UFC

Jewish UFC fighter Natan Levy says he's getting more hate -- but also a ton of support -- since calling out Kanye West for his repeated antisemitism.

Levy, who was raised in Herzliya, Israel, met with the media on Saturday in Orlando after beating Genaro Valdez by unanimous decision and issued a stern warning to Ye.

“Kanye West, if you’ve got a problem with me or my people, come see me, bro.”

On Monday, 31-year-old Levy talked to TMZ Sports about the reaction to his remarks.

"My interview, most of the comments are antisemitic. Most of the comments say, 'Hey, look, actually I think Kanye is right,'" Natan told us.

Levy says that's nothing new ... but the sheer amount of messages he's received since going at Kanye has increased.

"I'm always getting a lot of hate just for being who and what I am, which I'm fine with. It's not fun, but, right now I'm getting more."

But, it's not all bad.

"I'm also getting a lot of love. There is also a lot of positive out there. I'm getting a lot of love. A lot of reinforcement. I'm getting a lot of friends, a lot of people who speak up. Post the video and share it and saying 'stop the hate.'"

Of course, West's antisemitism has become almost routine. He's gone as far as to praise Hitler and the Nazis on Alex Jones' show last week. He's also hung out with white nationalist Nick Fuentes.

"Just think about how many Jewish kids will get bullied because of [Kanye's] comments. How many Jewish people will get attacked. The hate speech, it does turn into violence."

Natan says while Ye's behavior is incredibly dangerous for reasons he just stated, he's not the only one ... but Levy's had enough of turning the other cheek.

The combat sports world welcomed back Cain Velasquez with open arms on Saturday night ... loudly cheering on the ex-UFC star in his first event since his February arrest.

The action all went down in Tempe, AZ ... where a masked Velasquez participated in a three-on-three wrestling match at Lucha Libre AAA -- and won.

The 40-year-old looked sharp -- an impressive feat, considering he was locked behind bars for nearly nine months this year -- throwing around bodies and eventually hitting a crazy finishing move to win it for his team.

Velasquez was exceptionally well received by the audience, getting standing ovations and rounds of applause throughout the night.

The former UFC champ grabbed the mic at one point during the festivities and addressed the crowd ... saying it was "a dream come true" to be back in the squared circle.

"I truly appreciate it all, what you guys have always done, supporting me, my family," he said. "Thank you, guys!"

Velasquez is currently out of jail on $1 million bond. A judge last month allowed him to participate in the weekend event, requiring that he return to California on Sunday.

If you've heard Stephen Thomspon speak, you know he's just about the sweetest person ever ... so, will UFC star (and fellow nice guy) Kevin Holland hesitate when it comes time to punch Wonderboy in the face?? Not at all, according to Big Mouth.

"It's simple as hell. I'm gonna go out there and I'm gonna knock out the nicest man in the universe. S**t happens."

But, will you feel bad, Kevin?

"Not one bit."

30-year-old Holland and 39-year-old Thompson are fighting in the main event at UFC Fight Night Saturday night.

In fact, the men ran into each other in the hallway at the UFC hotel ... and had a funny interaction.

Wonderboy is ranked 6th in the welterweight division. Holland isn't ranked ... as he bounces back and forth between the welterweight and middleweight divisions.

We also talked to Kevin about his last fight ... where he bravely stepped up on no notice to fight Khamzat Chimaev. Holland, who had trained to fight striker Daniel Rodriguez, was submitted in the first round.

Holland addresses whether he wants a rematch.

We also spoke to Wonderboy ... who says fans are in for a treat.

"My last two guys, and even Kevin, his last opponent [Khamzat] was a heavy grappler. I know going into this fight that he's not the type of guy to try and take you down and hold you down," Wonderboy says.

Jake Paul heard what Paddy Pimblett told TMZ Sports loud and clear ... 'cause the Problem Child is now sending a new sparring offer to The Baddy -- proposing a January 5 boxing session in Puerto Rico.

The two fighters have been jawing back and forth ever since Paddy claimed the Paul vs. Anderson Silva bout was fake ... with Jake offering $1 million if the UFC star could beat him in a 5-round sparring exhibition. If Paddy were to lose, he'd have to help sign all the fighters from the U.K. in Paul's United Fighters Association.

The only issue -- Paddy is slated to fight in Las Vegas next weekend ... and he told us if Jake REALLY wanted the smoke, he could meet him in Sin City after he's done with Jared Gordon at UFC 282.

Paul is now putting a fresh offer on the table ... and while he isn't budging on the location, he is giving Paddy plenty of time to rest up after his Gordon fight before flying to Puerto Rico for the $1 million session.

"Fella my team told me you have been trying to book me for ur podcast, Jan 5th," Paul said minutes ago. "So I'm sending you a jet to bring you to Puerto Rico."

"Both of our teams will film. We spar, 5 rounds and then we can do your podcast. By then you will be back to your normal weight. No excuses. 🤝?"

Paddy -- who actually thinks the YouTube superstar is a solid fighter -- has yet to respond to Paul's counter ... but told us Tuesday he is 100% down to box.

UFC star Paddy The Baddy" Pimblett is responding to Jake Paul's $1 million sparring challenge ... telling us he's 100% down to box the Problem Child this week in Las Vegas!

The 27-year-old UFC star joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... where he was asked about 25-year-old Paul's offer to spar, and whether he's truly interested.

"Of course [I'm interested], but I'm under contract by the UFC and [Jake] said this knowing full well I'm fighting next week, know what I mean?" Paddy said.

"As if he does not know I'm fighting next week and he's like, 'I'll fly you to Puerto Rico.' Come to the PI next week. Come to the [UFC Performance Institute] next week and bring $1 million in a bag and I will spar with you."

"I'm in the PI in Vegas on Thursday, I land on Thursday, so even though I'm low on calories and I'm only about 170, he likes picking on smaller people anyway," he added. "But, if he wants to wait until after my fight, until the Monday, because I'm still in Vegas 'til the Tuesday, but I'm about 185, 190 pounds, I'm game!"

"Tell him not to worry, he can come to PI and we can get in the cage. Simple as."

If you haven't seen it yet, Jake posted video to his social media pages Tuesday throwing down the gauntlet ... offering Pimblett a mil if he could beat him in a sparring session. If Paul wins, he wants Paddy to commit to joining his United Fighters Association (UFA).

"I have a proposition for you. Since you wouldn't rig a fight, right? Let's spar. Fly to Puerto Rico. I'll get you a private jet. We can do 5, 3-minute rounds, boxing. If you win, I'll give you a million dollars," Jake said.

"But, if I win you have to join the United Fighters Association and help me sign up all the fighters in the UK. Let's spar. Since you wouldn't rig a fight. A million for you. Put your money where your mouth is. Let's go."

As Paddy said, he can't be in Puerto Rico next week because he's the co-main event at UFC 282 on December 10 (he's fighting Jared Gordon) at the T-Mobile Arena. But, he's down to spar in Sin City.

Despite the trash talk coming from both guys, Pimblett was somewhat complimentary of Jake's abilities in the ring (6-0, 5 KOs).

"I don't even think he's a bad boxer. I think he's a decent boxer now 'cause all he's done is boxing in the past two years. I think he'd beat Tommy Fury. I know he wouldn't beat me."

Paddy also sent a message to Jake ... in the event they were to set a real bout, and not just spar.

Paddy Pimblett's next fight (after UFC 282) could be ... newly crowned AEW champ MJF?!

Never say never ... 26-year-old AEW world champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman, aka MJF, and 27-year-old UFC star Paddy "The Baddy" Pimblett are in the middle of a full-on social media blowout.

It's unclear exactly where the beef originated ... but the men clearly don't like each other, and neither held back on Tuesday.

Pimblett, on Instagram, told MJF ... "if u wanna have a real fight let's sort it with the UFC if not pipe down! Oh tell ur boss to sign me up when yous come to Fulham's ground I be ready son"

Friedman responded, writing ... "hey bud. AEW has a show coming up in your neck of the woods. If you're man enough I'll gladly show you how real I am."

MJJ tagged UFC president Dana White and AEW boss Tony Khan.

Paddy The Baddy responded ... "I've just said that u spaceman 🤣 don't act as if ur calling for it I've just told u straight when yous come Fulham's ground (craven cottage) get ur boss Tony Khan to message my boss Dana White and see what we can sort 🤗 because I know full well you won't pass a USADA drug test to fight in the UFC 🤣🤣🤣"

The AEW champ then fired back one last time ... writing, "unlike you I'm 100% natural and I'm also 100% original. Unlike you. You're dollar store Conor McGregor talking, Will from strangers things looking ass wouldn't last two seconds in my world #Betterthanyou See you in London."

MJF won his first title Saturday night at AEW Gear ... defeating the legend Jox Moxley. Pimblett, one of the UFC's best 20 lightweights, is fighting Jared Gordon at UFC 282 on December 10. Paddy, one of MMA's most popular figures, hasn't lost since September 2018.

For the first time since he was arrested for allegedly trying to kill a man ... Cain Velasquez will be back competing in combat sports -- a judge just ruled he can participate in a Lucha Libre wrestling match next week.

Velasquez -- who was granted bail earlier this month after spending over nine months behind bars following accusations that he attempted to shoot Harry Goularte -- had asked a Santa Clara County court earlier this week to allow him to head to Arizona on Dec. 1 so he could participate in the Dec. 3 event.

The request was met with opposition from prosecutors ... but on Tuesday, a judge ruled he could, in fact, make the trip.

The judge, according to MMAJunkie, is allowing the 40-year-old former UFC star to wrestle without a monitoring device ... though Velasquez must pay for a police officer to monitor his movements for the duration of the trip -- which is expected to end on Dec. 4. He'll have to put his monitoring device back on then.

The event will go down at Mullett Arena in Tempe ... though it's unclear who Velasquez will be wrestling against.

Alex Pereira says referee Marc Goddard definitely did NOT stop the Israel Adesanya fight early ... 'cause it was just a matter of time until Stylebender would've been unconscious on the Octagon canvas.

The newly crowned UFC Middleweight champion spoke for one of the first times since beating his rival, Izzy, at the main event of UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden.

Adesanya and his team have said they would've preferred the longtime MMA ref to allow the fight to continue ... despite admitting Israel was in a dire situation.

"Adesanya stop making excuses saying that the referee stopped the fight early… you have to thank him for saving your life. The way you were with your head down looking at the ground, I only needed one or two more hits to connect a good knee to your face so we wouldn’t know the outcome," Alex wrote on social media.

But, it wasn't only trash talk ... Pereira also complimented Adesanya.

"You were a great opponent and I respect you for that. Assume the mistakes along with your team without taking away my merits."

Of course, Adesanya was winning the fight on the judge's scorecards (3 rounds to 1) and even rocked Pereira on several occasions. However, during round 5, knowing he needed a knockout ... Alex landed a couple big punches which rocked Izzy. AP threw a flurry of shots, and Goddard stopped the fight ... with Adesanya just minutes from beating his rival, and retaining his belt.

As for who is next for the new champ, Alex says he will rematch Izzy.

"You will have one more chance! You’re next!"

After 281, Dana White was asked about making an immediate rematch ... and the UFC honcho was clearly very open to the idea.

Israel, still one of the most dangerous and beloved fighters in the world, wants his belt back ASAP!

Israel Adesanya was arrested Wednesday afternoon for criminal possession of a weapon at JFK airport in NYC, TMZ Sports has learned ... after the UFC superstar was allegedly busted while going through security with metal knuckles.

The arrest was made by the Port Authority Police Department near the TSA screening area ... near the American Airlines terminal around 1:57 PM.

Brass knuckles are illegal (class A misdemeanor) in the state of New York. It's also illegal to carry them on your person or in your carry-on bag. It's unclear where the alleged brass knuckles were stored.

It's unclear if cops will issue Adesanya a Desk Appearance Ticket ... or if he'll remain in custody.

Of course, Adesanya isn't from the U.S. ... he lives in New Zealand.

Izzy, despite losing his belt to rival Alex Pereira during the main event at UFC 281 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, is one of the best and most popular UFC fighters in the entire world.

Saturday's loss was just the 2nd in his MMA career.

If ultimately charged and convicted, Adesanya could face up to one year in jail, plus fines.

Chris Gutierrez is fresh off the biggest win of his career ... but, he says the moment was actually bittersweet, 'cause he retired UFC legend Frankie Edgar -- someone he admired as a young fan of MMA.

31-year-old Gutierrez, who came into UFC 281 as an unranked fighter, knocked out number 12 ranked bantamweight, 41-year-old Edgar, about halfway through the first round of their contest with a perfectly placed knee. It was the last fight of Frankie's Hall of Fame career.

"It's definitely bittersweet. I knew I still had a job to do, but at the end of the day, I didn't enjoy ... It was bittersweet. I gotta do what I gotta do and I won the fight but no one really likes to see a champion go down like that. It hurt me a bit. It did."

Chris says Edgar was someone he looked up to as a young MMA fan ... and the former champ actually inspired him.

"The reality is it was an honor to share the cage with him, an honor to share the Octagon. He's someone that I grew up watching from the beginning. He was the little engine that could. A smaller guy taking on these giants and he would come out on top. He would find a way. He inspired me as a kid to kind of push through life."

With the win over Edgar, Gutierrez cracked the top 15 ... and now sits in the 13th position. Chris is in the midst of a 4 fight win streak ... and hasn't lost since 2018 (he fought to a draw in August 2020).

We asked Gutierrez who he wants next ... and he had some ideas.

"I already have three people on my mind. Pedro Munhoz, Dominick Cruz, or Rob Font would be some good ones," Chris says.

But, no matter what happens from here ... Chris is grateful for all his success.

"To be honest I never envisioned myself being where I'm at in life so every day is like a blessing."

As for Frankie ... he goes down as one of the greatest fighters in UFC history.

Anthony "Rumble" Johnson has died ... this according to several prominent figures in the MMA community.

The former UFC fighter reportedly passed away this weekend after battling an undisclosed disease he's apparently been dealing with for quite a while. Unclear what it might be, though ... the rest of the details surrounding his death have yet to be released.

UFC's Michael Chiesa sent out a post for condolences, writing ... "RIP Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. One of the most prolific KO artists our sport has ever seen. My prayers go out to his family and everyone affected by this tragedy."

Other MMA fighters and journalists also posted tons of tributes for the guy ... the news seems to have shocked just about everyone, as Rumble's been out of the spotlight for a while.

One notable remembrance came from Daniel Cormier, who faced Rumble in the Octagon a couple different times. He writes, "Rest Easy my brother. For a guy who struck fear in so many peoples heart Anthony Johnson was a caring person. From random text to check ins during loss. What a person he was, Rumble will be missed. Sometimes life doesn’t seem fair. Horrible news."

What DC's referring to is the fact that Rumble was notorious for his sheer strength and force -- which translated to brutal knockouts that he'd often put on display in his prime. One good punch could put a guy to sleep, and he certainly had a rep for trying to prove that in bouts.

His record was incredible in its day ... 23 wins, 17 of which were by KO or TKO. He only had 6 losses. Rumble competed in several UFC events over the years -- dating back to 2006 -- but he never won a title. For a while, he was ranked #1 in his weight class, pre-retirement. He parted ways with the UFC intermittently, but officially cut ties in 2020 to join Bellator MMA.

Rumble fought at different levels ... middleweight, welterweight, light heavyweight and eventually heavy in his later years. He had the most success in the latter classes.

He was 38.

Drake is $2 million lighter this morning after betting on the loser in Saturday night's UFC title fight, but for a good part of the fight he looked like he was gonna win big.

The iconic rapper -- known for his love of high-stakes gambling -- plunked down the INSANE amount of cash on middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to beat Alex Pereira during UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden in NYC.

Adesanya seemed to have the upper hand until the 5th round. Then, Pereira unleashed a series of brutal body blows that staggered Adesanya, although he didn't drop to the canvas. But, the referee decided to step in anyway and stop the fight.

Pereira's victory marked the third time he defeated Adesanya ... their other two clashes were kickboxing matches.

As for Drake, he captioned his ticket on Instagram with "been focused on the album gotta get back to stacking up" before the fight ... so stacking will have to be an even bigger priority now that Izzy lost.

Alex Pereira says he's open to squashing the beef with Israel Adesanya after their UFC title fight in NYC this weekend ... but tells us he's not so sure Izzy feels the same way.

The 35-year-old, #4 contender and Izzy have some serious bad blood ... they previously kickboxed twice several years back. Since Pereira joined the UFC in 2021, many fans pinpointed this matchup as a future megafight -- and now it's here, and the beef is real.

"On my end, no problem but I don't think on his side everything that happened it's possible," AP said through a translator.

And, it sounds like Alex is right. The champ joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) last week and said he wanted to turn the scrap into a "horror movie."

As for the previous fights, Pereira twice defeated Adesanya (decision, KO) ... however, the fights were very close. In fact, many people believe Izzy won the first fight. In the rematch, Israel had Alex in trouble in the early rounds ... but was knocked out in the third round.

It should be noted ... the previous fights were in kickboxing, NOT MMA.

Despite this fight being in a different sport, Pereira says he's ready for everything.

"I'm ready for five rounds. Wherever the fight goes, it's hard to predict but I'm ready for everything."

Adesanya vs. Pereira is at the top of the 281 card ... but there is a bunch of other super compelling fights slated for tonight, including Michael Chandler vs. Dustin Poirier.

Mike and Dustin, much like Izzy and Alex, don't exactly love each other.

We recently asked Michael about the bad blood.

"I think there were some words exchanged, but ultimately bad blood, I think there's bad blood in every single fight whether we like to admit it or not because you got two guys or gals trying to climb the same mountain, heading to the same destination. This one's no different."

But, there's more.

We also chatted with strawweight champion Carla Esparza ... who despite holding the belt, is a big-time underdog to Zhang Weili.

Esparza says she's drawing inspiration from a very famous, albeit fictional movie character from Philly who was once counted out against a physically superior opponent from Russia!

"I feel a little bit like Rocky going into this fight versus Drago. Big strong, verse the little one with a lot of heart. Whatever. I'm going in there to do my thing and I'm excited!"

Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira is going down tonight at UFC 281 ... and not a damn person knows who's going to win.

But, there's one fighter who not only faced the men (others have), he beat them both (something no one else has done) ... Jason Wilnis, former Glory middleweight champion. Wilnis is 1-0 against Israel (decision win, 2017) ... and 2-1 against Alex (decision win in 2015, TKO win in 2012).

TMZ Sports talked to Wilnis ... and we asked him to compare the two world-class fighters.

First, who hits harder?

"I can say, from my experience, that Alex Pereira hits harder, man. His punches aren't normal, man."

And, Wilnis says it isn't just punching power where AP has the edge ... he's got the overall strength advantage, too.

"The last time I fought [Pereira], he was so strong. You can see he put in work in the last years. He was too strong, too quick, so yeah, I think Pereira gives me bigger problems right now."

As for who's going to win, fans and experts alike are torn, and so is Wilnis.

"It's hard to say, man, but if I go for the experience, you know, Adesanya got the experience. He got the smarter moves but if I go for the hunger, the beast, it's Pereira. He's very hungry, so it's difficult to say," Jason told us.

But, when push comes to shove, he's going with Pereira, because Adesanya has already reached the MMA mountaintop, but Alex hasn't.

"I would say Pereira, man, for the hunger."

Of course, Adesanya, despite being the undisputed middleweight champ and a bonafide superstar, he isn't exactly lacking hunger ... and with teammate Alex Volkanovski, he may well be the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter on the planet.

Cain Velasquez was nothing but smiles and relief after finally getting out of jail on Tuesday night -- giving a huge hug to a friend, and saying he feels "appreciative" and "blessed."

Velasquez had been locked up since Feb. 28 -- after authorities say he fired a gun at Harry Goularte, a man who had been accused of molesting one of the UFC legend's close relatives.

But, following a lengthy hearing Tuesday afternoon, a judge set Velasquez's bail at $1 million ... and he posted the bond several hours later, giving him his first taste of freedom in over eight months.

Velasquez will now have to follow multiple restrictions while out on bond -- including wearing a GPS monitor -- although it was clear on Tuesday night, Velasquez was very happy to finally be out from behind bars nonetheless.

"I just feel blessed, you know?" Velasquez said. "Ready to go home, be with the loved ones -- family, friends."

The 40-year-old promised to "make something positive of this terrible situation," and thanked all of his fans and former coworkers for their support. His friend even joked about getting him some Taco Bell.

Velasquez is still facing 10 criminal charges in the case -- including 1st-degree attempted murder and multiple counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

A judge has just granted Cain Velasquez bail in his attempted murder case ... paving the way for the UFC legend to be out from behind bars for the first time in over 8 months.

Velasquez's bail was set at $1 million ... and, assuming he posts it, the judge also ordered the former fighter to wear a GPS monitor, and to stay away from the alleged victims in the case.

The 40-year-old has been locked up since Feb. 28 -- after authorities claimed he shot at Harry Goularte, a man who had been accused of molesting one of Velasquez's relatives.

Attorneys for Velasquez had argued for months that he should be granted bail -- though prosecutors vehemently opposed, saying he was still a threat to Goularte.

At previous hearings, judges had sided with the prosecutors ... and denied Velasquez bail. But, at a proceeding in a Santa Clara, Calif. courtroom on Tuesday, a judge ultimately ruled in favor of bail, citing, among other things, Velasquez's clean prior criminal history, and his status as a father.