UFC

If the BYU crowd was extra loud Tuesday night, thank Conor McGregor for the raucous atmosphere ... The Notorious was in the house as the school's hoops team beat Baylor, and he had the student section FIRED UP!

Mystic Mac was courtside for the Cougars game vs. the Bears at the J. Willard Marriott Center ... and it sounds like McGregor had a blast!

"I've always wondered what the college game would be like, and I am very, very, very impressed," McGregor said.

Belal Muhammad says he's back in the gym and gunning to make a mid-2025 return to the Octagon ... but he's not looking to share the Octagon with training partner Islam Makhachev.

TMZ Sports talked to the UFC welterweight champ ... several weeks after 36-year-old Muhammad was forced to pull out of his title defense fight with number one contender Shavkat Rakhmonov.

"I think for sure, May, June, right after Ramadan is where I'm aiming for. And, definitely before summertime, that would work perfectly for me, where I could get in three fights this year, that's my goal, to stay active," Belal told us of his plans.

Dana White and Joe Rogan won't be the only UFC representatives at the presidential inauguration on Monday ... Jon Jones will also be in attendance after receiving a personal invite from Donald Trump!

"Donald and Dana White have become pretty good friends, and it's a really cool time to be in the UFC, being American, being a champion, getting an invite from the president. It's quite a big deal," the UFC heavyweight title holder said after touching down in the D.C. area.

To anyone who criticizes his attendance at the historic event, Bones says this:

Another legal issue has just cropped up for Conor McGregor ... TMZ Sports has confirmed the UFC superstar has been sued over allegations he sexually assaulted a woman during an NBA game back in 2023.

The suit was filed in a federal court in Florida on Tuesday ... by a woman ID'ed only as "Jane Doe."

She alleges in her court docs that at some point during the Miami Heat vs. Denver Nuggets playoff game on June 9, 2023 at the Kesaya Center in Miami, McGregor led her into a men's restroom near the arena's nightclub, and sexually assaulted her inside of a stall.

Frontier Airlines is adamant they were NOT in the wrong when they booted UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov off a flight this weekend ... claiming the 29-0 fighter ignored a flight attendant's instructions before takeoff.

But, TMZ Sports just spoke to someone close to Khabib, who says that's simply false.

First, Frontier's side of things. The airline says Khabib -- who was seated in an exit row -- failed to indicate he was willing and able to assist in the event of an emergency.

Khabib Nurmagomedov was taken off a flight over the weekend following a seating disagreement with the airline’s staff.

The incident, which took place on a flight leaving Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport on Saturday, was captured on video and posted to social media. In the video, you hear a flight attendant asking Nurmagomedov, who's sitting in the emergency exit row, if he was prepared and able to assist other passengers in the event of an emergency.

The flight attendant says, "We cannot allow you to sit in the exit row … I am not going to do this back and forth. I’ll go call a supervisor. You can either take a different seat or we can go ahead and escort you off the plane."

Now entering the UFC Octagon ... Mark Zuckerberg?!? Don't laugh -- the Meta billionaire just revealed he still fully intends on taking a professional MMA fight!!

Zuck doubled down on the plan during his sit-down on Joe Rogan's podcast this week ... and brutal ACL injury be damned, he hasn't given up on showing the world he can kick serious ass.

The Facebook founder -- who's usually a jiu-jitsu guy -- explained he's warmed up to the idea of branching out to different combat styles in MMA ... especially with all the strain on joints that comes with grappling.

Dana White can add another title to his resume -- the UFC honcho is joining Mark Zuckerberg on the Meta Board of Directors!!

White announced the news on Monday ... saying being on boards has never been his cup of tea, that is until Zuck came calling.

The 55-year-old explained his love for social media, artificial intelligence and the importance it has on the future is what drew him to this opportunity ... and he's stoked to get to work.

Conor McGregor's Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship partner is sticking by his side following his civil case ... saying he will continue to work with the former UFC champ through thick and thin.

David Feldman -- founder of BKFC -- shared his reaction to McGregor's November court loss in an interview with MMA Fighting ... electing not to get into the details of the case, but making it crystal clear the results will not affect their business.

"We don't want to go into what happened but at the end of the day, we’re with him,” Feldman said.

Conor McGregor's return to the UFC Octagon has been put on the backburner ... as the combat sports legend says he's got some other business to handle first -- a boxing exhibition with Logan Paul.

Notorious dropped the bombshell news early Tuesday morning ... denying rumors he's slated to take on featherweight champion Ilia Topuria in Dana White's organization.

Instead, he says he's got his sights set on the WWE Superstar ... and it sounds like they're far along in negotiations, as McGregor claimed he's in "preliminary agreements" with the extremely wealthy Ambani family to take a boxing match with the Maverick in India.

Conor McGregor and Dee Devlin put on a united front during a night on the town ... with the UFC superstar's partner sharing snaps from a romantic date just a few weeks after the conclusion of his civil case.

The longtime couple looked inseparable in the pictures Devlin posted of the outing -- they were cozied up, holding hands and laughing at what appeared to be a dinner.

Devlin had an all-denim look for the night ... while McGregor elected for a matching green short-sleeve button-down and pants.

Colby Covington twice fought for the UFC's welterweight title ... and now the 6th ranked 170 pounder, inspired by the soon-to-be 47th President of the United States, tells TMZ Sports the comeback is on!

"I'm super excited," Covington told us, adding ... "I've been hearing some of the chatter, people saying that 'Chaos' is dead. They have no idea what's coming on Saturday night. I'm going to put the best performance in my career."

"I'm super inspired by Donald Trump taking back the White House and his work ethic. I mean, he's in three different states a day. Guy doesn't sleep. So Saturday night, I'm going to make the UFC 'Great Again.' And January 20th, when Donald Trump gets inaugurated, he's going to make America great again."

Former MMA fighter Vinny Magalhaes was arrested in Las Vegas recently ... after he allegedly pulled out a gun on his own family, TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us officers were called to a private residence regarding a domestic violence issue around 7 PM last week.

After cops arrived, they spoke to folks at the scene ... who alleged Magalhaes threatened family members and pointed a weapon at them. As far as we know, no injuries were reported.

Paige VanZant's certainly on the naughty list this year ... dressing up as sexy Santa Claus alongside several other models -- with just the tiniest bikinis covering their bodies.

The OnlyFans star shared several photos ... red holiday hats and lipstick matching their bikinis as they pose by the pool.

The group of ladies spread some holiday cheer while laying out spread-eagle on several beach chairs posing seductively.

Former UFC star Nate Diaz has been charged with battery ... after he was accused of striking a Las Vegas nightclub employee in the face during an altercation earlier this year.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, the alleged incident took place back on Aug. 25 -- just after midnight -- while Diaz and some of his acquaintances were trying to get into the Omnia at Caesars Palace.

Cops say in the docs witnesses told them that Diaz and his crew were holding up the cashier line ... and when an Omnia guard came to try to see if there was an issue -- Diaz got physical with him.

Ian Machado Garry had Shavkat Rakhmonov on his mind before he ever signed on to fight the undefeated contender ... telling TMZ Sports he told the UFC he wanted to serve as backup for the UFC 310 main event before Belal Muhammad pulled out with an injury.

TMZ Sports talked to the No. 7-ranked, 15-0 fighter just days before his title eliminator vs. 18-0 Shavkat, the No. 3-ranked challenger.

"For me, it wasn't a hard decision whatsoever. I had told UFC six weeks prior that I would be willing to be the backup for the world title fight," Garry said, explaining people were turning him down, and he just wanted a fight.