UFC

Elon Musk is pulling out all the stops in preparation for a fight with Mark Zuckerberg -- the Twitter honcho just accepted a training offer from UFC legend Georges St-Pierre!!

The shocking development in the potential billionaire brawl went down on Monday ... when Elon replied to GSP's public pitch to lend a hand in beating Zuck to a pulp in the Octagon.

"I'm a huge fan of yours and it would be an absolute honor to help you and be your training partner for the challenge against Zuckerberg 👊😁," GSP said on Twitter ... to which Elon responded, "Ok, let’s do it 🔥🔥."

It's a massive deal for Elon ... considering GSP -- the former welterweight and middleweight champion -- is arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. In other words, Musk will be learning from the best of the best.

GSP -- whose background is karate -- trains at Tristar Gym in Montreal under head trainer Firas Zahabi ... one of the greatest minds in MMA.

GSP's record is 26-2 ... with his only losses coming against Matt Serra and Matt Hughes. He racked up wins over Nick Diaz, Michael Bisping, Dan Hardy, BJ Penn and Johny Hendricks.

Zuck also has some star power in his corner -- Jon Jones recently offered his services to the Facebook co-founder, but it's unclear if he's going to take him up on it.

Elon teaming up with GSP provides more evidence the fight may actually happen -- and as TMZ Sports previously reported, Dana White told us both sides are for real about getting in the Octagon together.

Chael Sonnen was talking out the side of his neck when he claimed Mark Zuckerberg personally called him to reveal the Elon Musk fight would go down at UFC 300 ... so says a rep for the Meta CEO, who tells TMZ Sports no such phone conversation ever took place.

The former UFC star made the wild declaration on "The MMA Hour" earlier Monday ... saying Zuck dialed him up to share a major update on his proposed fight with the Twitter honcho during his appearance on the show.

"Zuckerberg contacts me because he saw your tweet that I'm coming on," Sonnen said. "Zuckerberg has told me that he has agreed to fight Elon Musk at UFC 300 and it was a very big deal."

Sonnen swore up and down that he was 100% serious ... adding, "That just happened. [My producer] Ethan is my witness, my son, Thero, my dog, Duke. This is a shoot."

While a Zuck vs. Musk fight could very well happen at UFC 300 next year for all we know, a spokesperson for the Facebook co-founder was quick to shut down any talks of a phone chat with the former contender -- saying, "I have confirmed with Mark that he did not call Chael Sonnen."

Things have been picking up steam after the two billionaires traded public jabs all last week ... and UFC honcho Dana White told us both sides are dead serious about fighting.

In fact, Dana thinks it could be the most successful fight in history ... and has the potential to rake in three times the amount of Pay-Per-View buys than Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.

Jake Paul isn't worried one bit about having to go 10 rounds with Nate Diaz in August ... and he made that crystal clear by smoking a heater during a recent training session!!

The Problem Child shared the funny footage to his Instagram page on Monday ... showing him hitting the bag and ripping a cigarette while training in Puerto Rico.

"Getting my lungs ready for 10 rounds," Paul said. "August 5th. #PaulDiaz"

The two sides recently agreed to make the fight longer than the initial eight-round agreement ... which will make it the longest bout in both Paul and Diaz's careers.

Now, it's likely the 6-1 boxer pulled a Bill Clinton and didn't inhale anything ... but the message was still pretty obvious -- he's ready to go all 10 rounds against the former UFC star.

One thing's for sure, though -- Jake's opponent is no stranger to smoking, and he's very open about his love for cannabis ... so it could very well be a shot at Diaz.

Conor McGregor was met by a huge group of supporters in NYC as the UFC superstar left a swanky hotel with his fiancée and kids, thanking fans for sticking by his side ... as The Notorious continues to be investigated for rape in Florida.

"Thank you so much for the support, appreciate the support," 34-year-old McGregor responded when TMZ Sports asked what message he would send to his millions of fans.

Of course, McGregor is being investigated in Miami after a woman claimed the former UFC double champ sexually assaulted her after Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Heat and Nuggets at the Kaseya Center.

McGregor has adamantly denied the allegations and has not been arrested or charged ... and judging by the number of people outside The Penisula, a luxury hotel in Manhattan, Conor's fans clearly believe him.

Conor hasn't fought since UFC 264 in July 2021 -- when he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier -- and some have speculated he will never again step foot in the Octagon.

But, when we asked The Notorious what he had planned for the future, it certainly seems like Conor wants to fight again.

"Fighting. Looking to get a fight going."

McGregor is currently coaching opposite Michael Chandler on "The Ultimate Fighter" ... and is supposed to fight the lightweight contender after the show ends, though a date has not yet been announced.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is a man of his word ... after vowing to help UFC fighter Themba Gorimbo, who is struggling financially, the MMA fighter tells us the two plan to meet up very soon!

"It's surreal, to be honest, that The Rock wants to meet me," the 32-year-old fighter told TMZ Sports this week.

"I mean it's everyone's dream to meet The Rock but this is the other way around -- The Rock wants to meet me! I'm so excited!"

ICYMI, ESPN shared Gorimbo's (11-4) story last month ... and the world learned he had just $7 in his bank account before his UFC Fight Night fight in Las Vegas.

The tweet hit close to home for Dwayne. He famously had 7 bucks in his pocket after his football career came to an abrupt end with the Canadian Football League in 1995.

Obviously, The Rock signed with the WWE, started acting in movies, and became the biggest entertainer in the world. He started a production company, too ... which he named Seven Bucks Production.

"I once had $7 bucks too. I’ve been there on that grind.," The Rock tweeted. "Got your back, brother. I’ll help. You got this. I’ll be in touch."

Now, the two are going to meet face-to-face, according to Gorimbo ... and he's stoked!

"Me and him, we are the seven bucks boys," Gorimbo said. "Seven is my lucky number."

The Zimbabwean fighter says he has some ideas for Johnson when they finally meet in person ... he'd like a movie made about his life!

"He's the man that can do my story properly, so that's the only thing I'm going to ask, mostly."

Mark Zuckerberg may have Jon Jones in his corner, but Elon Musk's potential coach isn't too shabby himself ... the legendary Dominick Cruz, the G.O.A.T. bantamweight, tells us he's down to get the Twitter owner ready to fight!

38-year-old Cruz joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... where Dom offered his services.

"I would coach and train Elon Musk in a heartbeat. I would start with him immediately. I'm a fan of that guy and the things that he's doing for the world and the things that he stands for," Dom told us.

"He's a special guy in the world right now and so I would love to be in his corner to watch him execute martial arts which brings us all together."

Musk could do a lot worse than 24-4 Cruz ... who has beaten the likes of greats such as Urijah Faber, T.J. Dillashaw and Demetrious Johnson.

Remember, Jones offered his services to Zuck, writing ... "You already know I am Team Zuck ... Let me know if you need a training partner!"

As for the naysayers who say Musk vs. Zuckerberg is a bad idea and disrespectful to martial arts, Cruz (and many others) believes the opposite.

"If you're gonna say this is gonna be the highest level of sport and we're gonna call it that, that might be disrespectful, but nobody's saying that. This is just fun. This is just making fun, and letting people get their aggressions out and their differences in a healthy way."

Of course, we broke the story on Thursday ... UFC president Dana White spoke to both billionaires, who he told us are "absolutely dead serious" about fighting each other in an Octagon.

The UFC honcho said he believes it'd be the biggest fight, by far, in combat sports history.

We reported on Friday ... the biggest holdup at this point is the roughly 50 lbs. size advantage that Musk enjoys.

Assuming the kinks can be ironed out, some of the most dangerous men in the world are ready, willing, and able to whip the rich guys into shape.

If Mark Zuckerberg really gets in the Octagon with Elon Musk, he'll have arguably the greatest fighter ever in his corner ... 'cause Jon Jones says he's down to train the Facebook billionaire!!

Bones took to Twitter Thursday night to offer his support to the 39-year-old Meta boss ... writing, "You already know I am Team Zuck ... Let me know if you need a training partner!"

As we previously reported, a fight between the two billionaires could actually happen ... with UFC honcho Dana White telling TMZ Sports both sides are serious about scrapping.

Of course, the weight difference between Elon and Zuck may pose a problem ... but Jones made it clear he'll be at the ready in case things move forward.

Jones' bond with Zuck goes back a few months -- in February, he commented on a video of Mark sparring with UFC champion Alex Volkanovski in the Metaverse ... saying the techy training looked like a blast.

Zuck wished him well ... replying, "Excited for your return!" ahead of Jones' first-round win over Ciryl Gane.

Now that one of the G.O.A.T.s is getting involved, the hype surrounding the potential fight is even greater.

Conversations continue between Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Dana White ... and while the billionaires are itchin' to get their hands on one another, there's is an issue preventing the fight from being made official -- Elon's weight advantage.

Our sources tell us the guys are still serious about fighting in an Octagon, and as the UFC president told us yesterday, he's absolutely down to put on the fight ... but, Zuckerberg's size disadvantage has become an issue.

In fighting, size matters, a lot. Elon is 6'1", and reportedly weighs between 185 and 200 lbs. As for the Facebook founder, he's just 5'7", and reportedly weighs around 155 lbs.

Significant differences ... Elon has a 6-inch height advantage, and somewhere around a 30 to 45 lb. weight advantage.

To put that into perspective, Zuck would be a lightweight in the UFC. Musk would be a middleweight or light heavyweight ... a 2-3 weight class difference.

Typically, exhibition fights ignore weight classes ... Floyd Mayweather has fought a much bigger Logan Paul, for example.

But, just because the fight could technically be made doesn't mean Mark isn't hesitant to give up a sizeable advantage to his foe.

On Thursday, White joined "TMZ Live" and revealed he'd actually been having conversations with both men, who Dana says are "absolutely dead serious" about fighting in an Octagon.

Francis Ngannou is opening up about his recent face-to-face with Jon Jones -- where the two rivals got up close and personal -- and the former UFC heavyweight champ made it very clear it's still a fight he wants!

TMZ Sports talked to the 36-year-old MMA superstar days after the two towering men exchanged mostly pleasant, if not a bit tense, words at PFL 5 in Atlanta on Friday ... breathing new life into the fight fans want as much as any matchup in the sport.

"I think [it's possible]," Ngannou told us, adding a "cross-promotion" could be in store "in order to give the fans what they want."

"All the parties are down except for one," Francis said ... meaning the fighters and PFL are in, while the UFC is not (the promotion doesn't do cross-promotions with other companies).

Now that he's seen the bigger version of Bones Jones, we asked Francis about the heavyweight iteration of Jon.

"I will say I am more comfortable with a heavy Jon Jones than the Jon Jones of light heavyweight because of course, he gave an impressive performance against Ciryl Gane, but for the first minute, the first interaction and striking, he didn't look good."

Ngannou continued ... "He wasn't on point, as sharp as in light heavyweight, and for me that's the best -- I want Jon heavy! I want him heavier if he can put on more size."

Of course, Jones needed only half a round to beat Gane at UFC 285 in March, his first scrap at HW, but despite the win, Francis clearly wasn't impressed.

The Predator wholeheartedly believes Jon's in for a rude awakening if he thinks a fight with him would mimic the Gane bout.

"He never faced a guy like me, a real side heavyweight," Francis told us, explaining Gane was a perfect matchup stylistically for Jon.

"I think Ciryl was a perfect pro fighter to run into because there wasn't a threat. He's not a guy that's gonna knock you out with one shot."

Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are "absolutely deadly serious" about fighting each other in a UFC Octagon and it would be the biggest fight in the history of the world, so says UFC Prez Dana White.

Dana told Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" Thursday he's been talking and texting with Mark and Elon Wednesday night and into Thursday, and says both men want to square off in Vegas.

"Talked with Mark and Elon last night, both guys are absolutely dead serious about this," White said.

It all started on Wednesday when Musk responded to a report Zuck was going to launch his own version of Twitter, to which Elon responded, "I'm up for a cage match if he is lol."

The Facebook founder got wind of the tweet, and served up a message of his own, writing ... "Send me location." BTW ... that's code in the world of UFC for, he's really serious.

So, fight on?? People weren't exactly sure if the men were just messing around ... but alas, White says they're not.

As for how big the event could be -- Dana believes it would easily be the most-watched fight ever, saying "The biggest fight of all time was Floyd and Conor, I just think it triples that -- it triples what that did, there's no limit on what that thing can make."

Dana's confident both men are capable of handling themselves. Zuck has been in jiu-jitsu competitions recently, and Elon has done martial arts and told Dana he was involved in "plenty of fights growing up in South Africa."

DW says the cost for Pay-Per-View would be $100 a pop ... it's normally $80 for a UFC fight. Forget about what it would cost to watch it in the arena. Dana expects the fight would gross hundreds of millions of dollars, and the loot would go to charity.

Bottom line ... this is no joke. Mark and Elon are serious, and Dana is determined to make it happen.

You can watch the full interview on "TMZ Live" Thursday.

Calling Daniel Cormier PISSED at American Airlines may be an understatement ... the MMA legend ripped into the airline's staff on social media after they gave his seat away, calling the whole ordeal "insane" and "unprofessional!"

The 44-year-old former UFC double champ said the aggravating incident went down at San Francisco International Airport on Wednesday.

"I am literally in the worst experience," Cormier started ... "It’s unreal how horrific @AmericanAir staff at SFO is behaving right now."

"I show up to my flight to find out my seat has been given away."

Cormier continued, saying an AA employee walked away from him and shut a door in his face.

"If that isn’t enough this [American Airlines employee] won’t even speak to me," Cormier said. "This dude walks away from me as I am speak and he slams the door in my face."

"Wouldn’t even speak a word to me and then slams the f***ing door in my face!"

The UFC Hall of Famer and current UFC broadcaster was trying to get to Las Vegas for meetings with fighters ahead of Saturday's Fight Night card.

A billionaire brawl between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk?!?

The wild cage match might actually happen ... 'cause the Meta CEO just clapped back at the Twitter honcho's callout by saying he's totally down to fight!!

Musk recently pitched the fight idea in response to a report claiming Zuck's company is planning to rival Twitter with a new platform of its own ... to which he replied, "I'm up for a cage match if he is lol."

Whether or not he was kidding, the Facebook co-founder got wind of Musk's tweet ... and channeled his inner Khabib Nurmagomedov by saying, "Send me location."

The response, according to The Verge, was NOT a joke ... and he's 100% serious about duking it out.

Musk, 51, already seems to have a spot in mind for the potential fight ... tweeting "Vegas Octagon" late Wednesday night.

He also teased some of his skills ... adding, "I have this great move that I call 'The Walrus,' where I just lie on top of my opponent & do nothing."

Musk better pray the move works, 'cause Zuck, 39, started honing his craft back during the pandemic ... and he recently competed in a jiu-jitsu tournament, where he earned a gold and silver medal.

He also claims to have finished the famous "Murph Challenge" -- a one-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, and an additional one-mile run (all while wearing a weighted vest) -- in under 40 minutes, which is quite an accomplishment.

Controversial former kickboxer/media personality Andrew Tate is down to have Elon's back, though ... 'cause he said he wants revenge for being blocked on all Meta platforms.

Somebody get Dana White on the phone ASAP.

Dee Devlin is making it clear she's standing by Conor McGregor despite recent rape allegations ... jetting out to NYC this past weekend to spend a loving Father's Day with the UFC star.

McGregor shared photos of the couple's holiday celebration on his Instagram page Sunday evening ... and in the pics, you can see Devlin looked as in love with the 34-year-old as ever -- even though he was just accused of sexually assaulting a woman a week prior.

Wearing her engagement ring, Devlin was seen in the pics embracing McGregor ... and at one point, rubbing one of his feet. The two were also seen smiling ear-to-ear as they were surrounded by their three children.

"The Best Fathers Day yet!" McGregor wrote in a caption on the pics. "Happy Fathers Day, gents. God bless."

Devlin, who's yet to publicly comment on the accusations, has been dating McGregor for over a decade ... getting engaged to the fighting star back in 2020. McGregor just revealed last week they're expecting to have their fourth child later this year.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... McGregor was accused of kissing a woman without her consent, forcing her to perform oral sex, and then attempting to sodomize her during a violent attack inside of a restroom following Game 4 of the NBA Finals back on June 9 at the Kaseya Center in Miami.

But, Conor, through his attorney, has vehemently denied all of the allegations ... calling the woman's claims "a shakedown" attempt.

Ronda Rousey was brought back to earth for an emotional moment during her time on "Mars" ... with the UFC legend breaking down in tears during a video conversation with her daughter.

Ronda and other big names were completely separated from the real world for weeks as they competed on the Fox show, "Stars on Mars" ... and in the latest episode of the series, all the remaining contestants appear to be struggling with their living conditions.

In an emotional clip, Ronda is shown FaceTiming with her 1-year-old, La'akea, and her husband, Travis Browne ... and she can't help but cry as she looks at her daughter's smiling face.

"Hi, my beautiful angel!!" Ronda said ... with Travis replying, "We love ya."

Ex-NFL star Richard Sherman also shared his issues with being away from his loved ones ... admitting he felt like he was experiencing "space madness."

Lance Armstrong said the competition is no joke ... adding, "The long game here is brutal. The mental side of this is torture."

The woman who accused Conor McGregor of rape was seen on video with the UFC star at a club table just minutes after she says the sexual assault happened.

The footage, obtained by TMZ Sports, was shot at around 12:40 a.m. on June 10 inside the Kaseya Center in Miami ... roughly half an hour or so after the woman claims he attacked her inside of a bathroom following Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

In the clips, you can see McGregor and the woman appearing to exchange words while holding drinks ... before Conor eventually leaves the area.

According to the woman's attorney, Ariel Mitchell, the video shows her client and McGregor were "visibly awkwardly interacting with each other" -- something she alleges the two were not doing prior to their restroom encounter.

"My client has always stated that there would be video of before and after, and in those videos she emphasized that the difference in the interactions between them would be visibly noticeable," Mitchell said in a statement to TMZ Sports. "This again is another video that supports what my client has been saying and supports what she told the police since the inception of this incident."

McGregor's attorney, meanwhile, says the footage shows what he's been claiming all along ... that the allegations are false.

"While the claimant's story has changed yet again," Barbara R. Llanes said in a statement, "our account of the evening has never changed. This video only reinforces our position. We look forward to the swift conclusion of the investigation."

Previous video that we obtained showed McGregor and the woman had been interacting at the club throughout the evening. In one vid, he was seen flexing with her as music blared. In another, the 34-year-old was seen grabbing the woman by her hand and leading her into a bathroom.

The woman has claimed while inside of the restroom ... Conor kissed her without her consent, forced her to perform oral sex, and attempted to sodomize her.

McGregor has been adamant that the woman's claims are "no more than a shakedown."

UFC star Jared Cannonier is turning over a new leaf -- literally -- telling TMZ Sports he's quit smoking weed for his upcoming main event fight with Marvin Vettori.

We talked to the 39-year-old "Killa Gorilla" just days before his UFC Fight Night scrap, going down Saturday night in Las Vegas, when Jared revealed the change in his lifestyle.

"For this camp I have abstained from smoking marijuana, so the clarity is there," Cannonier told us, explaining ... "More mental clarity for me. There is a physical aspect to it. You are putting foreign substances into you [body], especially your lungs."

And, because it's potentially a 25-minute scrap, Jared wants to be ready in the event he doesn't get an early stoppage.

"This is a 5-round fight, so I want to be able to push the pace for 5 hard rounds, make it 5 hard rounds for him, but just another 5 rounds for me," Cannonier told us.

"I want to push the pace, be powerful throughout the whole thing, if it goes 5 rounds. That's a big if, 'cause I plan on putting it on him start to finish. I don't see him lasting long. Mentally,  physically, I feel like I'm in a much better place than I was in my last camp, so I'm ready to go!"

The fight has title implications, too. JC is ranked 4, while Marvin is the 3rd ranked middleweight.

Alex Periera is ranked 1, but is moving up the light heavyweight, so he's out of the mix at 185 pounds. Robert Whittaker (who is fighting Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290 next month) is ranked 2nd. Israel Adesanya is the reigning champ.

With a win, Cannonier believes this puts him "right at the doorstep" of a title fight.

We also talked to 29-year-old Vettori, who, you guessed it, isn't exactly on the same page when it comes to how he sees the fight going.

"Me being young, and me being hungrier, the more the fight goes on, the more [Jared's] gonna struggle. And, I might catch him early, too. I heard he wants to come out like crazy, I welcome that. Please, bring it, 'cause damn sure you're not gonna get me out of there!"

As for what happens after a win over Jared, Marvin tells us he isn't sweating the future.

"I always felt it inside, I always knew a trilogy with Adesanya is gonna happen. So, I'm not even stressing about it. My whole focus is to go out and look amazing in front of Cannonier and the rest will fall into place."