UFC

"I want to make this a horror movie."

That's UFC champion Israel Adesanya, who joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... making it crystal clear he wants to do a lot more than simply defeat his rival Alex Pereira when the two striking savants battle inside the Octagon at UFC 281 in NYC.

"I want to be the first person he sees when he wakes up. I want to make sure I'm right in his line of sight so he's looking at me," the 33-year-old MMA superstar said.

Of course, Adesanya and Pereira are headlining the November 12th card -- with two title fights and a Michael Chandler-Dustin Poirier matchup -- which will go down inside Madison Square Garden.

Israel and Alex fought twice previously and Pereira won both times ... in 2016 (decision) and 2017 (knockout), but they were kickboxing, NOT MMA (overall, Izzy had a kickboxing record of 75-5, while Alex was 33-7.)

We asked Adesanya, who last fought and beat Jared Cannonier in July, if people were making too big a deal over the previous fights.

"100%, even though the way you defend is different, the way you attack is different. It's kinda stupid sometimes. No disrespect to kickboxing," Izzy said.

"I always felt my striking was better suited for MMA, for the glove size but also the way, the freeness of attacking, I can clinch someone and trip 'em down. I can elbow, things like that and I know he's good at stuff like that as well but I've been doing this a lot longer."

The reality is ... Adesanya rarely lost kickboxing, but he's never lost in his division in the UFC (sole L came against Jan Blachowicz at light heavyweight).

Despite it being a much different discipline, Izzy says he did rewatch the fights.

"I've looked back at them and I've taken a few things away from them but it is a different fight. I'm not the same guy, he's not the same guy either, but again, I've been doing this a lot longer and people forget," Adesanya said.

"For me, I have reminded them. I always do when it's time. I remind people and show them how great I am. This is just another one of those times I have to do it."

The Miz says the Cleveland Cavaliers are AWEEEEEESOME -- telling TMZ Sports he thinks his hometown team is going to make it all the way to the NBA Finals this season!!

We spoke with the WWE Superstar out at LAX this week about his Cleveland sports teams ... and while his Browns are struggling, he says there's hope with the Wine & Gold.

"We're going to the NBA Finals," Miz tells us. "They got a young squad, and they got some good superstars. They look better than the Lakers."

The Cavs have been playing well so far this season -- they already have more wins than the Browns -- and have been led by newly acquired star Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen ... even with Darius Garland missing games with an eye injury.

Miz is clearly a fan of the Cavs' blockbuster trade ... saying, "Spida is going to be amazing."

"He is the star," Miz adds. "And we welcomed him with open arms, 'cause we didn't think we could get another star. It's Cleveland. It's not like an L.A. or NY, or Miami market."

What's even more surprising -- Miz isn't exactly worried about whether LeBron James ever comes back home ... saying he believes the current Cavs squad can win it all without the King.

Jake Paul just went toe-to-toe with former UFC champion Anderson Silva -- and WON -- coming away with his hand raised in an incredibly impressive bout on Saturday.

The Problem Child and Spider beat each other up for eight rounds ... but neither fighter could finish with a knockout.

Jake, however, had the lone knockdown of the fight in the 8th round ... after a short right to Silva's head.

Paul got the dub via unanimous decision in Phoenix ... and now the former YouTuber-turned-superstar says he wants to go up against Canelo Alvarez or Nate Diaz.

Jake grabbed the mic after the win ... saying Diaz is a b*tch and he'd love to add him to his list of victims.

He also went after Canelo ... saying he wants a piece of the boxing champ, too.

But when it came to Silva, the two showed nothing but respect for each other after the fight ... with Jake explaining how much Anderson has meant to him over the years.

Jake gave a message to the haters, too ... saying people will always find a reason to doubt him.

The fight was insanely close -- but ultimately, Jake landed more significant punches.

Jake Paul -- 6-0.

Kamaru Usman is planning to fight Leon Edwards in early 2023 -- in the Brit's home country -- but the Nigerian Nightmare ain't concerned about going into enemy territory ... 'cause he says the crowd will actually be on his side.

"I would love to go to England and do this in England," Usman told Babcock when they sat down for the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1), adding, "I gotta lot of fans in England, a lot of my Africans, a lot of my Jamaican fans in England so I think it only makes sense."

Lots of fans in England ... as in, the crowd will be split 50/50, we asked.

"No, I think I have more fans in there than he would but it is what it is, going to the UK, doesn't matter. They don't help you fight. You gotta fight me. You gotta fight the Nigerian Nightmare when you're in there so that doesn't really make a difference for me," 35-year-old Usman said.

Of course, Kamaru lost his title to 31-year-old Edwards at UFC 278 in August. Usman was cruising, on his way to a relatively painless title defense ... that's until Rocky landed a perfectly placed head kick that turned the lights off for the champ.

Prior to the loss, Usman won 19 fights in a row ... many against the UFC's best, including Colby Covington (twice), Jorge Masvidal (twice), and many others. He also previously beat Edwards in late 2015.

After the fight, the internet did what the internet does ... and there were memes galore. Usman handled the loss graciously.

"I started wrestling in high school and I lost a lot until I started winning. Then I went to college wrestling and then I lost until I did win and then I started fighting, then I lost and started winning," Kamaru says, making the point ... everyone loses. It's how you bounce back.

And, after over 20 minutes of fighting this summer, Usman says both he and Edwards know who's the superior fighter.

Anderson Silva's fight with Jake Paul is still on -- the MMA legend has been cleared to compete in the boxing match, an Arizona athletic commission ruled Thursday night.

The big last-minute meeting was called after the website MMA Weekly posted an interview with Silva ... where the 47-year-old MMA G.O.A.T. admitted to being "knocked out" twice during a training session before the fight.

Anderson, who speaks English as a second language, quickly issued a statement saying he inadvertently used "knockout" instead of "knockdown." He also revealed the interview was almost 2 weeks old, despite just being released this week.

The Commission could've pulled Silva's license at any time ... so the meeting was a huge deal not just for Anderson.

Chairman Scott Fletcher said he was "completely comfortable" letting Silva fight ... after coming away satisfied with how well Anderson spoke when answering questions.

Commissioner Dr. Ara Feinstein, who's also a surgeon and ringside physician, reviewed Silva's neurological report and MRI, and saw no issues with the results.

"I was NEVER knocked out in sparring," Silva told us after the scandal broke, continuing ... "I misspoke in that interview as I sometimes do when interviewing in English and exaggerated the normal back-and-forth action that occurs in sparring."

"This sparring session I referenced was in early September. The interview with MMA Weekly was done on Sept. 13 and, for some reason, just released this week. So, it wasn't recent."

Kamaru Usman -- in Los Angeles for the Hollywood premiere of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" -- stopped by the TMZ offices and talked about being part of a major blockbuster action film ... even showing BTS photos from the set.

"To be honest, it's something I kind of spoke into existence," 35-year-old Usman said when he sat down with Babcock for the "TMZ Sports" TV show. "After seeing the first one, I was such a big fan. I was like, man why wouldn't I be in the second one? They're fighting, they're Africans, they look the part, they're physical, like, I should definitely be in it."

When he did land the role, the job was different than Kamaru thought ... turns out acting isn't easy!

"It was definitely not what I expected. Let me just say, it's much harder than I thought. Extremely harder than I thought."

Usman says the gravity of being in Black Panther hit him when he got to the set.

"My first day on set, I'm in a scene where I'm explaining -- well I don't wanna give away the movie, but I'm in front of the people in the movie, and a piece of me is like 'Oh s**t! I'm on set!' So, was a little bit nervous and I only had just a couple of lines!"

So nervous ... he literally forgot to deliver his lines.

"I was in awe of everybody to where I forgot to talk. So it's like my turn, everyone is quiet. Oh s**t, I forgot to talk, because I'm just so into everyone else. I mean just watching the masters at work was incredible."

Kamaru also shared some photographs from set -- where he posed with Winston Duke -- the first images we've seen of him in character.

Of course, the first Black Panther film, starring Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong'o was released in 2018 to worldwide acclaim. Many fans declared the movie the best in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Tragically, Chadwick died in mid-2020 after quietly and courageously battling colon cancer.

Despite the terrible loss, the cast and crew pushed forward with the highly anticipated sequel ... which drops worldwide on November 11.

The movie is all but assured to be one of the biggest of the year.

And, Usman hopes it's not his last film ... he sent a message to industry decision-makers.

Jake Paul's bad luck could strike once again -- his fight against Anderson Silva might be in trouble ... after the former UFC champ claimed he was knocked out twice during his last sparring session.

47-year-old Spider made the shocking comments in a video posted to MMA Weekly on Tuesday ... saying his workouts leading up to Saturday's fight in Phoenix were so grueling, he was KO'd twice.

"I'm training hard for the win," Silva told Jim Grieshaber. "I'm training with the good boxers, high-level, and five guys come to help me. "And the last sparring with [my partner], he knocked me out two times, and when I finish my training, I talked to my coach and even said, 'Coach, let me tell you something, why the guys knock me out two times?' And the coach said, 'You need to prepare for war, and you prepare for war.'"

Silva's statement caught the attention of the Arizona Department of Gaming -- the organization that oversees professional bouts in the state -- which told MMA Fighting it is "looking into the matter."

Here's the issue -- due to Silva's age, he must undergo rigorous testing in order to be cleared to fight ... which includes disclosing his most recent knockouts and the amount of time he was unconscious.

Silva's coach, Luiz Carlos Dorea, adamantly denied the fighter's claims ... saying he is 100% ready for the fight.

No update has been provided so far ... but Paul is clearly expecting to scrap on Saturday -- tweeting out, "3 days" as he continues to count down to the big event.

If Silva's revelation ruins the fight, it'll be the third time Paul has been left without an opponent ... after Tommy Fury and Hasim Rahman Jr. were forced to back out.

Here's hoping it doesn't come to that.

The show REALLY must go on -- and Daniel Cormier proved that on Tuesday ... staying calm, cool and collected when an earthquake hit while he was shooting a TV segment!!

DC had been filming his "DC & RC" ESPN show with Ryan Clark -- when he suddenly and abruptly stopped his train of thought to tell Clark he was experiencing an earthquake!

"Oh, my God, Ryan, there's an earthquake," the UFC legend said. "There's an actual earthquake going on right now. My whole office is shaking right now."

"Shut the hell up," Clark responded in disbelief. "Are you good," the ex-NFL defensive back asked 43-year-old Cormier.

Of course, what Cormier felt was an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 that hit the Bay Area late Tuesday morning, according to the U.S. geological survey.

Cormier informed Clark he was okay ... saying, "I'm good, I'm good. It's not a big one. It's just like a little one. Every now and then, you kind of get the rockies."

Although RC and DC weren't together, the two Louisiana natives shared a connection at that moment since they were both not used to experiencing earthquakes.

"It's so weird for someone from Louisiana where the Earth never shakes," said Cormier.

After it was all said and done, Clark commended Cormier for not panicking during the quake ... writing, "Broooooooo….@dc_mma really had a 5.1 earthquake while filming, and my dog didn’t budge."

Dana White's giving fans a first look at his new slap fighting org., Power Slap, and if you like seeing people get knocked out ... this is the sport for you!

The 30-second video ran during UFC 280, right before Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira fought in the main event ... and it's intense!

The video features the One Eyed Wolf from Barstool's Rough N Rowdy, and other competitors, in some cases literally slapping the snot out of other athletes.

Power Slap's debut is getting closer. They announced an introductory press conference in November ... and just last week, the Nevada State Athletic Commission voted to license White's org.

The sport has been around for years, but has been mostly underground ... that is until the UFC honcho got involved.

If you've never seen a slap fight ... it's what it sounds like. Two competitors stand across a small table from one another and take turns slapping each other until someone can't continue or they quit.

Slap fighting in the past has sometimes featured big size disparities between competitors ... something the UFC will eliminate with weight classes.

And, UFC exec Hunter Campbell sees an opportunity for huge growth ... much like with the UFC decades ago. The promotion ultimately sold for $4 billion.

"After testing it, it became clear to us that there's massive potential here as a sport, not unlike the early years of the UFC," Campbell told ESPN.

Jake Paul is giving those picking Anderson Silva to win on Oct. 29 enough time to reconsider ... telling TMZ Sports they're going to lose all their money!!

We spoke with the Problem Child -- who's currently the betting underdog against the former UFC champion -- about his highly anticipated upcoming bout ... and despite having a ton of respect for his opponent, Paul tells us he's out for blood once they hit the ring.

"I'm knocking this guy out," Jakey P says ... adding the fight won't last past five rounds. "I'm promising everyone that."

"Come back to this interview, everyone, after the fight, and they'll say, 'Wow, he predicted the future,'" he added. "I have a crystal ball in my room and I can see it."

Jake says he's excited to prove people wrong on Saturday night ... and has a message for those putting their hard-earned money on Spider.

"You shouldn't have done it. You should've invested into something else."

"And everyone who bet on me?? Good stuff, man. You're gonna have some dough, maybe a new car, maybe your rent paid."

Jake also dishes on those downplaying the fight considering Silva is 47 years old ... and he explains why it's actually an advantage for Anderson.

"Suga" Sean O'Malley is already a UFC star, but Dana White says he could reach Conor McGregor-like levels of fame ... as long as he keeps winning in the Octagon!

TMZ Sports talked to the UFC honcho just days before he headed back to Fight Island in Abu Dhabi ... where UFC 280 is going down Saturday afternoon (in the USA). O'Malley isn't shy about his desire to be a global star, so we asked Dana if Suga had what it took.

"100% and it's all about winning those key fights. He needs to win this fight this weekend against Petr Yan. He beats Petr Yan, watch what happens on Sunday," Dana said.

"It will be crazy, but yeah, Conor, on his way up, won all of the key fights he needed to win. It's not for a title or anything but Petr Yan is the number-one-ranked guy in the world."

Dana says, keeping with the McGregor theme, a win vs. Petr would be equivalent to Conor's epic KO of Jose Aldo in 2015.

O'Malley is 15-1, with his sole loss coming against Chito Vera in August 2020 (depending on who you ask, the loss was controversial). He's the #11 ranked bantamweight.

As for Yan, he's the #1 ranked 135-pounder ... and while he's coming off a loss to Aljamain Sterling, it was a very close fight.

Speaking of the champ, Aljo is also on the stacked 280 card. Sterling is fighting #2 ranked T.J. Dillashaw.

The guys aren't exactly friends. In fact, we spoke to Aljamain earlier this month, and he called T.J. "Pill.J DillaRoid."

We asked Dana if he felt confident Dillashaw wasn't taking any banned substances.

"T.J. is absolutely positively clean. These guys are all being tested by USADA and when you're coming off what T.J. is coming off of, I'm sure he's getting hard by USADA."

Of course, Dillashaw was popped for a banned substance, EPO, in early 2019. He received a 2-year ban from the sport.

There's more. We also talked to White about the main event, Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev.

There's a dream scenario amongst many fans. Oliveira beats Makhachev, and then Khabib Nurmagomedov comes out of retirement to avenge his brother's loss.

Possible?! We asked Dana.

"That's hilarious. I love it. Believe me, that would be everybody's dream scenario, including mine if he beats Islam," White said.

Dana also provided some caution to people who think Islam's going to roll right through Charles.

"[Oliveira's] one of the guys that's sort of slips under the radar and people don't realize it. He's on an 11-fight win streak. He's got the record for the most finishes in UFC history, he's got the most submissions in UFC history, tied for overall UFC post-fight bonuses. He has most Performance Of The Night awards in UFC history, most submissions in both UFC lightweight and featherweight history!"

"I mean the guy has records on top of records on top of records! It's incredible."

We also spoke to Makhachev earlier in the week ... and talked about all things Charles Oliveira, backup fighter Alex Volkanovski, and UFC 280.

No matter what happens between Anderson Silva and Jake Paul, 47-year-old Spider will NOT be retiring after their boxing match, the UFC legend tells TMZ Sports.

We talked to the MMA G.O.A.T. about his upcoming scrap with 25-year-old Paul -- going down on October 29 in Phoenix, AZ -- and asked Silva if this could be the last fight of his historic career.

"No, no, definitely not," Silva told us without hesitation, continuing ... "I don't know when I'm gonna stop. I know one day I will stop. But not now."

"I try to challenge myself every day, and especially right now my kid started fighting, and I help my kid."

Anderson, who will turn 48 in April, has been fighting professionally for 25 years and is arguably the greatest mixed martial arts fighter to ever grace a cage.

Silva last fought for the UFC in October 2020 ... when he lost to Uriah Hall by TKO.

Despite losing his last 3 fights in the Octagon, Anderson has looked incredibly sharp in the ring.

Silva starched Tito Ortiz in September 2021, but the really impressive feat came against former boxing champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. ... who lost to AS by a split decision in June 2021.

Of course, Chavez's dad is arguably the most respected Mexican athlete ever.

As for Paul, he's 5-0 in the ring, with 4 knockouts. The first Tyron Woodley fight was the only bout to go the distance.

Despite the age difference, Silva is actually a slight betting favorite for the fight ... airing on Showtime PPV.

Bottom line, Silva clearly loves fighting, and walking away isn't even on his mind at this time.

How would Muhammad Ali, the undisputed OG of trash talk, feel about the slick-talking/fighting Conor McGregor?? He would've loved him ... so says The Greatest's grandson, MMA fighter Biaggio Ali Walsh.

24-year-old Ali Walsh, who recently signed with one of the top MMA promotions, PFL, tells TMZ Sports his grandpa wouldn't just have enjoyed mixed martial arts, he would've been a big fan of The Notorious!

"I think [my grandfather] would've loved it, especially when McGregor was in featherweight in UFC, when he fought [Jose] Aldo, that whole reign, he would've loved it, especially Conor's trash talk," Ali Walsh says.

"Poppy started the trash talk. He would've been super entertained. I think he really would've liked the sport."

Of course, Muhammad wasn't just known for his supernatural ability in the squared circle ... but also for his incredibly sharp tongue.

Ali made talkin' trash cool ... and though Conor may be a bit more vulgar, they're very much alike from the standpoint of getting inside their opponent's head.

Like his grandfather, Ali Walsh is a fighter ... but instead of choosing boxing like his brother Nico, he chose MMA.

Biaggio is new in the sport ... and has a 1-1 record as an amateur. He lost his first fight, but rebounded in his second fight, winning by first-round TKO.

Ali-Walsh will make his Professional Fighters League debut on November 25 ... and fittingly, it's going down at Madison Square Garden.

Of course, MSG was the site of many of Ali's legendary fights ... including the "Fight of the Century," Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier I on March 8, 1971.

We asked Biaggio about fighting under the same roof as grandpa ... and while he thinks it's pretty neat, he was honest in saying it's not a huge deal.

"I think it's cool but at the end of the day, a fight's a fight. It's me, the ref, and another guy who's trying to hurt me, whether it's Madison Square Garden or in the back of someone's barnyard. It's cool that it's at Madison Square Garden but I don't care, honestly."

Considering Biaggio clearly has fighting in his blood, we had to ask how his grandpa would've fared as an MMA fighter.

"I think he would've done great just because of how strong he was mentally. A lot of it is mental, a lot of fighting is mental and he had the mental part. He had the heart and he had the will, so if you have the will, you can definitely get the skill."

Kim Kardashian's new podcast is taking over ... quite literally.

Her big true crime project, "The System," shot to the top of Spotify's "Top Podcasts" list this week -- surging past "The Joe Rogan Experience" and even the famed "Call Her Daddy" ... which fell in line behind her at #2 and #3, respectively.

Meghan Markle's podcast, "Archetypes," was #4 -- and from there you got "Huberman Lab," "Crime Junkie," "The Try Pod" and "On Purpose with Jay Shetty" ... in that order.

It's pretty impressive, considering this is less than a week old. If you're unfamiliar -- this first season of "The System" tackles a case pertaining to convicted murderer Kevin Keith ... whom Kim believes is innocent, only to dive deep into the deets/evidence.

Clearly there's interest in what she has to say in a podcast setting, but keep in mind -- this is a Spotify exclusive ... so it's hard to tell how "The System" would translate across other platforms. Rogan and Markle's podcasts are also exclusive to them -- so jury's out there too.

In any case ... she's all in on promoting it. Looks like KK snapped up some old-fashioned billboard advertising in Calabasas to plug the podcast, with her face front and center.

Aljamain Sterling wholeheartedly believes TJ Dillashaw is juicing, telling TMZ Sports he's "100%" confident the former champ is cheating!!

"I'm excited, man. I can't wait to be standing across the cage and hear Bruce Buffer just go, 'two-time UFC former bantamweight champion Pill.J DillaRoid,' and I'm just gonna be like 'Yeah I'm gonna f**k this guy up!'"

The 33-year-old bantamweight champion is fighting the #2 ranked fighter at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on October 22.

You may remember ... TJ was suspended for 2 years for using EPO, a banned substance, during his title fight with Henry Cejudo. TJ admitted to what he did, apologized, and vowed to never again cheat.

But, Aljo ain't buyin' it.

"I think this is a legacy fight for myself to beat a guy like this who's been cheating for years and beating a lot of people for years. I think it does a huge boost to my stock and just go out there and have a good performance. The rest will take care of itself."

We asked Sterling ... you really think TJ's still doping?

"100% man! That guy knows the ins and outs of that whole thing," Aljamain said.

There's much more ... we also talked to Aljamain about the fight, and how he sees himself getting the win.

Sean O'Malley isn't an underdog often (in fact, it's never happened in the UFC) -- but "Suga" ain't sweating the betting odds for his fight with Petr Yan -- he actually sees it as an opportunity to make a bundle of cash!

"3 to 1. Sounds like some die-hard Suga fans could really make some serious cheddar," O'Malley told TMZ Sports earlier this week.

"I know a lot of people always bet on me, it's always kind of hard to make good money on me because I'm always the pretty big favorite. It's very interesting being an underdog. At the end of the day, it doesn't really mean anything to me but it is, it's kinda nice."

27-year-old O'Malley is fighting 29-year-old Yan at UFC 280 on Fight Island ... and the current betting odds put Petr at -400. Suga's +200.

That means you'll have to lay down $400 just to make $100 back on Yan. Meanwhile, you only have to wager $100 to win $200 back on O'Malley.

Typically, betting on Suga to win outright would require risking much more than you stood to win. For example, he was a -330 favorite against Raulian Paiva in December (you'd risk $3 for every $1 you won). Against Petr, you win $2 for every $1 you bet.

Betting aside, Yan, the former champion, is coming off an April loss to now-champ Aljamain Sterling ... a fight that was razer close.

O'Malley, ranked 12th in the division, last fought in July at UFC 276 ... a fight that was declared a no-contest over an accidental eye poke.

The scraps not going down in Las Vegas, or anywhere else in the U.S., Dana White and the UFC are returning to Fight Island on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi (Sean's pumped to fight in the UAE!).

We also talked to Suga about his ascension as one of the sport's biggest stars.

"[Fans are] wanting that next superstar. Conor can come back and still be considered the biggest superstar in the sport. So anytime he fights, he is, but when Conor is gone, when it's all said and done, I wanna be that next guy. I wanna be that guy that everyone gets excited for, everyone and their grandma watches the fight just because."

A win will get Suga -- who flew to Abu Dhabi yesterday -- a step closer to that superstar status.