MMA

Boyz II Men will be keeping an extra close eye on UFC 307 on Saturday night ... 'cause the legendary R&B group has a special and tragic connection to Khalil Rountree.

Shawn Stockman and Nathan Morris, two-thirds of the 4x Grammy Award-winning group, joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) this week where they talked about the Rountrees.

Back in 1992, Khalil's dad, Roderick "Khalil" Rountree, was Boyz II Men's road manager. After a May 1992 show in the Chicago area, Khalil was gunned down by three men who'd been caught trying to break into his hotel room, according to reports.

Kayla Harrison is locked in on her UFC 307 opp Ketlen Vieira ... but the 2x Olympic gold medalist tells TMZ Sports she's SO prepared, she's ready to also kick both Julianna Peña and Raquel Pennington's asses, too -- same night!

We caught up with the UFC bantamweight contender this week ... ahead of what'll almost surely be a title eliminator when she squares off with Vieira in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.

While she is not scheduled to face Pennington or Peña ... Harrison said she's heard that if either the champ or challenger drops out of the title fight, she could be called upon to step in.

Pro Bowl defensive end today ... UFC heavyweight champ down the road?!?

Maxx Crosby sure seems to think that's possible ... telling TMZ Sports he could see himself stepping into Dana White's Octagon at some point in the future.

Crosby, of course, is fully dedicated to his NFL career at the moment ... but he says he trains to be a beast on Sundays with daily boxing exercises -- and it's clear, it all could lead to a professional tilt later on.

Terence Crawford is confirming he was, in fact, offered a two-fight deal with UFC superstar Conor McGregor ... but the boxing champ ultimately turned the offer down -- 'cause there was no chance in hell he was about to step in the Octagon.

McGregor previously claimed the two combat greats were positioned to make "hundreds of millions" in an epic boxing/MMA showdown ... an ordeal that was pitched by the chairman of Saudia Arabia's General Entertainment Authority.

In an interview with Bernie Tha Boxer, Bud said the whole thing was legitimately on the table ... but he was the one to decline the lucrative possibility.

Pro boxer Mylik Birdsong -- a 15-1-1 pugilist who was slated to step in the ring as part of a UFC Fight Pass card in just a few weeks -- was killed on Sunday ... during a shooting in Los Angeles.

The LAPD says the incident took place at around 4:50 PM near Watts -- just a few miles south of downtown -- when several men inside of a dark-colored SUV drove up on the fighter and opened fire.

Cops say as Birdsong attempted to flee -- two men got out of the car, chased him down, and shot at him further.

Renato Moicano is not overlooking the skills of his UFC Paris opponent Benoit Saint-Denis ... saying he may one day sit atop the division -- but it ain't happening on his watch!

TMZ Sports caught up with the 11th-ranked lightweight contender ... days before he's set to take on 12th-ranked Saint-Denis in his home country of France, and while Moicano sees a bright future for the 28-year-old Frenchman, he's looking to derail his rise to the top.

"I'm here to stop him," Moicano said. "I'm here to get the W in Paris and to keep climbing the rankings."

Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler ain't happening -- at least not right now -- so, with that fight seemingly on life support, fans have put forth another name -- Justin Gaethje. But, is he interested??

The short answer is yes, according to the 35-year-old fighter's manager, Ali Abdelaziz ... who says the bigger question is whether McGregor would step into an Octagon with Gaethje.

"If this is what [Conor] wants, if this is what the UFC wants, I think Justin Gaethje will like to smash his face. 100%. I would love to see Justin Gaethje smash his face," Ali told TMZ Sports, adding ... "Everybody knows I don't like this guy. None of us like him. But, he brings a lot of unique things to the table. And, Justin is open to it, fighting someone like him."

With antisemitism on the rise, a Jewish organization at Harvard is making sure its members can defend themselves ... bringing one of the most dangerous people in the world to teach self-defense, UFC fighter Natan Levy.

32-year-old Levy, an 8-2 pro-MMA fighter, recently taught students at Harvard Chabad -- a Jewish student organization at the Ivy League School -- amid fears the Jewish students could be in physical danger.

Natan taught a wide range of techniques ... from strikes (jabs, crosses, kicks, etc.) to wrist grabs and more over the course of an hour-long class.

Raul Rosas Jr. says he's ready for a ranked opponent ... as the 19-year-old MMA star hopes to supplant Jon Jones as the youngest-ever UFC champion!

TMZ Sports talked to Rosas Jr. fresh off his unanimous decision victory over Qileng Aori at UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas ... and RR says he wants a step up in competition.

"I still have to talk to my manager about what's next. Obviously, that's what I would love and that's what I want 'cause I know it would take me a step closer to my dream, which is to become a UFC champion," Raul told us.

Irene Aldana's flaunting her newly fixed face after the bantamweight fighter had her wig split open at UFC 306 ... in what was one of the most gruesome cuts you'll ever see!

The 36-year-old Mexican fighter -- who lost by unanimous decision to Norma Dumont -- provided fans an update following her bout, posting several pics and videos after the doctor sutured her up.

Aldana needed stitches in multiple places, but the worst gash came courtesy of an unintentional clash of heads resulting in a deep, 2-ish-inch cut extending from her hairline to eyebrow.

Conor McGregor recently expressed interest in running for president of Ireland. But, despite his popularity, does the former champ-champ stand any chance at winning his nation's highest office??

Chuck Liddell thinks he just might ... telling TMZ Sports he believes "The Notorious" can rack up some votes!

We caught up with "The Iceman" at LAX this week and asked him for his thoughts on McGregor's desire to run for public office, and whether he sees a world where Conor can actually win.

Brian Ortega is one of the twenty fighters who will scrap on the UFC's one and ONLY Noche event at the Sphere ... something the veteran MMA star describes as an "honor."

"Bro, it's another level. We get to fight on a historic event by a promotion that's already known for making history. So it's an honor to be chosen to go in there, a featured fight and kind of kick off the night for both co-main and main event," T-City told TMZ Sports earlier this week, just days before his clash with 29-year-old Diego Lopes.

Remember, Ortega, 33, and Lopes were supposed to fight in June at UFC 303 ... but the fight was scrapped the same day the men were due in the Octagon after Brian, who was coming off a win over Yair Rodriguez, got sick and couldn't fight.

Jorge Masvidal is ready to get back in a UFC Octagon ... telling TMZ Sports he's eyeing fights with none other than Leon Edwards and Michael Chandler -- and one of the two has already responded!!

Masvidal spoke about his impending return to Dana White's org this week after being away from it all since April 2023 -- and he told us he's itching to get back.

For now, no firm return date has been set ... but he said he's hoping to be on a card sometime either at the end of this year or the start of 2025.

Jeremy Stephens is gunning to improve his Bare Knuckle Fighting record to a perfect 2-0 next Saturday ... and the big question is, could a win propel him to a fight with former foe turned BKFC owner, Conor McGregor?!

TMZ Sports caught up with the 38-year-old fighter ahead of his second scrap with the promotion, against 6-2 Bobby Taylor. While Taylor has more experience fighting without gloves, Stephens doesn't anticipate much of a challenge.

"Body bag, not worried about the opponent, man," he said. "Just [going to] put him in a f****** bag. We're here to f****** hurt him, this is the hurt business. He's just an opponent, go in there and do my thing."

Machine Gun Kelly knew Sean Strickland wasn't about to "shut the f*** up," and the UFC fighter proved him right on Tuesday ... firing back at the musician with a wild social media post.

The former middleweight champion got wind of the Cleveland rocker/rapper's comments on the "Impaulsive" podcast episode released on Tuesday ... and despite MGK telling the controversial figure to kick rocks, he's not ready to tap out of their feud just yet.

"Getting lectured by a guy who drinks blood and wears a purse," Strickland said on X. "Dawg you had a mid life crisis and tattooed your entire body. The 'the x community of intolerance' yall I'd hang out with you toxic trolls any day over this c***."

Machine Gun Kelly is opening up about Sean Strickland after their run-in at a Power Slap event back in February ... warning the UFC fighter to quit running his mouth!

The Cleveland native swung by Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast to chop it up on a wide range of topics ... including the disdain between Kelly and Strickland.

At a point during the conversation, the topic turned to Strickland ... and it's very evident MGK is far from a fan of the former UFC middleweight champion.