MMA

The People's Elbow apparently now needs an MRI ... 'cause Dwayne Johnson just revealed his famed body part suffered an injury on the set of his new movie this week -- and the wound looks gnarly.

The Rock said on his Instagram page Tuesday that he hurt the wing while filming some scenes for "The Smashing Machine" -- an upcoming flick all about the life of MMA legend Mark Kerr.

Dwayne didn't exactly clarify how he sustained the ailment ... although he joked, "Anytime your film is called 'The Smashing Machine,' well, you're kind of going to get smashed up."

6/7 -- 10:20 AM PT -- TMZ Sports talked to Jorge Masvidal's boxing coach Jorge Capetillo -- who was front and center (JC was rockin' the burgundy t-shirt) when things kicked off on Thursday -- and we asked him about the brawl ... including what led up to the melee, and whether he's okay after the fight.

Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal don't fight for another month, but the action was well underway at their press conference on Thursday ... with "Gamebred" getting in the middle of a violent scuffle.

It all went down in Anaheim just minutes ago ... shortly after Diaz stormed off the stage without doing a ceremonial face-off with his opponent.

Seems Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler is still very much on ... The Notorious just showed off a highlight package of his recent grueling training sessions -- indicating the massive UFC 303 tilt will go on as scheduled.

Of course, there had been some worry the June 29 main event might get scrapped ... after a press conference set for Monday in Ireland was canceled at the last minute without much explanation.

McGregor did issue a statement following the surprise call-off, expressing remorse for the situation -- however, his short apology lacked details ... causing many to wonder if his comeback attempt had been put on pause.

Vicente Luque knows his summer fight with Nick Diaz will be a war -- and he says he's ready to flatline the Stockton-born MMA star -- but he's also savoring the moment ... as the 32-year-old welterweight says the 40-year-old actually inspired his fighting style!

Luque and Diaz are set to square off in the Octagon on August 3 in Abu Dhabi at UFC on ABC 7 -- Nick's first fight since he lost to Robbie Lawler in 2021 -- and Vicente says this will certainly be a career highlight.

"It's definitely a bucket list," Luque told TMZ Sports.

Dustin Poirier is on a long road to recovery after going toe-to-toe with Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 over the weekend ... revealing the extensive list of injuries he sustained during the fight.

"The Diamond" -- who lost to the champ via fifth-round submission on Saturday -- took to X on Wednesday to disclose the damage he's dealing with in the days following the bout ... and it sounds painful as hell.

"Nose is broken bad, rib is broken and my ACL is partially torn," Poirier said minutes ago ... while adding it's all part of "FIGHT LIFE."

"The Ultimate Fighter" coaches Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko will fight at the culmination of the hit show -- and the flyweight champ has a venue in mind -- The Sphere!

TMZ Sports talked to 30-year-old Grasso -- who will debut as coach opposite rival Shevchenko on TUF 32 on Tuesday night -- where we asked the 125-pound title holder about the show and eventual trilogy fight with Valentina.

It's no secret the two female stars are fighting ... but the question is when and where.

Conor McGregor is opening up on the scrapped UFC 303 press conference that was scheduled for Monday ... and while he didn't explain exactly why it was canceled, he did say it was the result of a number of problems.

Notorious and Michael Chandler were slated to talk some trash in Dublin to promote the June 29 event ... but just hours before it was all supposed to go down, the organization confirmed it was a no-go until further notice -- without providing any more information.

Now, Conor is shedding a bit of light on the situation ... saying, "In consultation with the UFC, today's press conference was canceled due to a series of obstacles outside of our control."

10:46 AM PT -- Turns out Aaron didn't shade Donald Trump at UFC 302 Saturday night. Instead, it seems he got a little face time with the former prez -- posting a pic to IG where he's shaking his hand. So, seemingly no beef between them.

Aaron Rodgers seemed to diss Donald Trump in a very public way.

Aaron and Trump were both front and center Saturday night at UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey.

At one point Trump, who got a thunderous ovation, walked right past Aaron, who never got out of his seat and never acknowledged the ex-Prez.

Donald Trump was in the building at UFC 302 Saturday night -- just 2 days later and 10 miles away from the NYC courtroom where he was convicted this week -- and the former president received a rousing standing ovation from the packed crowd!

Trump walked into the Prudential Center shortly after the main card kicked off, flanked by UFC honcho and close friend, Dana White, and a gang of Secret Service agents.

45 was shown on the big screen inside the Newark, NJ arena, and many of the near-17k MMA fans lost it!

Khabib Nurmagomedov wasn't in Islam Makhachev's corner for his last fight, but he will be Octagonside for Saturday's title scrap vs. Dustin Poirier ... and he's doing it for free!

TMZ Sports talked to Khabib and Islam's longtime manager, Ali Abdelaziz, this week ... and while all MMA fans are well aware of Nurmagomedov's exploits inside the cage, we asked about his talents as a coach -- and how it's impacted Makhachev's preparation heading into UFC 302.

"[Islam] had one of the greatest coaches you can ever have in your corner, Khabib. He's been coaching in the whole camp," Ali said, adding, "He had some of the best training partners you can ask for mimicking Dustin. We're fighting a dangerous opponent. You know, Dustin Poirier is a dangerous opponent, but I feel right now Islam is a hard guy to beat, you know?"

"And, he's going there for the kill. Everybody talks about Dustin Poirier, he's killed or to be killed. Tomorrow, Islam is going to be turned into a killing machine."

Typically, coaches receive a percentage of a fighter's pay ... but not Khabib, not this time.

"Khabib came to camp. He's not making money. He's not getting a percentage. He's spending his own money for his own flight just to help his brother."

Of course, Khabib, 29-0 (BTW, one of those wins came against Poirier), retired after beating Justin Gaethje in 2020 ... shortly after the tragic death of his father, Abdulmanap.

Since, Nurmagomedov has dedicated himself to coaching ... although he has stepped aside at times (he wasn't in Islam's corner for the Volkanovski fight at UFC 294).

Check out the clip. There's much more with Ali on Islam, Khabib, and some of his other star fighters.

Terry Crews plans to pull up to Anderson Silva's boxing match in June ... but, he's not going to fight the MMA legend as he recently implied on social media -- he's simply going to support his buddy!

In case you missed it, the shirtless actor went on Instagram last week and delivered a message for the UFC legend, saying he's been training and is ready to see him June 15.

Fans figured Crews was throwing out a potential fight, but the 55-year-old told TMZ Sports that's simply not the case.

Dustin Poirier has accomplished just about everything during his legendary career as an MMA fighter. Just about. But, there's one thing left to do -- win the UFC championship!

35-year-old Poirier joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) -- about a week before his UFC 302 main event title fight against champion and current pound-for-pound king, Islam Makhachev. We asked Dustin how important it was for him to be crowned champ.

"It's greatly important," Dustin said.

Everyone knows kids can be cruel, but nowhere was that more evident recently than in a video making the rounds on social media showing a boy getting choked out by an adolescent bully.

Check out the horrific footage posted to X by MMA Fighter Dillon Danis ... the vid opens with the bully coming up behind the boy as someone else films them.

The bully then orders the boy to tilt his head back before putting him in a headlock. The helpless youngster asks for the bully to stop if he says to.

Christy Martin's happy Sydney Sweeney's lacing up her boxing gloves ... saying she's thrilled Syd's playing her in a new biopic, and she wants to make sure her ring moves look authentic.

The boxing legend tells TMZ ... she's excited for Syd's performance, especially because she has a background in MMA and combat sports -- and says the actor's performance can prove dynamite comes in small packages!

Martin maintains she had no say in casting, and while she hasn't spoken to Sweeney yet ... she's anxious to let her know how honored she is she's taking the role.

Christy says she'll definitely be involved with Sydney's boxing training, specifically to help the star with her left hook ... giving her championship-level tools for the flick.

It's official -- Conor McGregor is now in the knucklin' business ... putting pen to paper on his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships ownership papers!!

Notorious was joined by BKFC founder and president David Feldman at McGregor's Black Forge Inn in Dublin on Thursday for a bit of a ceremonial signing ceremony ... and the two looked thrilled about the big moment.

"Rocket to the moon, brother," Conor said. "Take off the gloves and fight, bitch!!"

If MMA promotions didn't exist, and A.J. McKee could choose any fighter in the world to scrap with, who would it be?! TMZ Sports asked the former Bellator world champion.

"My dream in mixed martial arts has always been [Max] Halloway. He's just such a technician and a stud. That's the best of the best," 29-year-old McKee told Babcock during a sitdown interview at the TMZ office this week.

Of course, barring a big shakeup, it's unlikely it'll happen. Max -- who just beat Justin Gaethje -- is signed to the UFC, while A.J.'s under contract with PFL/Bellator.