UFC

"I'm sad, I'm very sad."

Anderson Silva was so shocked by the death of rap legend DMX, he could barely find the words -- but ultimately explained how the guy made such a tremendous impact on his life.

The MMA legend -- who's boxing Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on June 19 --  famously used DMX's "Ain't No Sunshine" as his ring walkout song for years. Watch the video below, the fans went WILD!!!!

So, when we spotted Silva shooting a promo on Friday in the hours after X's passing, we had to ask his thoughts -- and you can feel the sadness.

Silva also tells us he plans on honoring DMX during the Chavez fight.

As for the fight itself, Anderson tells TMZ Sports he knows Chavez Jr. has a lifetime of experience as a boxer ... but he's up for the challenge and says he wouldn't have signed up if he didn't think he could win!

And, get this ... if Silva beats Chavez, he wants MORE boxing fights down the road and says he would seriously consider Jake and Logan Paul as future opponents.

UFC star Nina Nunes just gave birth 6 months ago ... but tells TMZ Sports she CAN'T WAIT to get back in the Octagon and fight on Saturday!

Nina -- formally known as Nina Ansaroff -- had a baby back in September with her longtime partner Amanda Nunes, who happens to be one of the greatest combat sports athletes of all time!

Nina ain't too shabby herself -- she's the #5 ranked UFC strawweight -- and she's taking on fellow mom Mackenzie Dern on "UFC on ABC 2" on April 10.

Mackenzie made headlines herself back in 2019 when she fought Amanda Ribas just 4 months after giving birth ... and gave a pretty inspiring performance, despite losing the fight.

Nunes tells us she has tremendous respect for Dern ... and hopes the fight will show people you can be a mom and also kick ass as a pro fighter!

Nunes admits her delivery wasn't exactly smooth -- she had some serious medical issues that left her in rough shape.

But, as soon as she was cleared to work out, she got ripped in weeks -- just look at the photos! Amazing!

As for Dern, she tells TMZ Sports the respect with Nunes is mutual -- "The babies make us better athletes, better fighters, more motivated, more professional."

Both women tell us they're expecting a war -- but it's not personal ... and they expect to take pictures with their babies together after the fight!

Kevin Holland ➡️ Israel Adesanya ➡️ Middleweight title

That's the blueprint UFC fighter Marvin Vettori tells TMZ Sports he plans to follow ... insisting he's only 1 "Big Mouth" ass-whoopin' away from a long-anticipated rematch with Stylebender.

We talked to the 27-year-old Italian MMA star before his UFC on ABC 2 main event scrap on Saturday with 28-year-old Holland ... who stepped in for Darren Till -- who broke his collarbone (but MV ain't buying the injury) -- about his place in the 185 lb. division.

Per the UFC's Middleweight rankings, Marvin's #6, Holland's #10, and Till's #5. Despite sitting behind a few other top fighters, Vettori says with a dub on Saturday, it's his time for a shot at the title.

"Most of the top five, they're injured or they're not showing up, so it don't count. Like they're top-five just on the paper. I think I deserve the title shot after this," Marvin says.

As for that scrap with Till ... Vettori says he isn't interested anymore.

"[Darren] lost his opportunity. I don't even trust him anymore to show up. I would like to eventually, but he can try and challenge me when I'll be the champion and if he can gain the spot, I'll face him then," Marvin tells us.

"He lost his spot, man. He lost his opportunity. I'm getting more suspicious by the day, to be honest."

Regarding that rematch with 31-year-old Adesanya ... Izzy and Marvin fought in April 2018. Israel won via split decision ... but some people believe MV was the real winner.

But, just beating Adesanya on a single scorecard is an impressive feat ... something that no other UFC middleweight has done.

Get Kevin Holland a new nickname ... 'cause "Big Mouth" won't be running when he fights Saturday night, telling TMZ Sports his sole focus is whooping Marvin Vettori's ass.

28-year-old Holland received an onslaught of criticism -- from fans to Dana White -- for the nonstop crap talk during his unanimous decision loss to Derek Brunson only 19 days ago.

Holland's stepping up on short notice to fight Vettori -- the 27-year old, 6th-ranked UFC middleweight -- and we asked if he was gonna press pause on the trash talk.

"Yeah, I mean ultimately, I go in there and get the job done and then we'll see what happens after that, but it's like a whole lot of talking that night, I don't see that happening. Go in there, get the job done and then we can talk about it after."

It's an interesting dilemma ... MMA fans loved Holland's brashness when he was winning (he fought and won 5 times in 2020!!) -- but turned on him when he talked and lost.

So, moral of the story for Kevin? Win. This. Fight.

"I just got a job to do. The job is to put Vettori away in a nice fashion."

As for any bad blood with White ... Holland says everything's cool with the UFC honcho.

GREAT NEWS, FIGHT FANS!!!

Jon Jones believes he WILL come to terms with the UFC on a deal to fight heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou ... saying, "I think it's gonna happen."

PLEASE BE RIGHT!

Jones vs. Ngannou would be one of the biggest fights in UFC history -- featuring two incredible champions.

The issue has been money ... Jones has said the UFC needs to write a HUGE CHECK to make it happen. He's already told the fighting org. that $10 million is "way too low."

But, seems there is progress being made ... Jones told FightHype.com he's confident the two sides will come to an agreement to give the fans what they want!

"Hopefully the fight happens. We just gotta stay focused and stay training and see what the UFC is going to do on their part," Jones said between workouts at the Jackson Wink MMA gym in Albuquerque.

Jones added, "I think it's gonna happen ... I think the UFC will eventually do the right thing."

"I think this is one of the greatest fights of our generation and it would be really sad if it weren’t gonna happen. And I believe that it will."

He added, "It’ll happen, all in good time."

In the meantime, Jones says he's training like a maniac -- trying to bulk up so he can match up with the larger Ngannou.

"People want to see two titans. Francis is already a titan and I'm trying to become a titan. I want to look like a titan. I want to be the same size as this guy if not bigger when we get out there."

Jones has fought as a light heavyweight since 2008 -- usually weighing right around 205 pounds.

Ngannou, on the other hand, weighed 263 pounds when he defeated Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 260 back in March.

"I've got a lot of work to do."

"Listen, Conor McGregor is the biggest piece of s**t scumbag in the sport."

That's Kamaru Usman's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, going off about Conor McGregor after the UFC superstar accused Usman of stealing his signature catchphrases.

Here's the quick backstory ... Usman (the reigning UFC welterweight champ) is promoting his big UFC 261 fight with Jorge Masvidal and told ESPN, "It’s green panty night when you fight me."

It's a nod to Conor's famous "red panty night" comment he made at a press conference back in 2015 -- a line that's become one of Conor's most famous moments.

“I can make you rich,” McGregor told Rafael dos Anjos at the UFC 197 news conference -- explaining, "I change your bum life; you fight, it’s a celebration. When you sign to fight me, it’s a celebration. You ring back home, you ring your wife, ‘Baby, we’ve done it. We’re rich, baby. Conor McGregor made us rich, break out the red panties. We’re rich, baby.'"

So, when Conor saw Usman using a similar line (replacing red with green because of the color of the Nigerian flag), McGregor called him out on social media.

"Am I tripping or is this jackass always at this? Everything I say," Conor tweeted.

Well, Usman's manager saw the tweet and decided to respond -- aggressively.

"Kamaru Usman is a great father, great husband, he's not a jackass. If you have a problem with him, fight the man. But we know Conor doesn’t have the balls."

"He's not enough of a man to fight anything like Kamaru . He’s not enough of a man to even look him in his face."

Ali added, "The Internet creates a lot of heroes. Everybody can talk s**t. But realistically, if you put these two guys in a cage, in a street fight, in the trunk of a car, in a jail cell ,... you know who’s gonna be whose daddy."

"Kamaru Usman will be Conor's daddy every day of the week."

Abdelaziz also broke down why he's 100% convinced Usman will DESTROY Masvidal when they step into the octagon on April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Francis Ngannou's Hit List:

- Stipe Miocic ✅

- Jon Jones

- TYSON FURY ?!

That's exactly right ... the newly crowned UFC champ tells TMZ Sports he's DEAD SERIOUS about boxing Fury -- the man many pugilism experts believe is the greatest heavyweight alive.

Why boxing? Why Fury? Here's the deal.

Before UFC 260, Stipe told us he was very interested in boxing 32-year-old Fury or 31-year-old Anthony Joshua.

Welp, his title defense didn't go as planned (lost via 2nd rd. KO) ... so, while Francis is taking things from Miocic -- we asked if he wanted to take Stipe's place vs. the Gypsy King.

"Absolutely. I'm open to that. Remember boxing was my primary dream and I still have the fire, the dream inside me and I believe at some point, I'm gonna make a step."

Of course, UFC honcho Dana White is currently working on a massive fight between Jones and Ngannou ... and Fury is set to take on Joshua later this year -- so any boxing match between the 2 giants would have to be in the future.

We also asked Francis about 54-year-old Mike Tyson ... who is looking to find an opponent after talks with forever rival Evander Holyfield fell apart at the negotiating table.

And not even 6'4", 263 pound Francis Ngannou wants a piece of "Iron" Mike ... despite a 20 year age difference!

"I don't want to fight Mike Tyson but I would like to fight another heavyweight boxer as such as Tyson Fury."

Vicente Luque wants all the smoke after his UFC 260 victory over Tyron Woodley -- telling TMZ Sports he's begging for a shot at the winner of Nate Diaz vs. Leon Edwards!

Luque jumped to #6 in the UFC's welterweight division after his impressive performance last weekend -- and badly wants to put himself in a position for a title fight as soon as possible.

Remember, VL called out Nate Diaz in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan -- but days later, Diaz agreed to take on Edwards at UFC 262, spoiling Luque's plans.

But, he's not losing hope of a possible showdown with Diaz down the line.

"I'm interested in any of those two guys so whatever goes down with that fight, maybe one of them can be my opponent after they fight."

FYI, Luque has fought against Edwards before -- losing by unanimous decision in a 3-round scrap in 2017.

"Since then, I've changed a lot. I know that he has evolved a lot as well. We both have been on a great winning streak and yeah, I think that right now it would make a lot of sense to have that rematch. It would be a hell of a fight."

Luque has ripped off 3 straight wins and Edwards had won 8 straight before an accidental eye poke led to a "no contest" against Belal Muhammad in March.

In the meantime, Luque says he's down to be the backup fighter for Diaz vs. Edwards -- willing to step in if one of the guys has to drop out for some reason.

The negotiating is underway ... but Jon Jones says $10 MILLION is simply not enough cash to get him in the Octagon with Francis Ngannou.

Ngannou became the UFC heavyweight champ after demolishing Stipe Miocic in a violent 2nd round victory at UFC 260 on Saturday.

Immediately after the fight, all eyes were on Jones -- widely considered the greatest UFC fighter of all time -- who tweeted, "Show me the money."

The good news ... Jones says he's been in touch with the UFC's top business guy, Hunter Campbell, and they're already discussing money.

The bad news ... Jones says the two sides are very far apart.

"I had a brief phone meeting with UFC‘s lawyer Hunter a few days ago. As of right now, I expressed to him that anywhere around eight to $10 million would be way too low for a fight of this magnitude. That’s all that has been discussed so far."

Unclear how much Jones is looking to pocket for the Ngannou fight -- but it would undoubtedly be one of the most anticipated fights in UFC history.

Michael Chandler vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov?!?!

It's not completely out of the question, according to Chandler who tells TMZ Sports he wouldn't be surprised if Khabib eventually changed his mind about the whole retirement thing.

Chandler is currently set to fight Charles Oliveira at UFC 262 on May 15 for the vacant UFC lightweight belt ... but he's EXTREMELY confident he'll smash his way to the title -- which begs the question, who's next!?

Conor McGregor? Tony Ferguson? Justin Gaethje?

Maybe ... but Khabib is only 32 years old and still VERY involved in MMA, coaching stars like Luke Rockhold and recently serving as a cornerman for his brother Abubakar Nurmagomedov at UFC 260.

Chandler tells TMZ Sports ... he thinks Khabib will be paying very close attention to the lightweight division to see if he gets the urge to step back in the Octagon.

"He's gonna be very intertwined with the UFC for decades to come and especially the lightweight division. He's still very young so we'll see what happens in the future."

Chandler says he considers Khabib to be the greatest of all time -- and would respect whatever decision he makes regarding his fighting future.

But, for now, Chandler says his focus is on Oliveira -- the #3 ranked lightweight.

"Charles Oliveira poses a lot of threats on the ground but I've never even come close to really getting submitted," Chandler says.

"I have a kind of a 6th sense when it comes to the ground game to not be submitted."

So, how does Chandler see the fight going? He wants to overwhelm his opponent with brute violence.

"Hit him. Hit him as hard as I can numerous times on the feet. Keep the fight standing, put him in panic mode, knock him out in the 1st round."

Anderson Silva is back ... to boxing!!!

The 45-year-old MMA legend has signed a contract to fight 35-year-old Julio César Chávez Jr. on June 19, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Silva was released from UFC contract back in Nov. 2020 following a loss to Uriah Hall -- but he was adamant he wanted to continue his combat sports career elsewhere ... and now, he's making it happen in a boxing ring.

"When I look back at my journey, I see that nothing has been in vain," Silva says ... "I am extremely happy for the opportunity to test my boxing skills with Julio César Chávez Jr."

"I train continuously, always striving for resilience and to overcome obstacles. Fighting is my everlasting breath."

We're told the event -- titled "Tribute to the Kings" -- will take place at Jalisco Stadium in  Guadalajara, Mexico and will be available live on Pay-Per-View.

The event will also include a special exhibition match featuring Julio's legendary father, Julio César Chávez Sr. -- widely considered one of the greatest boxers of all time.

The 58-year-old Hall of Famer will take on Hector Camacho Jr. -- son of his former opponent Hector "Macho" Camacho, who passed away in 2012.

42-year-old Hector Jr. is also a pro boxer with a record of 58-6-1.

Julio Jr. issued a statement about the fight with Silva -- saying, "I have rededicated myself to the sport that I love and I will be ready to face anyone in the Light Heavyweight division starting with Silva"

"I will be prepared to be victorious on June 19."

The fight was put together by Keith Schoen of Schoen Entertainment along with Armando Bareno of Global Sports Streaming -- with Jorge Toscano and Saul Rios serving as the official fight promoters.

"This promises to be an epic battle between two superior fighters with a global fan base," Schoen tells us ... "Everyone associated with this Pay-Per-View promotion and fighting fans around the globe are super enthusiastic to see these two great fighters meet in the ring."

Chavez Jr. is 52-5-1 as a pro and coming off a 4th round TKO victory over Jeyson Minda in Nov. 2020.

Silva -- repped by ICM Partners and managed by Talize Sayegh -- is a former UFC Middleweight champ with wins over guys like Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort, Rich Franklin and more.

The Spider has also dabbled in boxing -- he's 1-1 as a pro -- and was known during his heyday for being one of the best strikers in MMA.

A trained MMA fighter who personally witnessed the death of George Floyd testified that officer Derek Chauvin used a "blood choke" during the arrest ... referring to the move as "torture."

33-year-old Donald Williams is a fighter out of the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy in Brooklyn Center ... and has a 6-6 record, according to Tapology.

Williams appeared on the stand in a Minnesota courtroom to testify about what he saw on the day Floyd died ... and his explanation was almost identical to the analysis of UFC superstar Jon Jones, who spoke out in the days following the incident.

"One, the neck was diagonal across the throat, which on a blood choke you attack the side of the neck," Williams said.

"To get the choke tighter, you hit different shimmies, which I felt the officer on top was shimmying to actually get the final choke in while he was on top to get the kill choke."

"Because a side choke or a blood choke can ultimately turn into death, which is what we've seen here."

In fact, Williams is shown in body cam footage of Tou Thao -- one of the other officers involved in the incident -- where he begs them to check Floyd's pulse ... and says point-blank Chauvin is using a "blood choke."

As we previously reported, Jones described the move in detail ... saying, "I wouldn't wish the way George Floyd was murdered on my worst enemy. That officer applied just enough pressure to keep him alive for almost six minutes in that chokehold."

"In all my years of fighting, I can honestly say I’ve never experienced anything close to that level of torture."

UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou ain't buyin' any of that "Jon Jones is scared" talk ... telling TMZ Sports he's convinced Jones "wants" to get in the Octagon with him and fight for the title.

"I believe that Jon Jones wants this fight," Ngannou tells us ... "I believe he'll want it to happen because it's gonna be a massive fight."

Ngannou looked fresh and happy when we spoke with him Monday morning -- sitting in front of his brand new UFC championship belt!

Of course, moments after he defeated Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 on Saturday night ... everyone began asking the obvious question -- when will Francis fight Jon Jones.

Jones went to social media with a message for the UFC -- "Show me the money."

Some people have suggested Jones is scared of Ngannou -- and he's using the money as an excuse to duck the new champ.

But, Ngannou doesn't believe that for a second -- saying he understands why Jon wants a massive payday ... and quite frankly, he hopes they BOTH get paid a ton of cash.

"He's been around so long and been champ for a long time so I think this might be the biggest fight of his career and mine."

"I think he wants to put something like this on his legacy, on his resume. I truly believe that he wants this fight to happen."

So, now the issue is working out a contract with UFC -- and fight fans all over the world ... as well as Francis himself, are hoping they can make a deal.

Francis says when the deal is signed, he knows he needs to beef up his wrestling game in order to defeat Jones -- a former college wrestling champion.

And, get this ... Ngannou says despite his dominant performance against Stipe, he's going back and watching the tape again because he feels there's real room for improvement.

Gotta be honest ... he looked pretty solid to us!

We also asked Francis how it feels to be the undisputed UFC heavyweight champ ... and watch the video, the guy is so proud!!!

Stipe Miocic is finally opening up about that devastating loss to Francis Ngannou over the weekend -- assuring everyone he's okay and vowing to return as a better fighter.

Stipe did not participate in any post-fight interviews following his loss to Ngannou in the main event at UFC 260 on Saturday night ... where the heavyweight champ was knocked out cold 52 seconds into the 2nd round.

Ngannou smashed Stipe with a brutal left, sending Stipe crashing to the ground in an awkward fashion -- you could see his knees buckled and folded under him. It looked super painful. Francis then followed up with a powerful hammer fist to directly to Stipe's face, ending the match.

There was real concern about Stipe's health following the fight -- but Monday morning, Stipe gave a positive update.

"First and foremost, I’m ok, I know that fall wasn’t my most graceful fall, but I was unconscious, so it happens," Stipe said.

He continued, "Losses aren’t fun, they always sting for a while, but that’s the beast of this business. You can’t win them all, and it’s important to understand that losing is just as much a part of sports (and life) as winning."

So, what went wrong during the fight? Stipe breaks down the loss ...

"Unfortunately, I deviated from the game plan. I felt great coming into the second round, I saw it was beginning to go as planned. He was getting very winded, and I came in overzealous and unprotected. I wasn’t in a good posture to take the hit. He saw the opening, and did what any great fighter would have done."

Stipe says he's come to terms with the theft he lost and congratulated Ngannou for winning the UFC heavyweight belt.

"Saturday night was your night, enjoy your victory! For now, I’m going to enjoy the downtime, spend some time with my family, and welcome our son into the world this summer... stay tuned, God bless."

There was a hot Hollywood quartet out in force this weekend for a UFC event -- which felt like worlds colliding and a generation gap being bridged ... all in a good way, of course.

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker were seated side by side next to none other than Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox Saturday night for UFC 260 down in the Vegas area.

The two power couples were seated in their own private booth ... and while a few people behind them had masks on, they all seemed to be relaxing without a worry in the world. The fact guests could even come to this is a sign that ... yes, things are getting back to normal.

Everybody played to the camera when the lens was on them -- MGK and Meg were enjoying their beverages as they flashed different greetings ... while KK and Trav were a bit more on the same page in presenting themselves as a duo. That lollipop choreography was slick!

Seeing all of four of them together is like looking at two sides of the same coin in a way -- the big difference, really, is age. Travis and Kourtney are about 10 or so years older than Kelly and Megan ... but we gotta say, they hold their own with the young bucks, even out in public.

Stipe Miocic wants to box Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury, but not even the greatest UFC heavyweight of all-time is willing to step in the ring with Mike Tyson ... despite Iron Mike being 54 years old.

38-year-old Miocic tells TMZ Sports he's intrigued by a matchup with 32-year-old Fury and 31-year-old Joshua ... the 2 baddest heavyweight fighters in the world.

"I would love [a boxing match w/ Fury or Joshua]. It would be just a different — get out of my comfort zone. Plus it’s a fight, anything can happen and I know I can make something happen.

First, he's gotta deal with arguably the most intimidating guy to ever fight in the UFC ... 34-year-old Francis Ngannou.

"I just got a task at hand right now. I gotta worry about [Francis], that’s all I care about. But, I’d love to dip my toe into that ring.

The only downside ... Fury and Joshua might be tied up with each other. The boxers inked a 2-fight deal that'll likely see them fight in the summer with a rematch in the winter.

But, there's another, slightly older, heavyweight fighter who's looking for an opponent ... Mike Tyson.

Remember, Mike's fight with longtime rival, 58-year-old Evander Holyfield, fell apart this week over money for a trilogy fight.

So, we asked Stipe about fighting Mike -- who ended his 15-year layoff when he boxed Roy Jones Jr. in 2020 -- anddd, that's smoke Miocic doesn't want.

"That I will pass on. I will pass on that one," Stipe says.

"That dude looked exactly the same when he fought Roy Jones Jr. as he did when he was 20 years old so, no, I’m good. I love Mike Tyson. I think he’s awesome."