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Dana White is doubling down on his claim Khabib Nurmagomedov will return to the Octagon -- and he's willing to put his money where his mouth is!

"If I had to make a bet -- and I'm a betting man -- I would bet he does [return]," Dana tells TMZ Sports.

"So, yeah ... I think he will."

Of course, Khabib announced his retirement following his Oct. 24 victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 ... explaining he has no desire to fight anymore after the death of his father earlier this year.

But, Dana says Khabib's father is the reason he WILL return -- explaining it was his dad's dream for Khabib to finish with a 30-0 record.

So, who would be the opponent? Dana says he's NOT considering Georges St-Pierre, despite Khabib previously suggesting that's he'd be open to that opportunity.

Instead, Dana pointed to 2 upcoming fights ... Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson.

"We'll see how all these things play out here ... One of those guys would definitely be in for the fight."

There's more ... we also asked Dana about plans for Jon Jones, who appears to be bulking up for a fight at the heavyweight level.

But, White says there's nothing in the plans for a Jon Jones scrap in the near future.

"Jon Jones, I don’t know what Jon Jones is doing," White says.

"When he’s ready, all he's gotta do is let us know … but we have no inclination whatsoever that this guy is coming to fight."

Before this smiley sweetie was feeling the weight of multiple Olympic medals around her neck, she was just another blondie with bangs growing up in Des Moines, Iowa.

Making her Summer Olympic Games debut in Beijing, she was part of the duo of athletes who scored the top two medals -- both the gold and silver -- in the individual all-around portion of the Women's Gymnastics competition. She took home 4 medals total, but only one gold for her skills displayed on the balance beam.

Now, the mother of one daughter, she lives in Nashville with her husband.

Bobby Brown Jr. was not feeling well in the days leading up to his death and he was experiencing flu-like symptoms ... according to his family.

We broke the story ... Bobby Brown's son was found Wednesday in his L.A.-area home, and cops told us they believed there was no foul play involved.

A source connected to the family tells TMZ Bobby Jr. did not have COVID.

Bobby tells us, "Please keep my family in your prayers at this time. Losing my son at this point in our lives has devastated my family. There are no words to explain the pain.”

The Brown family says they will let authorities conduct an investigation into his death, and Bobby's asking for prayers. He says his son's death has devastated the family and there's no words to explain the pain.

Alex Trebek's heroism has never been more evident than it will be on tonight's episode of "Jeopardy!" -- it features a bittersweet message he made just for this day.

When the late host recorded the episode airing Thursday night he opened it by recognizing World Pancreatic Cancer Day ... but didn't make it about himself. Instead, Alex urged his audience to be wary of symptoms and get tested.

What's remarkable about his heartfelt plea isn't just the content, but it's clear from the raspiness in Alex's voice how much he was struggling at the time the episode was shot.

TMZ broke the story ... Alex died earlier this month after his long battle with stage-4 pancreatic cancer, but continued working up until about 10 days before he passed. The episodes he recorded will run through Christmas Day.

Charli D'Amelio's crying a river after tons of followers canceled her ... and now she's wondering if she should just quit TikTok after encountering her first major PR hurdle.

Here's the deal ... Charli, TikTok’s most-followed star, is losing followers at a rapid rate after posting a family dinner video that rubbed lots of folks the wrong way. In part of the video, she complained to YouTube star James Charles about only having 95 MILLION followers, and not 100.

Fans felt the comment was anything but humble, and now followers are jumping ship by the boatload -- as in more than 1 million people have left Charli's page -- leaving her in tears.

Fans are also pissed that Charli and her sister, Dixie, scoffed during their family's meal -- prepared by a private chef -- more spoiled brat behavior.

During her tear-filled post, Charli wondered out loud if she should stay on an app where there's so much hate. At least one person's got her back though, Aaron May, the chef, says things are getting blown out of proportion -- but the damage is clearly done with Charli.

Former MLB prospect Brandon Martin will spend the rest of his life in a prison cell ... after a judge sentenced him to life without parole for brutally murdering 3 people, including his own father.

27-year-old Martin -- a 1st-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011 -- was convicted of the triple murder earlier this month ... and was facing the death penalty.

Martin was in a Riverside County, CA courtroom on Thursday ... where the same jury that convicted him in only 4 hours decided his punishment.

The jurors spared his life -- electing not to give him the death penalty. Instead, Martin will spend the rest of his life in prison.

The story surrounding the September 2015 murders is disturbing, to say the least.

Martin brutally beat and killed his 64-year-old dad, 58-year-old uncle, and a 62-year-old man the family had hired to install an alarm to protect them from Martin. Officials say Martin used a black baseball bat (with his name inscribed on it) to kill the men.

Jeff Lowe is back under Uncle Sam's microscope -- the feds have more concerns about animals at his zoo, and want to check things out for themselves -- but Jeff says they can kick rocks.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the feds claim the 'Tiger King' star is displaying animals at Joe Exotic's former zoo in Oklahoma without the necessary licenses or care. Prosecutors believe the animals are in "serious danger" because they don't have an attending veterinarian, and are getting substandard care.

The feds paint a grisly picture of the scene on the ground, claiming some animals are malnourished, dehydrated and licking wounds from fights in their enclosures.

However, Jeff says it's impossible for the feds to know what condition the animals are in because no one outside of his team has seen them in 2 months! Jeff says, "How arrogant and ignorant of them to deduce that my animals are in anything but perfect health. Their filing doesn’t have a single factual accusation in the entire document."

Jeff also gave us a pic shot Thursday at the park, showing 2 very healthy looking tigers. He tells us all of his animals has a perfect body scale rating.

As we reported ... the USDA inspected the zoo this summer and found a bunch of problems -- including a razor-thin 16-week-old lion cub that could barely stand -- and suspended Lowe's license for 21 days.

Making matters worse, the feds claim Jeff's zoo doesn't keep good records of everything that's going on with the various animals.

The government wants an order declaring Lowe is in violation of federal law, and giving federal investigators immediate access to inspect the park ... to determine the condition of the animals.

"I’m so over it. I’m so over living in a dictatorship we call Michigan."

That's Kelly Stafford -- wife of Detroit Lions QB Matt Stafford -- railing against the COVID-19 restrictions in the state of Michigan ... claiming another shutdown will make things worse for everybody.

"I understand there’s a pandemic, and I understand it’s very scary. I’m scared of it too. If you are at risk, do not leave your house until there’s a vaccine," Stafford said Thursday.

"But, shutting down all these small businesses, things that people have worked their life for, shutting them down again is not the answer. Because they will not make it."

Stafford continued, "So, once we are able to leave our house, once this dictatorship decides to let us have some freedom, there will be nothing left. I’m just over it. I see all these people and it brings me to tears."

Stafford is referring to new restrictions that Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer announced on Sunday ... detailing a new round of closures and other measures to reduce the spread of the virus.

Stafford immediately received backlash for referring to Michigan as a dictatorship ... and issued an apology a short time later, saying, "Should never have used the word 'dictatorship.' I got caught up in the heat of the moment, that is my fault."

"I care about the people who are losing their lives or battling this ... and also the medical staff who care for them. And, it is hard knowing these local business owners and watching them struggle and having to lay off their employees, not knowing how they are gonna make it."

Stafford says she loves Michigan and didn't mean to let her emotions get the best of her.

The Staffords have had a tough time during the pandemic -- Kelly recently revealed their youngest daughter was hospitalized for a concussion after falling out of her high chair.

Almost 3 weeks after Lori Loughlin surrendered to authorities to begin her prison sentence ... her hubby Mossimo Giannulli followed suit.

The "Full House" star's hubby reported to authorities Thursday at the Federal Correctional Institution in Lompoc, CA ... about 2 and a half hours north of L.A. He reported on the November 19 deadline set for him to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Mossimo turned himself in to authorities shortly after getting a new tough-guy look for prison ... opting to shave his head and sporting a gray beard. He took the new look out for a spin Monday in Bev Hills, though he was still wearing designer clothes and a fancy watch.

He definitely looked less like a rich father who committed a white-collar crime and more like a guy ready to start and finish a bar fight.

As we reported ... Mossimo pled guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud for his part in the college bribery scandal and 1 count of honest services wire and mail fraud. He was sentenced to 5 months in prison and has to pay a $250k fine and perform 250 hours of community service.

Lori started her stint behind bars back on October 30 when she reported to FCI Dublin in California to begin her 2-month sentence. She reported well ahead of her deadline.

Mossimo and Lori were adamant about fighting the charges but ultimately had a change of heart because they were facing multiple felonies and potentially decades behind bars.

Rudy Giuliani's sweat-fest is stealing the spotlight from President Trump's election battle ... because he appears to have hair dye streaming down his face.

The man in charge of President Trump's legal fight to overturn the election results was sweating profusely throughout a news conference ... often taking breaks to wipe his face and visible beads of sweat on his forehead.

At one point, it got so bad ... streams of what looks like dark hair dye ran down both sides of his face.

As for what's actually being said at the news conference ... Giuliani's continuing to make baseless claims of rampant voter fraud and discrepancies in multiple states, with added ire for Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania.

Boosie Badazz went under the knife after getting shot in the leg, but surgeons didn't remove his foot ... and he's already home from the hospital.

Sources close to Boosie tell TMZ ... he did NOT get his foot amputated -- contrary to reports -- but he did have a couple of surgeries for his gunshot wound.

Our sources say Boosie had a procedure to remove bullet fragments, and he had some screws put in to make sure his foot properly heals.

Boosie has diabetes, which led to speculation about potential amputation, but we're told the only medical decisions in relation to his diabetes had to do with his pre-surgery diet.

Our sources say Boosie and his docs had to hammer out a diet to make sure he would be fine while under anesthesia, and Boosie ended up taking 24 hours to decide if he even wanted the procedures done.

As we first told you ... Boosie was shot in the leg over the weekend in Dallas, just days after his friend, Mo3, was killed there last week in a fatal shooting.

Sources tell us Boosie checked out of the Dallas-area hospital Tuesday, and he's currently resting at home and still in pain because the gunshot wound is near his knee.

NBA superstar Klay Thompson has been diagnosed with a torn right Achilles tendon -- and will miss the entire 2020-21 season.

It's the worst possible news the Golden State Warriors could have received about the Splash Brother after he went down with an injury during a pickup game Wednesday in Downtown L.A. with other NBA players.

The team initially feared the injury could be severe ... a fear that was realized Thursday after the test results came back.

The injury usually takes 9-to-12 months for recovery -- though Kobe Bryant famously returned after 8 months when he suffered the same injury back in 2013.

What's worse for Klay is that he was busting his ass over the past year to return from a torn ACL in his left knee -- an injury he suffered during Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, which required him to miss all of last season.

It's a major blow to the Warriors ... who posted the worst record in the league last season without their 2 biggest stars -- Thompson and Stephen Curry, who was recovering from a broken hand.

Thompson is easily one of the best shooters in the game -- with a career average of 19.5 points on 45% shooting ... including 41% from 3-point range.

A part-time sheriff's deputy in Michigan got canned after sharing a photo of Trump, Biden and Pence jack-o'-lanterns made from pumpkins ... and a watermelon one to represent Kamala Harris.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Office terminated longtime employee Sherry Prose last month after she posted the Halloween/election-themed photos ... with the horribly racist twist.

The sheriff's office says ... "These types of incidents are disgusting and will never be tolerated or pushed aside at the sheriff’s office." It adds that behavior like this "brings tarnish to the badge."

It's unclear when Prose shared her post, but it featured 3 pumpkins in one photo with the caption, "Trump, Biden, Pence and Kamala. Happy Halloween." The second photo shows Harris as a watermelon jack-o'-lantern.

Prose has reportedly worked in law enforcement since 1994, and insists she's not a racist. She says, "I worked hard in my law enforcement career and I am proud of the reputation I earned in my 30 plus years of service. I am not racist and never will be." She never explained the photo, though.

Rev. Dr. Wendell, president of Detroit’s NAACP branch, points out that the watermelon correlation with Black people is "linked to buffoonery and to less than." He adds ... "I believe that the intent was purposely structured to diminish and to dilute the significance of the first African American ... as Vice President of these United States."

Bobby Brown has lost another child ... his son, Bobby Brown Jr., has died.

A source close to the family tells TMZ Bobby Jr. was found dead Wednesday in his home in the L.A. area. Police are still at the house, and our sources tell us, at this point, they do not believe there was foul play involved.

It's another horrific tragedy for the singer and his family to endure. Bobby Jr.'s half-sister, Bobbi Kristina, died when she was just 22 years old after she was found lifeless in the bathtub of her Georgia home.

She was on life support for several months before she passed in July 2015. The coroner determined Bobbi Kristina's cause of death was drowning in the tub while she had toxic levels of cocaine and alcohol in her system.

It was an eerily similar death to her mother, Whitney Houston, who had died 3 years earlier from an accidental overdose while in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Jr. is one of Bobby's seven children. He was 13 when he, along with Bobbi Kristina, appeared on the family's short-lived Bravo reality show, "Being Bobby Brown."

His mother is Kim Ward, who Bobby dated off and on for 11 years before he got engaged to Whitney.

Bobby Jr. was only 28.

RIP

A 60-year-old woman who tried to get a young couple to mask up before getting in an elevator with her got pummeled ... and cops are on the hunt for her attackers.

The video is sickening ... the woman's about to get on a subway station elevator near the Barclays Center in Brooklyn when the maskless couple tries to follow her.

Cops say she asked them to put on masks before they all got in the elevator together -- but instead the guy knocked her over as he barged into the elevator. While she's down ... both the guy and the girl strike her -- looks like the guy punched her even after she was down on the ground.

According to police ... the couple -- both believed to be between 16-20 years old -- fled the scene and are still at large. The woman suffered bruising to her face and pain in her legs.

Matthew McConaughey is clearly flirting with running for Governor of Texas ... what's not clear is exactly when he'd do it.

The Oscar winner gave separate interviews this week in which he talked about mulling a run for office. On the "Hugh Hewitt Show" Tuesday, he said that "it would be up to the people more than it would me" ... when asked if he would consider a gubernatorial campaign.

MM also told Hugh, "Politics seems to be a broken business to me right now. And when politics redefines its purpose, I could be a hell of a lot more interested." Pretty open-ended response, right?

Well, Matthew didn't exactly clear things up Wednesday night on 'The Late Show.' When Stephen Colbert asked him about his political aspirations. Matthew laughed and said, "I have no plans to do that right now."

Keywords ... right now. It should be noted, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is up for re-election in 2022.

And, once again, the actor didn't quite shut the door on the idea, and simply repeated his politics being a "broken business" line. He's got his talking points, and he's sticking to 'em.

Sounds like a politician, right?

While he's noncommittal on politics, right now, Matthew still took a shot at unifying the country ... telling Hewitt, "No matter what side of the aisle you're on, or as I said earlier, denomination, we have broken those social contracts. I want to get behind personal values to rebind our social contracts with each other as Americans, as people again."

The only question remaining ... which side of the aisle? Well, he told Esquire, "The far left doesn't seem to want to ever be able to admit the evil that mankind can posses, and the far right doesn't want to think past tomorrow. I want to propose meeting in the middle as a dare. I dare you to meet in the middle, instead of like, 'Oh, that's a place of great compromise.'"