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Bad news for Conor McGregor ... Justin Gaethje will NOT agree to fight the Irishman before he gets his title shot with Khabib Nurmagomedov, this according to Justin's manager.

Conor has been trying to bait Gaethje into a big-time showdown on Fight Island in July -- calling out Justin on social media and threatening to kill him.

But, we spoke with Gaethje's rep, Ali Abdelaziz, who tells us the trash talk strategy just won't work -- Justin's already focusing on fighting Khabib next ... and there's absolutely NO SHOT at changing his mind.

"Khabib will never -- NEVER -- pass Justin Gaethje for Conor. Even if he made more money," Ali says.

"Justin Gaethje has so much integrity, he will never tell the UFC, 'Oh, I'm gonna fight Conor, forget about Khabib.' [Justin] wants to be a champion."

What's interesting ... Ali also represents Khabib -- so it's an easy fight for everyone (including the UFC) to make once the contracts are drawn up.

Plus, with UFC president Dana White recently saying he'd like to see Justin take on Khabib on Fight Island in June, it all but sinks Conor's plans.

Ali also tells TMZ Sports ... Khabib also has ZERO interest in fighting Conor because he feels McGregor has not earned the opportunity for a rematch.

"If [Conor] thinks he's gonna sit out and fight the winner [of Gaethje vs. Khabib] ... NO."

"Especially, if Khabib wins. Khabib said no. [Conor] needs more wins."

Ali added, "The UFC is not boxing. The best will fight the best and at this point [Justin and Khabib are] the two best guys."

That doesn't mean Justin isn't down to fight Conor down the road ... but for right now, he's got his eyes on the prize.

There's more ... we also asked Ali about Tony Ferguson -- who's beefed with "El Cucuy" over the years -- and Gaethje's manager says it's time for Ferguson to stop fighting.

"I believe, no disrespect to nobody, when you take this ass whooping that Tony Ferguson took, he's never gonna be the same."

Abdelaziz says Tony has a wife and kids ... and needs to stay healthy for them.

"This guy has a family. I don't want to see him drinking soup from a straw."

"If he was my guy, I'd be like, 'Yo, you gotta retire.'"

Brooklyn based actress Lisa Nicole Carson gained fame in the late '90s after she landed the role of the best friend and roomie Renee Raddick on the long-running legal drama "Ally McBeal."

Lisa Nicole Carson was cast alongside some pretty stellar actors including Jane Krakowski as the spunky Elaine Vassal, Portia de Rossi as the legal-eagle, Nelle Porter, Lucy Liu as the judge Ling Woo, Vonda Shepard on the piano ... and of course Calista Flockhart as the title role, Ally McBeal.

Carson is also known for her role as Carla Reese on the hospital drama "ER."

Melissa Etheridge is grieving after announcing her son, Beckett Cypher, has died.

The Oscar and Grammy-winning rock star announced Wednesday her son with filmmaker Julie Cypher died. Melissa's team tweeted, "We’re sad to inform you that Melissa’s son Beckett passed away and there will not be a Concerts From Home show today. -- #TeamME."

Melissa had been performing Facebook Live concerts and offering virtual guitar lessons for just $10 during this pandemic quarantine. It's unclear at this time what led to Beckett's death.

Julie and Melissa had to 2 children via artificial insemination during their partnership. Their daughter, Bailey Jean, was born in February 1997, and Beckett in November 1998. For a while, the couple was reluctant to discuss who fathered the kids but they eventually revealed rock singer David Crosby is the biological father of both children.

Cypher -- who was previously married to Lou Diamond Phillips -- and Etheridge ultimately split in September 2000.

Beckett was 21.

RIP

Spain's Running of the Bulls event might have been axed over coronavirus -- but these goats kept the tradition alive here in the States ... with a wild scattering of their own.

Check out this video captured Tuesday night in a residential neighborhood near San Jose, CA -- where what looks like a couple hundred goats stampeded (eh, fiercely totted more like, actually) down a sleepy street as neighbors were trying to corral them.

It's certainly not as intimidating as what goes on in Europe -- goats to bulls are apples to oranges -- but still, it's crazy considering we don't see this all too often around these parts.

Now, as for how this got started in the first place -- apparently, there's a little hillside ranch of some sort that borders these homes here, and a gaggle of goats are brought in each year for a few days to eat and clear out the dead grass to avoid a wildfire breaking out. Neat!!

Somehow, the goats broke through their enclosure ... and they all made a run for it. Fortunately, they didn't cause too much damage -- other than some front yard flower munching and unrestrained defecating -- and eventually ... the townsfolk reined 'em in.

It also looks like one of the local hounds played impromptu sheep dog to get the herd back where they belonged. Good boy! Baaah-d goats 😅

Ahmaud Arbery's alleged murderers came face-to-face with a young black man in their neighborhood less than 2 weeks prior to the shooting -- and now another neighbor claims it was Ahmaud they confronted.

Travis McMichael called police on February 11 at around 7:30 PM to report an unknown "lighter-skinned black male," wearing a red shirt and white pants, was trespassing on a construction site in Brunswick, GA ... this according to a police report obtained by TMZ.

In the report, cops say McMichael told them he saw the black male cut across one property and enter the construction site. McMichael told cops he returned to the property and "observed the unknown male run back through the open house under construction toward the area of the back yard."

Cops responded and searched the property, but no one was there. They say the property owner, Larry English, told them "it appears the unknown male is only trespassing and plundering around as he has yet to see where anything has been taken." Cops say security footage of the incident circulated Facebook and a neighborhood watch app but nobody could identify the unknown black male.

Another neighbor, Diego Perez, says he was also present for the Feb. 11 incident, along with Travis and his father, Gregory, at the February 11 incident. It should be noted ... the police report never mentions Gregory or Diego.

Diego told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he was there because Larry English -- who was out of town -- sent him the security cam footage, and asked him to go check it out.

But, Perez says he was also on the scene Feb. 23 right after Ahmaud was shot. He claims Ahmaud is the same person the McMichaels confronted 12 days earlier.

As we've reported ... Travis and Gregory were arrested for murder and aggravated assault shortly after the chilling video of Ahmaud's shooting leaked last week.

It's interesting that the younger McMichael described the Feb. 11 trespasser as "lighter-skinned' ... because Ahmaud had a darker complexion.

A guy was caught on camera choking his ex-girlfriend's dog -- and now ... he's facing criminal charges for the sickeningly evil deed.

30-year-old Shane Mitchell allegedly took his ex's pup -- a Doberman named Rubyjean -- without permission, and when he showed up at the owner's front door with Rubyjean, the owner threatened him with a call to the cops. That set Mitchell off, and what happened next is disturbing.

While his ex remained behind her front door during the argument, her Ring doorbell cam recorded Mitchell angrily reaching down and yanking up the dog by its leash, suffocating it, and letting it dangle in front of the camera. The owner shrieks from inside, pleading for him to stop -- then, the video ends.

Cops in Slidell, Louisiana say Mitchell was eventually arrested and booked on animal cruelty charges after the clip made the rounds online, and even better news ... Rubyjean is okay.

She's back in her home and doesn't seem to have suffered any permanent damage as a result of the choking. The city's police chief issued a strong statement of the heinous act, saying ... "I was sick to my stomach watching that video." He added, "How someone can hurt a defenseless animal is beyond me."

Ahmaud Arbery's mother believes his murder shows more than the existence of racism in America -- she feels it's spreading like wildfire in small towns ... where people think they can get away with it.

Wanda Cooper-Jones tells TMZ ... her son's death is shining a light on a huge problem in the U.S., particularly in smaller towns in the south that she claims are racist and riddled with corruption.

She says what happened to her son in Glynn County, Georgia is Exhibit A right now. As you know ... Ahmaud was ambushed and killed by Gregory and Travis McMichael back in February, but no arrests were made until last week after video of the slaying leaked, and the case drew national attention and outrage.

Wanda tells us during the gap between her son's death and the arrests, she felt hopeless and feared there would be no justice ... but she's encouraged things are heading in the right direction now.

Still, she feels there's a long way to go. As we first told you, Ahmaud's family and legal team want everyone involved in his death to be convicted and "appropriately sentenced." For the McMichaels, at least, Wanda believes that means the death penalty.

Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson do NOT have another bun in the oven, despite lots of speculation otherwise ... TMZ has learned.

While rumors and reports started swirling Wednesday morning saying Khloe was pregnant with the NBA star's child, our sources tell us that's not the case.

Sources close to Khloe tell TMZ ... she is NOT pregnant and the rumor mill started simply because eagle-eyed fans noticed she was posting a lot of pink flowers recently, which they mistook as a sign of another daughter on the horizon.

Fans also noted a lot of the photos and videos Khloe's been posting on social media are from the waist up or throwback pics ... but we're told it's not a sign she's actually expecting.

As you know ... Khloe and Tristan have one child together already, True Thompson, who recently celebrated her 2nd birthday.

Sounds like things are good between Khloe and TT, even though they don't live under the same roof ... our sources say they've been seeing each other from time to time during Cali's stay-at-home order because of their daughter, and the family celebrated Mother's Day together.

Khloe's still a mother of one ... and that's not changing any time soon.

"Ink Master" star Daniel Silva was stretchered from the scene of the car wreck that killed YouTube star Corey La Barrie -- the accident for which Silva's now facing a murder charge.

Photos of the fatal car accident show an emergency worker rolling Silva -- whose eyes are closed -- away from his black McLaren sports car. The car's hood was up and the windshield was heavily damaged ... especially on the passenger's side.

We broke the story ... the crash happened in L.A. Sunday night when the McLaren somehow managed to hit a street sign and a tree. Silva and La Barrie had attended a party together beforehand to celebrate Corey's birthday, and we're told Silva was seen drinking before getting behind the wheel of the car.

Law enforcement sources say Silva allegedly tried to flee after the accident but was stopped by witnesses. La Barrie, the passenger, suffered significant injuries in the crash and died from them at the hospital.

His cause of death is listed as multiple blunt force injuries sustained in the accident.

Silva did not suffer life-threatening injuries, but we're told he's being treated for a broken hip. As we told you, he was arrested and booked for murder while at the hospital. Along with allegedly drinking before crashing the McLaren, it's believed Silva was traveling at a high rate of speed.

As for Corey ... his YouTube partner, Crawford Collins, broke his silence Tuesday about the tragedy. They created their channel, Corey & Crawford, in July 2019. They amassed 108,000 subscribers with more than 3.5 million views in their short time making vids together.

The father and son accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery are sitting ducks in the jail as they await prosecution -- and because of that ... the men are being isolated behind bars.

Glynn County Undersheriff Ron Corbett tells TMZ ... Travis and Gregory McMichael are being housed in a separate wing of the Glynn County Detention Center away from the general population ... for their own safety. In other words, they're in protective custody.

Because of the high-profile nature of the case -- and tensions enormously high in the community -- Corbett says both of the McMichaels are siloed off in separate cells -- telling us the cells are not close enough for them to communicate with each other.

What they can do, we're told, is eat alone, periodically leave their units under a secure setting -- but only among themselves -- and that's about it, really. We're told there are no TVs in the section of the jail where they're being housed, so they can't follow the case in the news.

For security reasons, Corbett refused to say whether the men were on suicide watch or whether threats have been made on their lives.

TMZ broke the story ... Ahmaud's mother tells us she wants prosecutors to seek the death penalty.