UFC

Rose Namajunas has accomplished nearly everything over the course of her career in MMA ... and while she still has eyes on getting back her championship belt -- she tells TMZ Sports she wouldn't mind stepping out of the Octagon and into the boxing ring one day!

We caught up with the fifth-ranked UFC flyweight ahead of her upcoming bout against third-ranked Erin Blanchfield ... and while she is not sleeping on EB -- who is known for her grappling -- Rose believes she is overall the better fighter.

"I feel I'm superior in all areas of MMA," Rose said. "Especially being able to mix it all up, that's what I do best. I'm really looking forward to the challenge. I know she's a tough opponent, so I'm very prepared."

Belal Muhammad's first defense of his UFC welterweight world title will have to wait ... as the champ has been forced out of his main event fight at UFC 310 after suffering a nasty bone infection.

The 36-year-old revealed the news Tuesday morning ... showing off the ailment before going under the knife, and we're not doctors, but it's safe to say a human toe probably shouldn't be that swollen!

"Caught a bone infection in my foot .. had to put a picc line in my arm for iv antibiotics the next 6 weeks with no physical activity," Belal said.

Joe Rogan may interview Kamala Harris after all ... but he'll only do it on his terms.

The popular podcaster took to X on Tuesday to give an update on his negotiations for a possible face-to-face with the Democratic presidential nominee.

Joe wrote that both camps are still negotiating the terms of the interview, but he won't agree to the ones offered by Kamala's campaign.

Joe Rogan is spilling the tea on his podcast experience with Donald Trump last week ... while also making it clear he'd like to see Kamala Harris in the hot seat, too.

On "The Joe Rogan Experience," Joe admitted he was really pumped for the interview because he had a lot to cover with Trump ... but he found himself having to steer him back to the main points since the former prez tended to go off on tangents.

Joe gave an example, saying that when they talked about the "JFK Files," he told Trump his comments made it seem like the government was involved ... and he said the Republican presidential nominee "danced a little" in response.

Max Holloway is considered the greatest featherweight ever by many fans, but the former 145 lb. champ is the underdog in his UFC 308 main event scrap vs. Ilia Topuria -- and that's exactly where he says he wants to be!

TMZ Sports talked to 32-year-old Holloway just days before the title fight ... and Blessed feels blessed to be in this position.

"At the end of the day, styles make fights. He has a fun style. I have a fun style. Thinking of his fight style, it brings a smile to my face. I love being in these fights. I love being the underdog. And I can't wait to see what he's all about come October 26th," Max told us.

An undefeated yet unknown fighter used the UFC 308 press conference to ask Dana White for a contract ... and it seems it's paid off in a massive way!

The UFC honcho, live from Power Slap 9, joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) ... where the fellas talked about Dorobshokh Nabotov's bold strategy to land a contract with the world's most popular MMA promotion.

If you missed it ... Dana was holding a media event in Abu Dhabi to promote UFC 308 when Nabotov, sitting in the stands with fans and the media, stepped to the mic and made his pitch to the UFC CEO.

Francis Ngannou returned to the cage last weekend -- 6 months after tragedy struck his family -- and the combat sports superstar admits he was unsure whether he'd ever fight again.

TMZ Sports talked to the 38-year-old former UFC champion turned boxer/PFL fighter just days after he dispatched Renan Ferreira via a first-round knockout in Saudi Arabia ... and then broke down in tears after the bout while talking about the devastating loss of his little boy, Kobe.

"Oh, yes [I didn't know if I'd fight again]. There was a point that you didn't know anything. Everything seemed so fragile," Francis told us, adding his mind was racing a mile a minute during that horrific time.

Belal Muhammad's responding to Conor McGregor ... days after the UFC superstar said he'd love to smash his skull. The current welterweight champ has some violent thoughts of his own!!

It all started earlier this week ... when 36-year-old McGregor went to X in a now-deleted tweet, writing, "I'd love to crush my left hook into belal's temple and take down the triple crown. I'd do it easily. And fast! I'd cave his skully heavy! The hurdles I face getting back to the octagon are just harrowing."

Conor continued ... "I am so sad over my June 29th fight cancellation. To think this bum is now a UFC champion with zero knockdowns on his resume whatsoever is so bad. The UFC's most abysmal zero revenue generating fighter in modern history."

Jake Paul has a massive fight with Mike Tyson next month, but the Problem Child's also got wieners on his mind ... 'cause when the opportunity arose to team up with a popular hot dog chain, he pounced and invested in 25 locations!!

TMZ Sports recently caught up with the 27-year-old boxer and Dog Haus CEO Michael Montagano ... and Paul explained how the partnership started with one tube steak after dining at one of MM's restaurants, which also has items like burgers, chicken, sides and ice cream on the menu.

"On my Instagram I was like, 'Does anyone know the owners?" Paul said.

Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov makes all the sense in the world, especially to the MMA purists, BUT ... Khabib's cousin says, for some reason, the newly crowned UFC champ seems scurred to take the fight.

"It's looking like he's avoiding [me]. He's scared [of] someone who can defend takedowns, who can stop him," Umar told TMZ Sports on Friday, adding ... "I just want to fight."

Of course, on paper, it's the match to make.

Khalil Rountree is still feeling the effects of his loss to Alex Pereira ... as the 34-year-old revealed he's in "pure pain" after undergoing successful surgery on his nose following UFC 307.

The eighth-ranked light heavyweight went under the knife for a septoplasty on Monday -- which is a procedure that corrects a deviated septum.

It's not shocking Rountree needed some work done to his schnozz ... as he was involved in an absolute war with Poatan -- which left him bloodied up following his fourth-round TKO loss.

Fight camp was anything but smooth for Kayla Harrison ... the UFC star tells us she was hospitalized and "peeing blood" the week before UFC 307!

The 34-year-old bantamweight joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) on Monday ... where she revealed the lead-up to the Ketlen Vieira scrap didn't exactly go as planned.

"I'm still learning. I'm still growing. I feel like there's a lot of room for improvement for me. It definitely wasn't my best night in the cage," Kayla says, adding ... "There were a lot of things that happened."

Boyz II Men will be keeping an extra close eye on UFC 307 on Saturday night ... 'cause the legendary R&B group has a special and tragic connection to Khalil Rountree.

Shawn Stockman and Nathan Morris, two-thirds of the 4x Grammy Award-winning group, joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) this week where they talked about the Rountrees.

Back in 1992, Khalil's dad, Roderick "Khalil" Rountree, was Boyz II Men's road manager. After a May 1992 show in the Chicago area, Khalil was gunned down by three men who'd been caught trying to break into his hotel room, according to reports.

Kayla Harrison is locked in on her UFC 307 opp Ketlen Vieira ... but the 2x Olympic gold medalist tells TMZ Sports she's SO prepared, she's ready to also kick both Julianna Peña and Raquel Pennington's asses, too -- same night!

We caught up with the UFC bantamweight contender this week ... ahead of what'll almost surely be a title eliminator when she squares off with Vieira in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.

While she is not scheduled to face Pennington or Peña ... Harrison said she's heard that if either the champ or challenger drops out of the title fight, she could be called upon to step in.

Pro Bowl defensive end today ... UFC heavyweight champ down the road?!?

Maxx Crosby sure seems to think that's possible ... telling TMZ Sports he could see himself stepping into Dana White's Octagon at some point in the future.

Crosby, of course, is fully dedicated to his NFL career at the moment ... but he says he trains to be a beast on Sundays with daily boxing exercises -- and it's clear, it all could lead to a professional tilt later on.

Terence Crawford is confirming he was, in fact, offered a two-fight deal with UFC superstar Conor McGregor ... but the boxing champ ultimately turned the offer down -- 'cause there was no chance in hell he was about to step in the Octagon.

McGregor previously claimed the two combat greats were positioned to make "hundreds of millions" in an epic boxing/MMA showdown ... an ordeal that was pitched by the chairman of Saudia Arabia's General Entertainment Authority.

In an interview with Bernie Tha Boxer, Bud said the whole thing was legitimately on the table ... but he was the one to decline the lucrative possibility.