Controversial S#!T

Khabib Nurmagomedov is going to MURDER Conor McGregor when they face off at UFC 229 in October ... this according to former UFC heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum.

The 41-year-old legend was at LAX when we asked to pick a winner in the upcoming superfight -- and Werdum didn't hold back.

"I think Khabib will kill Conor McGregor," Fabricio told us ... "For sure."

Werdum says when it comes down to it, Khabib is a great fighter and built tougher than his Irish opponent.

Not everyone agrees with Fabricio ... UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber is going with McGregor -- telling TMZ Sports he's got one major advantage Khabib won't be able to overcome.

Tony Rock says Omarosa may have turned on Trump, but forget getting back in the good graces of black America.

We got Tony Monday at LAX and he wasted no time ... he thinks she's seen too many 'Mission Impossible' movies ... reportedly recording private conversations with a pen.

Tony concedes ... she's a master at selling books with the PR she's been getting by releasing tapes of her getting fired and Trump playing dumb afterward.

You're looking at Fred Williams -- who was JUST fired from his job as the head coach of the Dallas Wings after getting into a screaming match with his boss Sunday night ... and now he's telling us why he thinks he got the chop.

Williams -- who was the head coach from 2014 to 2018 -- was seen screaming at Wings CEO Greg Bibb after a 93-80 loss to the Mystics earlier in the day. Bibb issued a statement announcing he fired Williams a short time later.

Williams touched down in D.C. early Monday -- and broke his silence about the situation to our photog ... telling us why HE thinks he got the axe.

"It could be because we had some losses in row," Williams tells us. "Everything builds up. It's just the management decision."

Fred didn't seem too busted up over the move -- explaining to us this DEFINITELY won't be his last stop in the WNBA.

Dallas Wings star player Skylar Diggins-Smith seemed to agree ... saying players LOVED playing for Fred ... and they still support him after his firing.

Yeah, Baker Mayfield is cocky, but that's a great thing ... so says Browns legend Earnest Byner, who tells TMZ Sports the QB has the perfect mindset for bringing the franchise back to relevance.

FYI -- Byner knows all about the Browns' struggles ... he was considered the face for Cleveland's 52-year title drought, thanks to his infamous fumble in the 1987 AFC championship game.

But, Byner says he met with several new rookies and vets at a recent team dinner and was blown away by their determination to change the narrative for the historically awful Browns ... especially Baker.

President Trump either didn't know his Chief of Staff fired Omarosa or he played dumb ... this according to newly released audio in which Trump tells her he had no idea she got the ax.

You hear Trump faintly express regret as Omarosa explains General John Kelly gave her walking papers the day before. Monday on "Today," she said the President is nothing more than Gen. Kelly's puppet.

Omarosa also secretly recorded her conversation with Kelly, who would not say if Trump knew he was firing her.

She told TMZ on Saturday ... she believed Trump was a racist who was trying to start a race war. Omarosa says she heard an audio of an outtake of 'The Apprentice' in which Trump allegedly used the n-word.

The White House has lashed out at Omarosa, saying she's a liar and a disgruntled former employee. Trump himself just lit into her, apparently in response to the new audio, saying she was "wacky" and "begged" him for the administration role.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders is parroting what her boss says A LOT regarding Omarosa and her bombshell book -- and alleged recordings -- on President Trump ... any guesses?

We got the White House Press Secretary leaving Reagan International in D.C. Sunday where our camera guy asked what she made of the one-time Trump staffer and longtime loyalist peddling her new "explosive" and "jaw-dropping" publication, 'Unhinged,' about the Prez.

Sarah says Omarosa's showing her true colors in the wake of being fired by Chief of Staff John Kelly -- whom she recorded too btw -- and thinks it's simply a SAD! state of affairs.

Lindsay Lohan is backtracking on some eyebrow-raising comments she made about #MeToo -- calling women who speak out as looking "weak" -- and is setting the record straight.

LiLo issued a statement Sunday apologizing for her remarks and any harm inflicted. She says ... "The quote solely related to my hope that a handful of false testimonies out of a tsunami of heroic voices do not serve to dilute the importance of the #MeToo movement, and all of us who champion it."

She continues ... "However, I have since learned how statements like mine are seen as hurtful, which was never my intent. I’m sorry for any pain I may have caused."

The original comment came out recently in a Times interview, in which she criticized some women for coming out with their stories of sexual abuse way after the fact -- rather than address it in the moment -- and added speaking out now made strong women "look weak."

Omarosa apparently knew what was coming when she got the ax from White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, because she recorded it all on her cellphone.

The Trump ally turned enemy was on "Meet the Press" Sunday, and played the tape. She says it proves stories that she had to be dragged out of The White House during that XMAS party in December, 2017 were false.

You hear Kelly tell Omarosa the firing can be done one of 2 ways ... the easy way or the hard way. He says if she chooses the later it will create difficulty with respect to her reputation.

Kelly also says he's firing her because of "serious integrity violations." He actually says more ... that the violation involves "money issues" and "legal issues" that could make it ugly for her. He says she'd be subject to legal action, but that wouldn't be necessary if she quietly exits.

BTW ... the audio does reveal how she exited.

HGTV -- the house remodeling network with wholesome hosts -- is PISSING OFF neighbors with their 'Brady Bunch' house expansion plans ... 'cause they fear lasting chaos.

Various neighbors on the San Fernando Valley street where the iconic house sits are fuming at the prospect of HGTV's production turning their sleepy enclave into a massive construction zone.

TMZ broke the story, after snagging the house in a $3-plus million sale, the network plans to blow out the back of the house ... and expand it from 2,400 square feet to more than 6,000 square feet.

Neighbors are dreading the construction noise, street congestion, traffic, lookie-loos and HGTV production trucks as cameras chronicle the remodel.

We're told the last time a production crew showed up, an entire street was shut down making it a nightmare for residents to access their houses.

Neighbors just wanna know from HGTV ... how long y'all gonna take on this project?

Donald Trump's amateurish designs for potential Space Force logos are out-of-this-world bad ... so says the artist who created an older NASA logo.

Richard Danne -- the designer of a NASA logo from 1975 -- went off on Trump's Space Force artwork.

Danne ripped into the designs released by the Trump Administration ... telling TMZ, "This logo effort is typical of the present administration: impulsive, ill-advised, superficial, and second-rate."

Tell us how you really feel, Richard!!!

"A random student from the Los Angeles Art Center could put these logos to shame ... They are, in a word: sophomoric!"

Richard is peeved some of the Space Force designs were lifts from past NASA logos.

"The images are totally derivative from NASA graphics but are -- All flash and no substance, and comical really."

Oscar De La Hoya was past his prime when he fought (and lost to) Floyd Mayweather -- but prime Oscar woulda beat Floyd's ass ... so says Shane Mosley.

The boxing superstar fought both guys -- and beat Oscar twice -- and tells TMZ Sports he's convinced De La Hoya was the better fighter overall.

Here's a transcript of what Shane told Mike Babcock when he came to the TMZ office.

Babcock: If you take Oscar, Manny and Floyd, all at their best …

Mosely: Oscar. I think Oscar would’ve been the top one.

Babcock: Really?

Mosely: Yeah.

Babcock: Floyd likes to call himself "The Best Ever" …

Mosely: Nah.

We also asked who hit the hardest -- and that answer was surprising too.

Donald Trump is not only a racist ... he's trying to start a race war -- so says his former White House counselor Omarosa ... and she also says lots of people were getting it on in the West Wing.

We got the newly-minted author Saturday at Reagan National Airport in D.C., and she wasn't mincing words. She thinks Trump's attack on LeBron James is part of a campaign to inflame the country and pit blacks against whites.

She hawks her book during the conversation, but drops some pretty salacious tidbits. She says there's someone in The White House with the nickname, White House Barbie.

Donald Trump's most recent rant on the NFL's anthem controversy has Cam Jordan PISSED OFF ... with the superstar calling POTUS an "overly insecure prepubescent child."

Trump lashed out at NFL players who continued to take a knee during the "Star-Spangled Banner" this morning ... calling for them to either stand or face suspension.

The Saints Pro Bowler went to his own Twitter to tee off on Trump on Friday ... saying, "Only way to say it. What a Goober. He is who I thought he was."

"Guy is 70+ yr old acting out in what was once the highest respected political position, as a overly insecure prepubescent child..."

FYI -- Jordan was one of the several Saints players to sit during the anthem last season ... and had talks with Drew Brees about promoting social justice while respecting the flag at the same time.

But, clearly, we still know where Cam stands.

9:55 AM PT -- Sarah Huckabee Sanders has just responded on behalf of the White House, calling Omarosa a "disgruntled former White House employee" who is "trying to profit off these false attacks."

8:42 AM PT -- George just released a statement, saying, "The allegation is not credible, and indeed is ridiculous, particularly in light of the timing of her departure from the White House -- December 12, 2017. It's absurd all around."

Although Conway does not specify why the timing is significant, it appears the majority of his public criticism of 45 came well after Omarosa's departure.

Omarosa says she has dirt on Donald Trump ... and it's racial.

Omarosa -- who briefly worked for the Trump Administration -- claims in her upcoming book, "Unhinged," she witnessed Trump use racial epithets in talking about the husband of White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway.

According to Omarosa, Trump referred to George Conway, who is half Filipino, as a "Flip" and a "Goo-goo."

Omarosa also says there are tapes that exist in which Trump used the n-word on the set of the TV show, "Celebrity Apprentice."

The Guardian first reported her claims.

Kurt Warner says he would 100% support any teammate who chose to kneel during the national anthem ... telling TMZ Sports it's important to get behind guys who want to make societal change.

Important to note: Warner says he himself would never kneel during the anthem.

We got Warner at LAX and asked him his thoughts on Cowboys QB Dak Prescott taking heat after saying he doesn't think kneeling during the anthem is appropriate.

That's when Warner jumped into the issue, saying no matter what he'd do personally, he'd NEVER try to stifle teammates who wanted to engage in protest.

"I would support my teammates that, if they believed something was the right stand to make I have no problem with that."

Warner says that, while he'd stand to respect members of the military (including his wife), he gets that the protest isn't about disrespecting the armed forces, and hopes other people get that too.

The Academy adding a "popular" category to the Oscars has a lot of people riled up, including this guy -- who's got a movie coming out that could win -- and he's all for it.

We spoke to actor Page Kennedy on "TMZ Live" a day before his and Jason Statham's blockbuster film, "The Meg," is set to hit theaters -- where they're battling a prehistoric, humongous great white shark -- and he gave us his take on the controversy.

Page says films like his -- and other popcorn flicks like 'Mission: Impossible,' 'Fate of the Furious,' etc. -- deserve to be recognized for their badassery ... plain and simple. He says these types of movies have just as much value as traditional Oscar noms ... and could even add a much-needed shot of life into an award show that's gathering dust in the ratings.