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Jake Paul has locked in his next boxing opponent -- and it's UFC star Ben Askren!!!

36-year-old Askren has been a pro MMA fighter since 2009 with 19 wins in 22 fights ... including a victory over legendary tough guy Robbie Lawler at UFC 235 in 2019. He became welterweight champ in both Bellator and the ONE Championship organization before joining UFC.

But, Askren is known for his dominating wrestling skills -- not his stand-up striking game ... which is what makes this matchup interesting.

And yes, Askren also holds the record as the person who was knocked out the fastest in UFC history -- when Jorge Masvidal took him out with a flying knee in 5 seconds in 2019.

24-year-old Paul only has 2 pro boxing matches under his belt -- but both of his opponents were far from pro fighters. He famously beat up YouTuber AnEsonGib back in 2019 -- and then STARCHED ex-NBA star Nate Robinson in July 2020.

Paul has been calling for tougher opponents -- and now, Askren has answered the call ... with the two sides agreeing to throw down in an 8-round pro boxing match on April 17, according to ESPN.

Just like the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr event, the fight will be presented by Triller (under the Triller Fight Club brand) and will be available on Pay-Per-View. The location of the fight has not been finalized yet.

"I know Jake Paul is enjoying pretending he is a fighter," Askren told ESPN ... "I think on April 17 he is going to have a rude awakening to what being a fighter is really like."

"Jake has led a privileged life and doesn't really know what the meaning of being a fighter is. I'm going to put his dreams to an end."

Jake Paul also weighed in ... saying, "Ben Askren is a two-time NCAA champion, a world champion in two different global mixed martial arts organizations and has less losses on his record than Conor McGregor."

"Me, on the other hand, I started boxing two years ago and I'm still going to knock his ass out faster than Masvidal."

"These MMA guys think because they throw punches they know how to box. The world complained because I knocked out a basketball player and not a real fighter. So now I'm giving the people what they want by taking on a 'real fighter.' After Ben Askren is added to my knockout meme collection, what can anybody say?"

"Thank you to Triller Fight Club for giving me the platform to once again put a man to sleep. April 17, it's lights out for Askren."

Triller has not released the full fight card but says there will be legit boxing stars fighting that night. The official card is expected to be released sometime in the next few weeks.

Child star JoJo Siwa just confirmed she's part of the LGBTQ+ community -- but isn't quite ready to label herself with a letter just yet.

The former 'Dance Moms' star published a lengthy video Saturday, which pretty much hit the point home that she had, in fact, come out after much speculation these past few days. She says she's gotten tons of support, and has never been happier in her life to be her true self.

At one point, one of JoJo's fans asks how she identifies in terms of sexual orientation ... and she says she doesn't know yet. That's interesting to note, because everyone assumed she'd come out as gay ... mostly due to her own wardrobe, which literally had the word printed on.

JoJo showed off a shirt she received the other day, which reads ... BEST. GAY. COUSIN. EVER. Many took that as signaling, not to mention her lip-syncing to Gaga's "Born This Way."

It's a big deal, BTW. JoJo -- who's 17 years old -- has a massive audience with kids, so this is gonna reach them in some shape or form. Many think it'll help children be more comfortable with owning their sexuality, since one of their on-screen heroes now has.

"This is gonna be such a one-sided ridiculous ass-whoopin', it's not even gonna be funny."

That's Dana White pulling no punches on the upcoming Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul fight ... warning to the YouTube star straight-up, YOU'RE GOING TO GET HURT.

"It's gonna be bad," White explained ... "I'm open for -- and I don't dislike any one of these kids ... but if Floyd Mayweather really shows up and goes in and fights this kid, it's gonna be an ass-whoopin' like nobody has ever seen before."

25-year-old Logan is set to fight 43-year-old Floyd on Feb. 20th in an exhibition Pay-Per-View.

Remember, Floyd is 50-0 with wins over all-time greats like Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez.

Logan is 0-1 as a pro, after losing a split-decision fight to YouTube star KSI, back in 2019.

Logan has a clear size advantage over Mayweather -- Floyd is 5'8" and last fought at 150 pounds. Logan is 6'2", 200 pounds.

But, Dana says size won't matter once they step inside the ring.

"Logan's gonna find out what speed is. Speed is power! When you get hit with sh*t that you don't see coming and when a guy like Floyd Mayweather starts putting it on you -- it's not even gonna be a fight. It's gonna be ridiculous! It's gonna be the worst ass whoopin' you've ever seen."

Conor McGregor is finally acknowledging Jake Paul's existence ... calling the YouTube-turned-fighter a "confused little kid" ... but definitely not shutting the door on a potential fight!!

Jake has been on an all-out blitz to get 'Notorious' to be his next boxing opponent in recent months ... even offering the UFC superstar $50 MILLION to make it happen.

Now, Conor is giving his response to the challenge ... and while it may initially be a huge bummer for the 24-year-old, the dream is most definitely still alive.

"That is what it is," Conor told BT Sports on Wednesday. "We'll see what happens. That's it. He seems like a confused little kid to me, to be honest."

Conor gives Jake credit for his willingness to get in the ring ... but ultimately, it sounds like Paul will be fighting someone else come April 17.

"It's not on the radar at the minute with the young lad," Conor added.

FYI -- McGregor was briefly asked about Jake's fight against Nate Robinson earlier this week and praised the money the event made. But this appears to be his first direct response to Paul's challenge for a fight.

While he may not want to fight Jake, Conor does, however, acknowledge Jake's MAJOR beef with teammate Dillon Danis ... so there's a possibility that fight may eventually happen down the road.

McGregor admits he's looking forward to checking out Jake's bro, Logan, fight Floyd Mayweather next month ... saying TBE looks a bit "fat."

Jake Paul is making good on his promise to move out of Los Angeles to focus on boxing ... he just put his Calabasas crib up for sale.

Real estate sources tell TMZ ... Jake wants $7 mil for his 3.5-acre estate, which gets you 8 bedrooms and 15,045 square feet.

The mansion is decked out with a three-story entryway and spiral staircase ... plus an office, theater, wet bar and gym.

Of course, there's the obligatory Cali pool and spa with some pretty cool accents ... 2 waterfalls, a grilling area and patios with sweeping views of the canyon.

So, what to do if you want to replicate Aaron Spelling's mega-mansion but only have 15,000 feet of living space? Well, there's enough land to build a second, massive structure. And, there will be plenty of room to park ... the driveway can handle 20 cars.

As we reported ... the YouTube star and undefeated boxer announced last month he was fleeing the distractions of L.A. to focus on becoming a boxing champ. Jake's eying Miami for the move ... it's a good town for boxers.

Jake's former neighbors will be looking forward to a new occupant ... he was pretty famous for pissing off folks with his wild parties and YouTube shoots.

TMZ broke the story ... the property was the scene of an FBI raid last year, when agents in armored trucks stormed in with a search warrant and ended up seizing some weapons. It's unclear what's come of that.

"Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles" stars Josh and Matt Altman have the listing ... they repped Jake back in 2017 when he bought the property.

"Ink Master" star Daniel Silva has responded to Corey La Barrie's wrongful death lawsuit ... claiming Corey's death was partly his own doing.

Daniel filed legal docs responding to claims from the YouTuber's parents -- Simon La Barrie and Lissa Burton. The docs say the car crash that led to Corey's death was due to his own negligence, and he assumed the risk of death when he jumped into Daniel's car that fateful night back in May.

TMZ broke the story ... Corey's parents believe Daniel and his company, Daniel Silva Tattoos, were negligent in the moments leading up to Corey's death on his 25th birthday. Daniel wrecked a black McLaren sports car after leaving a party with Corey.

Corey's parents say excessive speed caused the crash ... and Daniel was the one with his foot on the pedal.

The parents also claim Daniel was under the influence ... something a source close to Daniel disputes.

As we first reported ... Daniel was arrested and later charged with murder ... with the L.A. County D.A.'s Office saying Daniel acted with malice the night of the crash.

Daniel pled no contest to vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. He was sentenced to 4 years in state prison, but that sentence was suspended. Instead, he got 365 days in county jail. He also got 5 years probation and 250 hours of community service.

Logan Paul's reckless filming of a dead body hanging in a Japanese forest torpedoed a movie he was signed on to star in, and it cost the production company millions ... this according to a new lawsuit.

Planeless Pictures just filed suit against the YouTuber, claiming they inked a deal with him in 2016 to make a movie -- starring Logan as a fictionalized version of himself -- called "Airplane Mode," which was supposed to be a spoof on modern-day trend-setters, like the Paul brothers and other social media folks.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Planeless claims they were all set to have Logan star in, write and help produce the flick, and he'd agreed to help get other influencers on board as well, including Jake Paul, Juanpa Zurita, Nick Bateman, Amanda Cerny and others. The idea was that they'd distribute it through YouTube and other social media platforms -- via said influencers' pages -- in a new, revolutionary way to market and monetize the film.

Planeless even says Google inked a $3 million licensing deal with them for the movie -- but they claim it all came crashing down when Logan foolishly filmed himself in Aokigahara, Japan (otherwise known as the "suicide forest"), where he documented the hanging death of a man up close. You know what happened after that on his end, but according to Planeless' claim, they say his boneheaded move completely destroyed the movie deal.

Jake Paul says his $50 MILLION fight offer to Conor McGregor is "real as f*ck" -- and he's got the "proof of funds" email from the bank to prove it.

Paul says he's backed by bona fide commercial real estate billionaires -- and he's got an email from a Senior VP at Signature Bank in NY which shows the benefactors' money is legit and ready to be deployed.

The problem ... Jake says Conor has been radio silent since he made the fight offer.

"We're talking to his team," Paul said ... "[Conor] looked at my DM on Instagram. But, we're talking to his team."

Paul continued, "When we sent them the proof of funds they like put their tail between their ass … they’re like. 'This little crazy kid ain't playing.'"

Remember, Paul initially called out Conor after knocking out ex-NBA star Nate Robinson on the undercard of the Mike Tyson fight.

Since then, Jake's brother, Logan Paul, has secured an exhibition boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.

Canelo Alvarez is clearly NOT amused by Jake and Logan Paul -- saying their foray into boxing is all about money, not glory ... and it's disrespecting the sport.

Logan Paul is set to take on Floyd Mayweather -- the only man to have ever defeated Canelo -- in an exhibition match in February.

So, we asked Canelo how he felt about the event -- considering he's been calling for a rematch with Floyd for years.

Shocker, Canelo ain't thrilled about it ...

"Ya know, it’s all about the money," Canelo told us through a translator ... "I don’t think we would agree that people that are basketball players, that are YouTubers get licenses. Ya know, I don’t criticize [the Paul brothers]. This is a very risky sport, and if you go up there, it’s very risky."

With Logan's brother Jake calling out top fighters for a high-profile boxing match -- we asked Canelo if he would be down for a quick payday.

"No," Canelo said matter of factly ... "I truly believe that it’s a lack of respect. It’s all based on money. It’s all for money. I’m focused right now on other projects."

"I have other stuff going on, and I would invite him for a sparring session so that he truly knows what it’s all about."

When asked if he felt the Paul brothers were disrespecting the sport -- Canelo summed up his feelings this way: "For true fighters, I do believe it is a lack of respect."

Canelo has achieved both fortune and fame from boxing -- not only is he one of the highest paid athletes in the world, he's also shared the ring with top level opponents.

Jake Paul's after-party following his knockout of Nate Robinson had a beat-down of it's own ... at least according to a new lawsuit.

The YouTube star and undefeated boxer is being sued by a man who claims he got the crap beaten out of him at Jake's post-fight bash. According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Gabriel Dos Santos claims Jake's crew beat the snot out of him while kicking people out of the party.

In the suit, filed by attorney Simon P. Etehad, Dos Santos claims Jake's crew repeatedly kicked and punched him in the face, body, arms and legs ... and he claims the violent attack left him bruised and battered.

According to the docs, Dos Santos claims he suffered a fractured cheek, dislocated shoulder, cuts to his face and bruises to his forehead and eyes.

Jake's not being accused of throwing any punches, but Dos Santos claims Jake's still on the hook for negligently hiring and supervising of the guys who allegedly beat him up.

JoJo Siwa made a holiday wish come true for a very special little fan ... and Santa Claus couldn't help but pop in to spread even more cheer.

The YouTube star teamed up with Make-A-Wish and Macy's for a virtual hangout with 5-year-old Ainarah from Virginia, who has a neuromuscular disorder. Ainarah’s wish was to chat with JoJo, but the singer did her one better -- they're now forever linked as friends with matching bracelets.

We're told the adorable little girl and JoJo also chatted about music, fashion and what they want for Christmas ... before the big guy from the North Pole dropped in.

"[Conor McGregor] is one of the greatest fighters on Earth right now. He shouldn't be fighting kids that have f**king YouTube videos."

That's Dana White stomping all over Jake Paul's dream of fighting Conor McGregor -- telling TMZ Sports there's a "zero percent" chance that fight ever happens.

Remember, Jake Paul called out Conor McGregor after knocking  Nate Robinson out cold in the 2nd round of their Nov. 28 boxing match.

Jake later told TMZ Sports his team reached out to Conor's manager to begin talks about a possible fight -- and added, "I'm going in there to f**k Conor McGregor up."

And, with Jake's big bro, Logan Paul, scoring a boxing exhibition with Floyd Mayweather, seems anything's possible these days.

While Dana says he applauds both Paul bros for "injecting themselves into the fight world" ... he makes it pretty clear when it comes to fighting skill, they're not even on the same planet as Conor and Floyd.

"There's a market for these kinda fights. It's just not what I do," White says.

"There will be a day when Conor McGregor could do these types of fights and make a bunch of money," White adds ... but it ain't happening any time soon.

We told you it was close ... and now it's official -- Floyd Mayweather is fighting Logan Paul.

Here's what you need to know ... it's an exhibition boxing match set for Feb. 20, and it's available on Pay-Per-View on Fanmio.

(An "exhibition" means the fight will NOT count on either fighter's professional records)

Floyd is 43-years-old and boasts a legendary 50-0 record as a pro, with wins over all-time greats like Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez.

Logan is 25-years-old and 0-1 as a pro, after losing a split-decision fight to YouTube star, KSI, back in 2019.

Floyd is 5'8" and last fought at 150 pounds. Logan is 6'2", 200 pounds.

Fanmio -- a site where fans can pay for custom videos from celebs -- says the PPV price is $24.99 right now ... but that number will go up at various benchmarks, until Feb. 11, when the price locks in at $69.99.

As we previously reported, Logan's team went to Floyd's camp with an offer for a boxing match earlier this year ... but it wasn't an easy process to get Mayweather to sign the dotted line.

Logan launched a public campaign trashing Floyd everywhere -- and saying he would beat TBE's ass any time, any place ... and finally, Floyd decided to put pen to paper.

Floyd responded to Logan on social media in November -- saying, "These YouTube girls better find some Barbie dolls to play with cause I’m not the one for the kid games. 3 years ago a fighter from the UFC said my name and I had to put a muzzle on that bitch. @loganpaul can get the same treatment before I go conquer Japan again."

Logan's only professional fight was against his YouTube rival, KSI, back in Nov. 2019 -- a 6-round fight Paul lost via split decision.

But, the takeaway from that fight was that Logan can scrap -- and the impressive PPV numbers proved he can draw an audience.

Floyd, a master promoter, knows a good thing when he sees it ... he clearly thinks he'll make a ton of money with little-to-no risk.

Remember what Floyd did to Conor McGregor when they fought back 2017?!?!? He dominated the UFC champ while taking a $300 to $400 million payday!!

No word how much each fighter stands to make this time around ... but Floyd wouldn't even consider taking this on if it wasn't a HUGE number.

"I, Claressa Shields, will whoop Jake Paul's ass! He can come in the ring weighing 180 pounds and I will come weighing 168 and I will beat the s**t out of him!"

Yup, that's one of the greatest female boxers ever ... telling TMZ Sports she's ready to humble the YouTube superstar and show him what it's like to go up against a REAL fighter!!

We spoke with the champ about the recent Paul and Nate Robinson fight ... and she says they made a "mockery" of the sport because there are actual boxers who should have gotten the chance to fight under a Tyson and Jones Jr. card instead of social media stars and NBA players.

The 25-year-old says it's smart for Jake to keep calling out non-pro boxers ... but guarantees the dude would get exposed against a real fighter.

"Jake Paul is making his money, he's doing his thing, but stay away from us real fighters," Shields says.

"And anybody out there that say 'Oh, Jake Paul will destroy her because she's a woman', ... I'm the greatest woman! So, no, Jake Paul won't do nothing with me and if he think he can, he can come see me."

Shields says she's not talkin' sparring, either -- she would take Paul on in a real fight ... and donate her earnings to the water crisis in her hometown of Flint, Michigan.

As for what the boxing world would think of the potential matchup, Shields thinks people would still take Paul just because he's a dude.

"I've been boxing for 14 years, 2 Olympics but they would still give Jake Paul the nod because he's a man. And it's like, you guys don't know nothing!"

FaZe Jarvis has transformed into FaZe Santa for the holidays ... 'cause the gaming star just donated more than $5,000 in gifts to a family in need!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the 19-year-old was feeling extra grateful this year, so he decided to give back in an impactful way.

We're told Jarvis teamed up with the Los Angeles Mission to surprise a family with presents (TV, DVD player, movies, card games, etc.), gift cards and other donations to help them spread the holiday cheer with their loved ones.

On top of that, Jarvis took the time to video chat with one of his biggest fans.

It's been a good year for Jarvis -- not only is he one of the biggest stars on the sticks, he's also gained nearly 2 MILLION subscribers on YouTube in 2020.

Sure seems like the dude's gonna end up on the "Nice" list ... unlike last year!!! (We kid, we kid).

"If you want to get some legitimacy in the game, fight somebody with a name!"

That's former boxing superstar Antonio Tarver -- who famously defeated Roy Jones Jr. TWICE -- calling out Jake Paul for a sanctioned fight!

"I want to fight him, because I want to show him there are levels to this," Tarver tells TMZ Sports.

FYI, Tarver is 52 years old and hasn't fought in 5 years. Jake is 23 and coming off a highlight-reel knockout of Nate Robinson.

Antonio -- who famously starred as Mason "The Line" Dixon in "Rocky Balboa" -- says he was VERY impressed with Jake's performance and thinks a fight with Paul would be super entertaining and a lot closer than most people think.

"When you look at Jake Paul's ability, you would be crazy not to believe he's much better than his 2-0 record indicates," Tarver says.

Paul has been calling for fights with guys like Conor McGregor and Dillon Danis ... but Tarver says if he's serious about a career in boxing, he needs to fight a BOXER.