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Julianna Peña is less than a week away from the biggest fight of her life against Amanda Nunes ... and the "Venezuelan Vixen" has a message for the doubters, telling TMZ Sports she isn't satisfied just being here -- she's gunning to win.

"I feel like a lot of people are sleeping on me and they think I'm a sacrificial lamp but I definitely think that, you know, I know that I'm definitely not a sacrificial lamb and everyone loves an underdog," Peña told us.

32-year-old Peña is the #3 ranked bantamweight in the UFC -- and has been all but demanding a title shot with the 33-year-old champ, Nunes -- because she truly believes she will get the W when they fight at UFC 269.

"I'm ready. I am in the zone. I have never felt more physically or mentally prepared in my life and it's my time. It just feels so great to know that I have literally left no stone unturned. I'm ready to go. I'm in the zone!"

Peña's been with the UFC since 2013 ... and has a professional record of 10-4. She's beaten some badass women like Jessica Eye and Cat Zingano.

Despite the impressive resume, Julianna's a big underdog against Amanda. In fact, bettors have to wager about $900 just to win $100 on Nunes.

And, it's not just the oddsmakers who doubt Peña can win ... 'cause Julianna told us she feels Amanda isn't taking her seriously.

"[Nunes] called me delusional. She said that I'm reckless. I don't think that she's taking me seriously at all and you know, that's fine."

DaBaby is putting his Sin City battery case behind him -- we've learned the charges against him have been dismissed.

According to online court records, the misdemeanor battery charge was dismissed with prejudice ... meaning the case is over and done, and can't be refiled.

The Clark County District Attorney's Office tells TMZ ... the charges were dismissed because DaBaby satisfied everything prosecutors asked him to do in order to resolve the case, including paying the alleged victim $7,500 and staying out of trouble.

TMZ broke the story ... a driver in Las Vegas came forward with allegations against DaBaby back in February, claiming the rapper attacked him during a ride in November 2020. DaBaby's camp described the allegations at the time as a "money grab."

DaBaby's attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, tell TMZ ... the rapper denied the allegations and was prepared to fight the case in court.

Minnesota model and actress Gena Lee Nolin was only 24 years old when she slipped into the iconic red swimsuit and slow-mo jogged along the silver shores of Los Angeles as Neely Capshaw -- who went against the normal flow of the life-saving cast -- on the babe-filled '90s drama "Baywatch."

GLN shared the small screen with an awesome squad of lifeguards including Pamela Anderson as the Malibu archetype, C.J. Parker ... and of course David Hasselhoff as the fuzzy frontman of the beach brigade, Mitch Buchannon.

Gena also got in the Holiday spirit back in 2001 by posing in the Christmas edition of Playboy.

President Biden resumed what had been paused for a good while in D.C. -- namely, POTUS being in attendance for the Kennedy Center Honors ... and hosting them afterward.

JB held a reception Sunday at the White House, with this year's recipients of the lifetime achievement award being in attendance, front and center. Among those who were honored -- Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler, Berry Gordy, Justino Diaz and Joni Mitchell.

There were a lot of other high profile people on hand as well -- including First Lady Jill Biden, VP Kamala Harris, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Steve Martin, David Letterman and others.

Biden -- who was suited and booted in a tux, delivered some remarks -- highlighting each person's contribution via their art -- going down the list one by one and singing their praises. He also shouted the late Stephen Sondheim, who recently passed away.

Each honoree showed off their rainbow-colored ribbons that were placed around their necks, and they each stood when called upon. The whole reception lasted a little less than half an hour -- but even so, it meant a lot to folks who hadn't seen this since 2016.

President Trump snubbed the ceremony for the first three years in office -- and never hosted any of the recipients after threats of a boycott came down in 2017, his first year in office

The fallout from the Oxford High School shooting was at the forefront of the Detroit Lions' collective minds Sunday -- which made for an emotional moment after their big win.

The Lions won their first game of the season on Sunday in a thriller of a match against the Minnesota Vikings. Prior to this, their record was 0-10-1, meaning they hadn't won a single game all season.

Turns out, their victory meant more than just what appeared on paper ... and the team's QB, Jared Goff, made that clear in the post-game interview  -- making sure to point out that the game was dedicated to those affected by the deadly tragedy ... which claimed 4 lives.

Check it out ... he gets pretty emotional talking about what happened this week, saying sometimes certain moments are bigger than just sports ... and this was one of them.

The Lions coach, Dan Campbell, echoed that with his own remarks ... bestowing the game ball to the township of Oxford, and reading off the names of the deceased, among others.

It is now clear what forced CNN's hand in firing Chris Cuomo -- the guy was accused of sexual misconduct this week ... this is as he was already on thin ice.

Attorney Debra S. Katz came forward Sunday to reveal she'd been retained by a woman who wanted to go public with an allegation against the ex-anchor ... something she was apparently inspired to do after hearing about his involvement in his brother's own scandal.

She says while Gov. Cuomo's mess played out in public, Chris came on the air for his own show and said, "I have always cared very deeply about these issues and profoundly so. I just wanted to tell you that." Katz adds, "Hearing the hypocrisy of Chris Cuomo’s on-air words and disgusted by his efforts to try to discredit these women, my client retained counsel to report his serious sexual misconduct against her to CNN."

According to NYT, the woman -- who is remaining anonymous for now -- is a former junior colleague of Chris' from another network, and her claims are unrelated to Gov. Cuomo.

Katz goes on to describe how she contacted CNN on Wednesday -- a day after he'd been suspended -- to report her client's allegations against Chris ... and by Friday, she says she was already in discussions with the network to provide evidence and making the woman available for an interview with CNN's outside counsel.

She finishes by saying, "My client came forward at this time because she felt in sharing her story and related documentation, she could help protect other women. She will continue to cooperate with CNN’s investigation into her allegations. Given the nature of her allegations, she wishes to remain anonymous, and we ask that you respect this decision."

The calls for Justin Bieber to scrap his Saudi Arabia performance appear to have fallen on deaf ears -- because the guy just went through with it ... this despite mounting criticism.

Bieber just hit the stage Sunday all the way over at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in SA, where the F1 Grand Prix is taking place ... and where he was scheduled to headline among a slate of other performers, with his name by far being the biggest.

JB seemed pretty pumped for the performance ... with videos of him backstage surfacing online. Looks like he was shaking off some pre-show jitters, as you can hear the roar of the crowd just beyond the curtain.

Eventually, he made his way out to adoring fans, pointing at them for the grand entrance ... with at least one cameraman in tow. He was rocking a red outfit, apparently a jersey of some sort.

After that, he ran through a number of his songs ... including "Deserve You," "Somebody," "Hold On" and more. Unclear how long his set ran -- but it's pretty obvious the spectators were satisfied with the performance ... as Bieber seemed to give it everything he had.

BTW, he doesn't appear to have taken this long trip solo -- there's video of him and his wife, Hailey, moseying around on Saturday ... a day before showtime. Hailey was masked up and wearing a hat, seemingly trying to go incognito ... while JB just bared his face in full.

Of course, Justin's decision to carry on with the gig is disheartening to many -- especially those who were actively campaigning for him to nix the whole thing altogether ... including the widowed fiancee of one Jamal Khashoggi, who wrote an open letter for him to reconsider.

Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott are, indeed, legitimate love birds -- something that's called into question via a leaked magazine story, which suggests the exact opposite.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... KJ and TS are 100% together at the moment -- meaning they're romantically involved and, presumably, exclusive too. Not just that, but we're told they were a full-blown couple when this whole profile was coming together for W Mag.

The article/accompanying shoot seems to have been whipped up in early November.

Their relationship, as described to us now, is characterized quite differently in the latest issue of W -- for which Kylie and Travis were supposed to share the cover in a big feature story and photo spread ... but was scrapped in the wake of the Astroworld Fest tragedy.

W Mag scrambled to yank hard copy issues that had been mailed out -- but, clearly, some of them made their way to people's homes. TMZ obtained a copy, including the content inside -- and the author claims Kylie and Travis aren't actually together as a traditional couple.

The author writes, "Travis and Kylie seemed very comfortable under the sheets, but even though they will soon have two children together -- their daughter, Stormi, is 3 -- they are not a couple, and haven't been in two years. They're the modern family!"

W goes on to say Kylie seems to be following in the footsteps of her sisters, some of whom had kids with men ... without necessarily ever marrying them.

Like we said, the way W chronicles their relationship is pure speculation -- per our sources -- and you can tell as much because neither Kylie nor Travis is ever quoted directly about defining it or framing it. The writer just states it as fact, which is incorrect.

Farrah Abraham's return to the 'Teen Mom' franchise promises to be nothing short of dramatic and, apparently, punchy too ... so says the OG herself.

We got FA in L.A. talking about the new spinoff she's part of, "Teen Mom: Family Reunion" which is set to premiere next month. Sounds like the time she spent filming with much of her old costars was a bit of a mixed bag -- based on what she's telling us here, anyway.

Check it out ... Farrah tells us getting back into the 'Teen Mom' world was a bit surreal, because she thinks a lot of the folks who are still partaking are remnants of the past -- something she was trying to propel forward with her appearance.

Doesn't sound like that push to embrace growing pains was met with open arms because she tells us things actually got physical at one point ... with multiple ladies.

It may have made for good TV in the moment, but Farrah tells us she didn't appreciate the squabble in hindsight, due to COVID ... and, y'know, generally not wanting to throw hands unnecessarily.

Bob Dole -- one of the most enduring U.S. political figures -- has died, 10 months after revealing he was battling lung cancer.

The Republican stalwart from Kansas passed in his sleep early Sunday morning, according to his wife, Elizabeth Dole. Her foundation released a statement on his death, highlighting his 79 years of political service.

Dole was not only a U.S. Senator from Kansas, but also a decorated Army veteran, a U.S. Representative and a candidate for Vice President, and later, President.

In February, Dole announced he'd been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. He said, “While I certainly have some hurdles ahead, I also know that I join millions of Americans who face significant health challenges of their own.”

Dole enlisted in the Army in 1942 to serve in World War II. It was during a battle in Italy that he was severely injured under enemy fire -- his right arm, collarbone and spine were all damaged, and he was eventually transferred to a hospital back in Kansas.

Although he beat the odds to survive a long list of injuries, Dole never regained full mobility of his right arm and suffered numbness in his left. He earned 2 Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for his service.

He won his first national political election in 1951 when he ran for the House of Representatives -- and became a U.S. Senator in 1969. He would remain in the Senate until 1996 when he resigned.

Dole ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1980 and 1988, losing to Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

It might seem shocking in today's era of bitter bipartisanship, but after the Republican icon retired ... President Bill Clinton presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Cardi B partied at the Maxim Saturday night in Miami at Art Basel.

She started her night pouring Whipshots at the Good Time Hotel then hit up the SLS hotel in Miami Beach for the Maxim Art Basel Party. She showed off some serious Cardi moves ... as the crowd clapped and cheered.

She made the rounds ... several parties in town were rocked by CB. And here's the thing ... unlike so many celebs who tend to just hang with each other, Cardi loves interacting with everyone ... you see from the video, she just loves the company of everyone. A refreshing change.

At the Maxim party, she was there with Offset, just kinda hangin' with him and drinking Dano's Tequila. Teyana Taylor and Karrueche Tran were also there. Best part is when Cardi and Offset leave ... she just started busting a move as she headed for their car.

There is also a video of Cardi and Offset arriving at a club in Miami and Cardi appearing to tell the bouncers to let the black women in.

Cardi's has a big week ... Playboy just announced she'll be its first Creative Director in Residence ... which she calls "a dream come true."

Billie Eilish knows this lesson all too well ... you want to make your fans happy, but there's a line they can't cross.

Billie arrived at JFK Airport in New York Saturday, and some overzealous fans got way too close and frenetic. Her 2 bodyguards had to stave them away ... as the singer traversed her way through the terminal.

Billy's only 19, so the drill isn't old hat ... it's really a dance. When do the bodyguards step in and when do they leave fans to interact?

There were other forms of protection as well, in the form of face masks ... something folks are required to wear in airports ... btw, with the new variant, masks aren't going away any time soon.

Billie's definitely got protection issues ... she's gone to court for a protective order against a man she claims has been harassing her and is potentially dangerous. She claims the guy has been lurking at her L.A. home and bombarding her with threatening letters.

According to the docs, Billie says she got a note from the man saying ... "You can't get what you want, unless what you want is to die for me ... You will know that soon the water will rise, and you might very well die ... You will die."

Scott Disick knows how to get over the Kourtney Kardashian/Travis Barker engagement and the Amelia Hamlin breakup ... and he executed his plan brilliantly Saturday night in Miami.

Scott partied with a very attractive woman at Alec Monopoly's Art Basel party. We don't know who she is or whether this was fleeting flirting or something more ... but he sure seems back in the game.

The Lord's had a rough time this year ... first, watching the mother of his children strike up a relationship with Travis which blossomed into an engagement. He was dragged for grousing to Kourtney's ex, Younes Bendjima, that it was unseemly for Kourtney and Travis to show PDA. Younes schooled him for sure.

And then there's Amelia ... Scott claimed he broke up with her, but evidence points to the contrary.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez did a little blending Saturday ... as the love train chugged through Westwood.

Ben and Jen hit up the Regency Theater with his daughter, Seraphina, and her twins, Emme and Sam.

They took in a showing of "Licorice Pizza" and looked like a fam out for a day of fun.

They got celeb treatment for sure ... an attendant was right there to escort them in through a side door and warn them all to step away from some puddles.

The kids have been seen more and more with J Lo and Ben ... over Thanksgiving, they were all involved in a food drive in L.A. ... loading and unloading sacks of food. The event was part of Rise Against Hunger ... a problem that has reached crisis proportions in L.A. and many other cities.