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Khabib Nurmagomedov rubbed elbows with another powerful political figure Thursday night -- Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov ... a man who's been accused of some pretty horrible stuff.

The two hung out at a Russian MMA gym -- described as a fight club -- where they posed for pics, ate some food and celebrated Khabib's victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 229.

Khabib commented about the meeting saying, "Thank you very much to Ramzan and all brotherly Chechnya."

"The way I am grateful to your support in words not to describe and praise to god who made us all brothers through our religion. And thank you very much for such a generous gift and most importantly respect shown to me."

Kadyrov is a HUGE fan of combat sports -- and recently kicked it with Floyd Mayweather.

This issue surrounding Kadyrov ... dude has a very controversial past -- littered with accusations of human rights violations from kidnapping to torture and murder. He's denied all wrongdoing.

But, what's undeniable ... Kadyrov says he doesn't want gay people in his country and has said on the record he'd ship them all to Canada if he could.

The U.S. State Dept. issued a warning in April 2017 saying it was "increasingly concerned" about the anti-LGBT movement in Chechnya -- after "numerous credible reports" indicating gay people were being detained, tortured and even killed based on their sexual orientation.

Kadyrov's father was appointed to lead Chechnya in 2000 by Vladimir Putin. And, when his dad died, Putin tapped Ramzan to take his place in 2007.

Of course, Khabib just met with Putin earlier this week.

Usain Bolt was Usain GOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLTT in his Australian pro soccer game on Friday ... hittin' the back of the net TWICE ... and celebrating with the "shoot" dance!!

The 8-time Olympic gold medalist suited up for the Central Coast Mariners -- wearing a #95 jersey -- and he BALLED OUT in his second appearance for the club ... scoring 2 goals.

Of course, Bolt christened the goals with his signature "lightning bolt" pose for the first goal he scored, an hour into the match ... then followed up with the BlocBoy JB dance for his 2nd goal in the 69th minute.

BTW -- even though he's on a trial with the Mariners, Bolt is serious about this whole soccer thing ... and he's even told TMZ Sports he'd be down to join the MLS -- if they pay up.

The challenge for Bolt, he's gotta convince the old school soccer dudes he's for real -- because when we spoke with Alexi Lalas about Usain joining the MLS, he basically told us there's no shot.

But, if Bolt continues to torch defenses ... ya gotta think it's a matter of time before he gets a contract offer.

Cardi B is a woman who knows EXACTLY what she wants ... and if she gets it, her new Lamborghini ain't the only thing she's gonna be riding for her birthday.

The "I Like It" rapper posted this hilarious video Thursday on Instagram to celebrate her 26th birthday. Cardi thanked fans for the good wishes, which she was in need after saying she ate some bad fish that, in her words, left her swollen and looking like Mrs. Puff from Spongebob SquarePants. #LMFAO

As we reported ... Offset gifted her a brand new Lamborghini, but there's one wish that's still unfulfilled.

Jim Brown has ZERO regrets about the Oval Office meeting today with Donald Trump and Kanye West ... saying it was an incredible opportunity and he's thankful to 45.

West has made headlines today about his behavior during the sit-down ... which included a couple classic Kanye rants, a heap of Trump praising and even a hug between the two men.

Brown was there too -- mostly silent -- making some wonder if he regretted making the trip. But, when the NFL great left the White House he told throngs of media that couldn't be further from the truth.

"We had the opportunity to meet with the President of the United States which everybody doesn't have that privilege. With me, at 82 years old, the only thing I could talk about was how to help other people. So, it was very positive."

Brown went on behalf of his Amer-I-Can foundation which helps inner-city youth develop life skills -- and he told everyone Trump was very good to the whole delegation.

"This is the President of the United States. He allowed me to be invited to his territory, he treated us beautifully, and he shared some thoughts, and he will be open to talking when I get back to him. That's the best he could do for me."

10:00 AM PT -- Kanye told Trump why he wants the 13th Amendment abolished. He says, among other things, 13 is an unlucky number. Trump seems amused at the end of the video.

9:55 AM PT -- Kanye told Trump this in the Oval ... "My dad and mom separated so there was not a lot of male energy in my home and also I'm married to a family where, you know, there's not a lot of male energy. It's beautiful, though."

Kanye told Trump he feels like Superman when he puts on his MAGA hat.

Check out Kanye's full rant.

Kanye West is in the house ... he just arrived at the White House for his meet and eat with President Trump.

Ye rolled up for the lunch meeting in a black SUV and, although we couldn't see him through the tinted windows, some of his team members got out at the security gate bearing gifts -- a few boxes of Yeezy swag.

Kanye and 45 are talking shop on a list of pressing issues. Officially, their agenda will include prison reform, American manufacturing, creating jobs and preventing gang violence in Ye's hometown of Chicago. Sources close to Kanye tell us he'll also discuss having people formerly incarcerated work in his factories and urge other big companies to follow suit.

However, based on President Trump's own words Thursday morning, we know what he's really interested in is his garnering support from African-American voters ahead of the midterm elections.

Adding to the spectacle ... Trump will reportedly invite reporters in for at least a portion of the lunch. Can you say PHOTO OP?

It's likely Kanye and Trump will also bring up Colin Kaepernick. When Ye was here at TMZ last week, he said he'd reached out to Kaep to try and get him to D.C. for a peace summit with POTUS.

Trump's having a bunch of his celeb pals over today -- Kid Rock and John Rich of Big & Rich were also there to witness him signing the Music Modernization Act into law.

However, the luncheon will only be attended by Kanye, NFL legend Jim Brown, Ivanka and Jared Kushner. On the menu -- Caprese salad and roasted chicken with potatoes and asparagus.

Delish ... what could go wrong?

The fire is officially snuffed out on Billy McFarland's freedom -- the guy behind that disastrous Fyre Festival is going to federal prison for a long time.

Thursday morning in NYC, a federal judge sentenced McFarland to 6 years in prison. McFarland, who organized the infamous 2017 music festival in the Bahamas, pled guilty to 2 counts of wire fraud, based on the funds he received from investors in the doomed concert. Prosecutors said he raised more than $1 million.

Despite all that money, you'll remember Fyre Festival was an epic fail ... would-be concertgoers plunked down between $1,200 and $100,000 only to be forced to sleep in tents, or out on the beach, instead of the luxury accommodations Billy advertised. Insult to injury -- the food really sucked too.

In addition to his prison sentence, Billy previously agreed to forfeit more than $26 million in connection with the fraud. Once he's out of prison, he'll have 3 years of supervised release.

There's also a $100 million class action lawsuit against Billy and Ja Rule ... claiming they warned celebs not to attend -- knowing it would be a total disaster -- but hung all the regular folk out to dry.

We're guessing inmates won't count on Billy to organize a damn thing in prison.

President Trump was surrounded by a ton of music greats at the White House Thursday morning, as he signed a new law that will benefit many of them ... but Kanye West was not in on the fun.

POTUS signed the Music Modernization Act with John Rich, Kid Rock and several other artists standing by to make speeches about the new law, and also to witness the actual signing.

It all went down moments before Kanye's luncheon with 45 was scheduled to begin, so everyone expected Ye to join the other artists ... but he got to the White House juuuust a bit late.

As we told you ... Kanye is there now -- he didn't come empty-handed -- and the lunch meeting with the Prez, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Jim Brown is set to begin.

Khabib just went NUCLEAR on the UFC ... calling them out as hypocrites and laying down a major threat -- saying if his team is punished for the melee after UFC 229 -- he'll quit the UFC FOREVER.

Dana White laid down the gauntlet ... saying the members of Khabib's team who jumped into the Octagon and attacked Conor will be kicked out of the UFC for good.

Khabib has responded on social media ... making it clear he thinks the UFC is acting unfairly and essentially saying the whole post-fight brawl is UFC's fault for letting Team Conor push things too far.

"Why didn't you fire anyone when their team attacked the bus and injured a couple of people? They could have killed someone there, why no one says anything about insulting my homeland, religion, nation, family?"

"Why do you have to punish my team, when both teams fought. If you say that I started it, then I do not agree, I finished what he had started."

Khabib then went on to specifically address UFC fighter Zubaira Tukhugov -- the guy who punched Conor after the fight -- saying, if Dana kicks him out of the UFC, he can say goodbye to Khabib as well.

"If you decide to fire him, you should know that you’ll lose me too. We never give up on our brothers in Russia and I will go to the end for my Brother."

"If you still decide to fire him, don’t forget to send me my broken contract, otherwise I'll break it myself."

Nurmagomedov also addressed his $2 million purse that's being held ... telling the athletic commission they can keep it.

"And one more thing, you can keep my money that you are withholding. You are pretty busy with that, I hope it won’t get stuck in your throat. We have defended our honor and this is the most important thing."

UFC, your move.

Donald Trump says Jim Brown was such a stud back in the day, he would UNDOUBTEDLY be the highest paid player in the NFL if he was active right now.

The problem is ... he's wrong.

"I've known him. I've respected him truly," Trump said about Brown ... "Can you imagine him playing in the NFL today what he'd be making? Double what everyone else is getting! He was the greatest."

Trump's right -- Brown was insanely good and arguably the best NFL player of all time. But, NFL contracts today ... it's a QB's world!

The highest paid NFL players in 2018 (salary and bonuses, according to Forbes) are as follows ...

1) Aaron Rodgers (QB) -- $75.9 million.

2) Matt Ryan (QB) -- $57.5 million

3) Jimmy Garoppolo (QB) -- $43.1 million

Then Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald. In fact, there's not a running back in the Top 10!

And, get this ... the highest paid NFL running back right now is Le'Veon Bell ... who's so upset with his contract situation, he's sitting out!

Antonio Brown says allegations he threw multiple pieces of furniture out of his 14th story apartment -- nearly killing a child -- are wrong ... and he vows to prove his innocence.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Brown is being sued by a man who claims his 22-month-old son was walking around the pool area at the complex in April when vases and other items landed within feet of him.

The man says the items came from Brown's room and, since the child is now suffering night-terrors and other emotional issues stemming from the incident, he wants Brown to pay.

The owners of the apartment complex have also filed a lawsuit against Brown claiming he caused significant damage to his apartment.

But, Brown just issued a statement, saying, "It has now been made public that two lawsuits containing false claims have been filed against me. The facts will soon come out that prove my innocence."

"My focus will remain on football and I will not let the cases serve as a distraction.”

The problem for Brown ... cops responded to the alleged furniture throwing incident and mentioned it in their police report.

"Mr. Brown was with his trainer and another gentleman who were trying to calm him down," the report reads.

"Apparently when Mr. Brown got upset he started throwing things in the apartment and the coffee table glass was broken along with a few other minor objects."

"He also threw some objects from the balcony into the pool area causing minor damage as well."

The police does say -- "No one was hurt as a result of these actions."

Deven Davis -- wife of Korn singer Jonathan Davis -- died from the combined effects of 5 different types of drugs ... TMZ has learned.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ .... an autopsy revealed Deven had cocaine, heroin, clonazepam (a sedative used to treat seizures or anxiety), topiramate (nerve pain medication) and fluoxetine (used to treat depression) in her system when she died.

The docs say she was found dead in Bakersfield, California ... and her cause of death has been ruled accidental.

We broke the story ... Deven died in August around the same time Jonathan filed a request for a domestic violence restraining order against his estranged wife, claiming she had major drug issues. Deven had been living in a sober home, but went AWOL about a week before her death.

The Korn frontman later revealed she had been sick for nearly a decade ... and blamed mental illness and addiction for her death.

The 2 were married in 2004, but Jonathan filed for divorce from her in 2016. They had 2 sons together.

Kanye West and President Trump's agenda for their Thursday sitdown will include signing new legislation that could potentially put more money in Kanye's pocket.

POTUS is scheduled to sign the Music Modernization Act while Ye is at the White House. The bill -- which the House and Senate have already passed -- updates licensing and royalties to artists, songwriters and producers for music played on streaming services.

Kanye and Recording Academy Prez Neil Portnow will be present for the ceremonial signing of the bill.

As we told you, Ye was already scheduled to be at the White House for a separate lunch meeting with Trump ... where they'll reportedly talk gang violence in Chicago, prison reform and manufacturing jobs.

Now that we know, he'll be front and center to see Trump sign the bill -- we're hoping Kanye's got a remix up his sleeve. Just sayin' ...

Verne Troyer's death has officially been ruled a suicide ... TMZ has confirmed.

The L.A. County Coroner's Office released an autopsy report Wednesday saying the 'Austin Powers' star died of "sequelae of alcohol intoxication" ... basically alcohol abuse. Shortly after his death, the Coroner's Office "deferred" Verne's cause of death ... pending an investigation. The Coroner's Office has now determined alcohol abuse is what killed the actor.

As we reported ... Verne struggled with alcoholism for years and had been to rehab many times. In early April, Verne had been rushed to a hospital after cops got a call that he was suicidal. We were told he was being treated for alcohol poisoning because his BAC was triple the .08 limit.

He'd been on life support ever since -- but, as TMZ first reported, he died a few weeks later. He was 49.

The Dawg Pound turned into the D.O. DOUBLE G. Pound on Wednesday ... 'cause Snoop Dogg was in attendance to watch Baker Mayfield and Co. at Cleveland Browns practice!!

Just one tiny issue here -- Snoop is a MASSIVE Pittsburgh Steelers fan ... and the Steelers have a rivalry with the Browns that goes back decades.

But, It didn't seem awkward when the rap legend hit up Browns practice in Berea ... dappin' up all the players and coaches as the team preps for the L.A. Chargers this weekend.

So ... is Snoop trading in his Black & Gold for the Orange & Brown?? Head coach Hue Jackson says he's been friends with the Doggfather for a while ... and took a friendly jab at him for being MIA for the past 2 years.

Hey, it's been a while since the Browns have had even a sliver of success. Let them have their clout.

Joe Giudice has to get the hell up outta the United States -- a judge is deporting him to his native Italy ... once he gets out of prison, that is.

The judge issued the deportation order Tuesday in Pennsylvania. The 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' star had begged the judge to let him stay in the U.S. with Teresa and their 4 kids, but no dice for the Giudices.

Joe's more than halfway through serving a 41-month prison sentence for conspiracy to commit wire and bankruptcy fraud.

Teresa was well aware deportation was a very real possibility and sounds like she's down to stand by her man. Earlier this year, during the 'RHONJ' reunion, she called Italy a beautiful place to live and said she'll embrace the change if it comes.

Good news for Khabib Nurmagomedov ... Vladimir Putin just told the UFC fighter's father to GIVE HIM A PASS for that post-fight brawl -- while praising his victory over Conor McGregor.

Khabib met with the Russian president at the "Russia -- Country of Sports" forum in the city of Ulyanovsk on Wednesday ... sitting down with the lightweight champ and his father, Abdulmanap.

They ate fruit, they sipped warm drinks and they DEFINITELY talked fighting -- as Putin is a huge fan of combat sports.

But, the funniest part of the meeting ... Putin brought up Khabib's comments that his father was upset with the post-fight brawl and would "smash" him for going after Conor's teammate, Dillon Danis, at UFC 229.

"I will ask your father not to punish you too strictly, because you achieved the main task, worthily and convincingly," Putin said to the Nurmagomedovs.

And, what Putin says ... goes.

So, congrats Khabib -- your father won't whoop your ass!!!

What's interesting is that Putin famously met with Conor McGregor during the World Cup in Russia -- and posed with him like they were buddies.

Guess that friendship is over ... at least, for now.