UFC

UFC star Mackenzie Dern says she's a better fight NOW than ever before -- and it's all because she's a mom.

The 27-year-old jiu-jitsu specialist -- who gave birth to her daughter back in June 2019 -- won 2 of her last 3 fights after returning to the Octagon.

Now, she's gearing up to fight Virna Jandiroba at UFC 256 on Dec. 12 and feels more dangerous than ever.

She's also right on schedule to EASILY make weight on Friday -- something she struggled mightily with in the past.

In fact, Dern famously came in 7 pounds overweight for her May 2018 fight against Amanda Cooper and was docked 30% of her fight purse.

So, what's changed? Dern says having a child and getting married forced her to grow up.

Dern tells TMZ Sports she's more focused, more mature and more professional since starting a family. She's married to pro surfer Wesley Santos.

"Before my daughter was born, I thought I was focused at the time, [but] now I see how [I was] kind of a little more rebellious [when I was younger]."

Dern admits she lived a more carefree lifestyle before her daughter was born -- partying, traveling, etc. -- "I was single, I didn't have this support family to keep you grounded."

But now, Dern says she's laser-focused and is gunning for a title shot -- which is more realistic now than ever before.

"I really see the potential to be the champion," Dern says ... "I see the title. I can see it. Now it's in my vision."

“These guys have a life outside. They have families to look after. They have other things going on. I don’t have anything else going on besides chasing this mother f**king title.”

That's 27-year-old UFC rising star Marvin Vettori putting the entire middleweight division on notice ... telling TMZ Sports his singular goal in life is to SMASH Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya -- and get the championship belt.

We talked to Vettori fresh off his 5-round, unanimous decision win against #4 ranked 185 lb. fighter, Jack Hermansson Saturday night in Vegas.

The fight was INSAAANE!! Vettori and 32-year-old Hermansson -- who says he suffered a broken eye socket during the scrap (see pic below) -- set a record for significant strikes landed in a middleweight fight.

After the fight, Vettori initially called out Paulo Costa ... but the Italian star obviously changed his mind, and has his sights set on even bigger fish.

“I wanna go after the title. And, if anything, fight for the #1 contender spot. And, if [Adesanya] goes away, fight for an Interim title. And, I think the most legitimate guy out there, the #1 legitimate contender is Robert Whittaker.”

FYI, Vettori is referring to Izzy (temporarily) moving up a division to fight Light Heavyweight champ Jan Błachowicz next year.

If Marvin beats #1 ranked Whittaker, it'd set up a rematch with Adesanya. The men fought in April 2018 ... and some people -- including a judge from the fight -- felt Vettori won the fight.

"I want to be the legitimate #1 contender for this f**king title," Vettori says, continuing ... "And then I want to be the one that dethrones that bulls**t ass champion called Israel Adesanya."

He's gone viral for a violent body slam KO finish ... but UFC fighter Jordan Leavitt felt horrible afterward and says the move should be outlawed from MMA.

The 25-year-old -- nicknamed The Monkey King -- was taking on 37-year-old Matt Wiman on Saturday when Leavitt picked up his opponent and slammed him into unconsciousness just 22 seconds into the 1st round.

Wiman's body went stiff -- and it was pretty scary to watch as medical personnel raced into the octagon to tend to him.

Leavitt tells TMZ Sports ... he's happy he won the match but hates the manner in which he got his W.

"I think slams are ugly and I think they’re dangerous," Leavitt tells us.

"I would have preferred to have won in any other way. I’m happy -- I mean it's a highlight and it's good for my career and notoriety -- but that's not the way I wanted it to be."

Leavitt says he tried to ensure Wiman landed on the side of his head instead of the back -- but it still looked pretty nasty.

The move is legal -- but Leavitt says he would be in full support of banning slams from the sport.

"I also 100% agree that I feel like the sport would be a much safer, artful thing if slams like that weren’t allowed."

"But, when you’re out there, when you’re in that cage you have to decide, 'Am going to pay rent tonight? Or am I going to have to downgrade to my house, and have to put my family in an unstable position?'"

"I feel like any person what do what I did in that situation. And, I did what I have to do."

Leavitt says he spoke with Wiman's wife after the match -- and apologized for the way the fight ended ... but there were no hard feelings on her end.

"She just said it's the fight game, it happens."

Marvin Vettori is straight-up GIDDY to become the first Italian to main event a UFC card -- telling TMZ Sports, "It's f*ckin' massive, man. It's beautiful."

The 27-year-old old middleweight -- born and raised in Trento, Italy -- is set to take on Jack Hermansson at "UFC Fight Night" on Saturday in Las Vegas.

"It's super exciting, man," Vettori tells us ... "I'm proud of this moment. But man, we've gotta make it a memorable f*ckin' day."

Vettori is 15-4-1 as a pro fighter -- but he's on a 3 fight win streak ... and says the goal is to prove he's worthy of a title shot.

FYI, Vettori is currently the #13 ranked UFC middleweight. Hermansson is #4.

The last time Marvin took an "L" was in 2018 to Israel Adesanya -- a split decision loss that Marvin badly wants to run back.

He's even talkin' some trash to the reigning middleweight champ.

But, Vettori says he's focused on the goal at hand ... beating Jack Hermansson.

What was UFC star Brandon Moreno doing when he received the biggest phone call of his life???

Eating a DELICIOUS burger ... of course.

Here's the deal ... 26-year-old Moreno -- the #1 contender in the UFC's flyweight division -- got a big 1st round win against Brandon Royval at UFC 255 last Saturday night.

Moreno -- who had to weigh in at 125 lbs. -- wanted to blow off some steam after the fight ... so naturally, he went to grab a cheeseburger.

Enter the biggest opportunity of Moreno's career ... when his manager called him and said Dana White had just offered him a title fight against 32-year-old champ, Deiveson Figueiredo.

The catch??

The fight is December 12 at UFC 256 ... ONLY 14 days from today.

Moreno tells us ... “I was eating some burger from Shake Shack, and then my manager called me and said, ‘I’m with the matchmaker now. Do you wanna fight December 12?’"

"I said, ‘Man, this is really, really close to the fight.’ I talked with my head coach, and he said, ‘Man you are ready. You don’t have any injuries from the fight. So let's go. This is the opportunity of your life.’ So I take it. I’m ready. I’m so ready!”

BTW, Figueiredo ALSO fought on Saturday ... submitting Alex Perez in the 1st round.

Moreno -- without hesitation -- said yes to the fight ... but he has to weigh 125 lbs. in a few weeks. So, did he finish the burger??

Damn straight!

He's got TWO of the best knockouts of the year -- but UFC rising star Joaquin Buckley says he's still not ready to quit his day job ... at Walgreens!

Buckley first went viral for that insane spinning back kick knockout of Impa Kasanganay back on Oct. 11 -- a knockout Dana White praised as one of the greatest finishes EVER.

He followed that up at UFC 255 by destroying Jordan Wright in the 2nd round -- earning his second "Performance of the Night" bonus in a row!

So, when we spoke with the 26-year-old St. Louis native, we asked if he was finally ready to leave his gig at the pharmacy chain and focus on MMA full time.

The short answer ... he's not ready to part ways with the big "W" just yet!

"The thing is ... besides UFC -- and they're giving me these big checks -- I still don't have a business of my own. So, I need to just keep working," Buckley says.

The fighter says it's important for him to maintain a "working mentality and work ethic" -- "So, I'm gonna just keep holding down a job."

Buckley says if he's able to grow a real business from his MMA exposure, he'd consider walking away from Walgreens ... but for now, he's not going anywhere!

Buckley says he's working on a clothing apparel line called Solid Foundation and he's optimistic about it -- but "until my business is off the ground, we still gon' be working at Walgreens, yessir."

The craziest part, Buckley is already trying to get back in the Octagon and fight again IN JANUARY!!

He's hoping to get a crack at 34-year-old welterweight James Krause -- and it's obvious, these two have VERY bad blood.

"He's just out here spreading lies and spreading rumors [about me] ... it's getting frustrating and for him to think he can just keep talking his stuff without any type of punishment or any type of consequences, it's ridiculous!"

Amanda Nunes is the ONLY woman to beat Valentina Shevchenko in the last 10 years ... and now the UFC flyweight champ tells TMZ Sports a 3rd fight with the Lioness is 100% goin' down!!

We talked to the 32-year-old Shevchenko -- who's defending her belt at UFC 255 against Jennifer Maia Saturday night in Vegas -- about the possibility of the highly coveted match-up with Nunes, the 32-year-old bantamweight and featherweight champ.

"You know right now I'm not thinking about [Amanda] cause my goal is to defend my belt," Shevchenko says ... "One day it’s gonna come to the point when it's gonna [make] much more sense, and it's not gonna be other than to make this 3rd fight."

Valentina continued ... "And when this day comes, it comes. But, now I'm not rushing it. I'm not trying to delay it. So I'm just living my life and waiting for when it comes, and I know for sure it comes."

Of course, the women fought 2 super competitive bouts in 2016 (UFC 196) and 2017 (UFC 215). Nunes won both fights ... but some people believe Shevchenko -- who's 19-3 as a pro -- was robbed in the 2nd fight.

Bottom line, Shevchenko is undoubtedly the toughest opponent Amanda -- the greatest female MMA fighter of all-time -- has ever faced ... and if Valentina's right, a 3rd scrap is on the horizon.

"I have no plans to continue fighting."

That's Khabib Nurmagomedov saying pretty matter of factly he will NOT return to the octagon ... despite UFC boss Dana White suggesting otherwise.

"There will always be rumors about my comeback," Khabib said this week ... "because Dana White or other promoters who could replace him in the future will always want me to fight."

He's right -- Khabib is one of the biggest combat sports stars in the world ... dominating everyone from Conor McGregor to Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.

But, Khabib has insisted he's lost the desire to compete again and wants to focus on his career outside the octagon.

"Of course, I am in my prime and there’s still tons of money I could earn, but I had a different goal," Khabib says.

"And, as for money -- from now on we will earn it somewhere else."

Dana White has been saying for weeks -- and again during an interview we shot on Thursday -- that he strongly believes Khabib will come back for a 30th fight. He's even considering opponents for Khabib.

But, Khabib insists he's done for good -- saying there's nobody else out there for him to fight.

Dana White is doubling down on his claim Khabib Nurmagomedov will return to the Octagon -- and he's willing to put his money where his mouth is!

"If I had to make a bet -- and I'm a betting man -- I would bet he does [return]," Dana tells TMZ Sports.

"So, yeah ... I think he will."

Of course, Khabib announced his retirement following his Oct. 24 victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 ... explaining he has no desire to fight anymore after the death of his father earlier this year.

But, Dana says Khabib's father is the reason he WILL return -- explaining it was his dad's dream for Khabib to finish with a 30-0 record.

So, who would be the opponent? Dana says he's NOT considering Georges St-Pierre, despite Khabib previously suggesting that's he'd be open to that opportunity.

Instead, Dana pointed to 2 upcoming fights ... Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson.

"We'll see how all these things play out here ... One of those guys would definitely be in for the fight."

There's more ... we also asked Dana about plans for Jon Jones, who appears to be bulking up for a fight at the heavyweight level.

But, White says there's nothing in the plans for a Jon Jones scrap in the near future.

"Jon Jones, I don’t know what Jon Jones is doing," White says.

"When he’s ready, all he's gotta do is let us know … but we have no inclination whatsoever that this guy is coming to fight."

Anderson Silva is retired -- but he's still under contract with the UFC despite reports to the contrary, according to Dana White.

The UFC boss tells TMZ Sports ... the promotion did not and has not agreed to part ways with the 45-year-old after his last fight against Uriah Hall at UFC Fight Night on Oct. 31.

Silva reportedly still has 1 fight left on his UFC deal -- but MMA Fighting reports the two sides agreed to part ways after Anderson's 4th-round loss to Hall.

UFC boss Dana White says that's just not the case -- explaining that Silva remains under contract, so if he wants to fight again, he's bound to the UFC.

But, Dana says Anderson is "retired" -- so, there's not a real expectation that he will fight in the UFC ever again.

Silva (34-11) is considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time -- with victories over stars like Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Stephan Bonnar, Dan Henderson and more.

He set the record for longest win streak in UFC history with 16 in a row (from 2006 to 2013) and is a lock for the UFC Hall of Fame.

But, he's only won 1 of his last 9 fights and it's become clear his best days are behind him.

There was a buzz Anderson could jump to Bellator -- but CEO Scott Coker recently shot that down saying the promotion was happy with its current roster.

Conor McGregor is officially returning to the Octagon in 2021 -- he and Dustin Poirier have signed their contracts to fight at UFC 257, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The two sides had reached a verbal agreement a while back -- with Dana White saying he was confident the UFC would be able to make a deal. But now, McGregor says the paperwork is done.

The rematch of their 2014 brawl will go down on January 23, possibly at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. Conor says they will fight at lightweight (155 pounds).

McGregor commented about the upcoming fight on social media recently -- saying, "I look forward to the fresh test Dustin will bring since our first bout, while also showcasing my own incredibly deep cache of weaponry."

"Whatever tool is needed on the night will be pulled from the duffel."

McGregor has also pledged to make a donation to Dustin's charity, The Good Fight Foundation, which provides resources to underprivileged youth in Poirier's home state of Louisiana.

Conor and Dustin first clashed at UFC 178 in 2014 -- with McGregor stopping Poirier in the 1st round.

Tyson Fury's newest training sesh literally brought the house down -- as the ceiling collapsed while the heavyweight champ was annihilating the heavy bag!

... and the video is pretty great!!

The Gypsy King is gearing up for a fight with undefeated German star Agit Kabayel (reportedly happening in early 2021) -- and he's been busting his ass in his gym in Morecambe Bay to get ready.

But, the 32-year-old took things to another level on Tuesday -- when he rocked the heavy bag so hard, it looked like the sky was falling!

You can see pieces from the ceiling -- where the bag was attached -- came crumbling down on top of the champ, who tried to move out of the way!

At one point, you can hear Fury say, "That coulda come down and hurt me, ya f**kin' idiot!"

Despite the collapse, Fury was still feeling an adrenaline rush and wanted to keep training -- so he simply moved to another bag and kept punching!

After the workout, Fury said the workout was "fantastic" -- noting he's been "absolutely smashing it!"

No lies detected.

Fury defeated Deontay Wilder in their rematch back in February -- but they could face off for a 3rd time in 2021.

Fury has also expressed interest in fighting Anthony Joshua -- which would be awesome.

Khaos Williams is BLOWING UP right now after that 30-second-knockout of Abdul Razak Alhassan over the weekend -- and he's giving some of the credit to his hip-hop idols.

Meek Mill. Jay-Z. Drake.

"Those guys inspired me," 26-year-old Khaos tells TMZ Sports ... "Every morning I wake up before my fights, I start my day off listening to Jay-Z."

"Y'all just inspired me. Y'all music, it got me through some dark times, it gave me some inspiration when I didn't have the inspiration."

Khaos, who's based in Michigan, is making quite a name for himself right now -- his last 2 fights were insanely violent and lasted a TOTAL of 57 seconds!

He's currently 11-1 and hasn't lost since 2018.

In fact, Dana White described Khaos' knockout of Abdul Razak Alhassan as "one of the most vicious KOs I’ve ever seen in my f**king life."

Khaos says he hasn't met any of his musical idols yet -- but feels like if he keeps winning, there's a chance it can happen.

Wanna see the aftermath of a bloody UFC brawl between two of the most badass dudes on the planet?!

Here's Paul Felder getting his face fixed up after his split-decision loss to Rafael dos Anjos on Saturday ... and it ain't for the faint of heart.

Remember, the Irish Dragon took the fight on just 5 DAYS(!!!) notice and fought like a true warrior ... going all 5 rounds with RDA.

In fact, the dude initially thought he would be the color commentator for the event ... and had to cut 22 pounds in that quick turnaround to make weight at 155.75 pounds.

While the result may have not gone in Felder's favor, the fact he even stepped up to the challenge has earned the guy some serious props in the fighting game.

Not only did Felder take it like a champ, he was even down to show off his patch-up job after the fight ... and he seemed to be in good spirits.

"Having sex in my living room and [the US Anti-Doping Agency] comes pounding on my door at 8pm."

That's UFC fighter Yancy Medeiros explaining the most AWKWARD drug test in his life ... when a tester came pounding on his door in the middle of a banging sesh!

FYI -- USADA often conducts random drug tests on athletes to try and prevent the athletes from cheating. So, they can literally bang on an athlete's door at any moment to demand a urine sample, and the athlete has to deliver the goods!

Seems to be the case with 33-year-old Yancy "The Kid" Medeiros -- who was engaging in some romantic activities over the weekend when a USADA agent came calling.

Yancy says he made the guy wait outside until he finished up with the sex ... but the reaction from the tester was worth it.

"Best part, him trynna be all professional as I look him in the face, knowing this foo heard everything going down," Yancy said.

"Been tested pre/post competition, but 'during' is a first," he joked.

Medeiros (15-7) has been fighting in the UFC since 2013 -- so, he should be pretty familiar with the USADA testing situation.

He's currently on a 3 fight losing streak -- most recently taking an "L" to Lando Vannata back in February -- but the Hawaiian is expected to return to the octagon soon.

Good to see he's staying "active" during his time off though ...

"They put that money up, hell yeah I'll go over there and fight him!"

That's boxing superstar Terence Crawford -- arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world -- telling TMZ Sports he would seriously consider an MMA match with Conor McGregor.

So, why would the undefeated welterweight champ cross over into Conor's sport? Easy ...

Turns out, Crawford comes from a family of wrestlers and has some legit wrestling experience himself. He's very confident in his skills.

Plus, he doesn't think Conor's that big of a threat on the ground anyway!

"To keep it real, Conor's not a real good wrestler. He may kick the sh*t out of you. You gotta worry about them kicks to the head and them elbows more than him grabbing you."

"It'd be other things that you'd be having to worry about other than wrestling you."

Of course, if Conor wanted to stand up and turn it into a fistfight, the undefeated Crawford believes it would be a slaughter.

There's been talk about a possible Crawford vs. McGregor match for a while -- but Terence says he's seriously open to it.

"Conor is a big talent in the octagon and I'm a big talent in the boxing ring. Money talks. They put that money up, hell yeah I'll go over there and fight him!"

In the meantime, Crawford has a big fight coming up on Saturday -- taking on former champ Kell Brook in a WBO welterweight title bout.

Crawford is a huge favorite -- but we spoke with Kell, and he ain't about to roll over.

34-year-old Brook is 39 and 2 as a pro -- with a win over Shawn Porter in 2014.