Garden is the most prestigious arena in the world for a combat athlete. I think that's globally known. There are two places that I wanted to fight being a UK guy, I always wanted to fight in the O2 Arena. I've headlined the O2 three times now," Aspinall said.

Ex-MMA fighter Javier Baez didn't just body slam a crazed knife-wielding assailant; he also "choked him out" ... telling TMZ his 15 years of pro training finally came in handy in the streets.

As we reported, the shocking clip making the rounds online shows Javier's attacker, Omar Marrero, didn't stand a fighting chance when he charged ... even though he had a 14-inch knife in his hand.

Javier tells us it all started while he was minding his biz, sitting in his car and talking to his fiancee -- he says that's when Marrero banged on his car window, shattering it.

He told Marrero to beat it, and warned he was going to call the police, but Omar brandished the giant knife -- and while some people would've driven off at that point, Javier stepped out of his car and the fight was on!

As you've seen, Javier body slammed Marrero to the ground, but what's harder to see is that he also blocked the knife by applying a chokehold ... which made the assailant pass out.

He then called the cops, and Marrero woke up with Javier's foot on his back.

With his amazing piece of ass-kicking going viral, Javier says he's getting a slew of calls from folks who want to hire him for personal and self-defense training.

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.