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Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett are both beloved by fans, but only one can walk away from UFC 324 as champion ... so, we asked both, who's it gonna be?!

Babcock chopped it up with both main event fighters ahead of their main event, interim lightweight title fight on Saturday ... pitting 37-year-old Gaethje against 31-year-old Pimblett.

"I'm excited to go out there and teach this young kid some lessons," Gaethje said. "I love how confident [Paddy] is. I love how fickle the fans are, and how quickly they forget how good I am, and how dangerous I am. Man, I'm pumped."

Gaethje says he plans to rely on his experience, and he's ready to go to a dark place to win the fight.

"I gotta rely on my technique and my skill level. I've been in this position so many times. Twenty-five minutes in time, so I gotta go out there and be perfect," Justin said.

The Denver Broncos may be home underdogs without their starting quarterback … but don’t expect them to make any excuses with coach Sean Payton calling the shots.

Former Pro Bowl offensive lineman Terron Armstead -- who spent nine seasons with Payton in New Orleans -- tells TMZ Sports he believes the Broncos remain unfazed entering Sunday’s AFC Championship game.

“He embraces challenges and it goes down into the entire team,” Armstead said. “He doesn’t let nobody use built-in excuses. It’s like, ‘You’re dealing with a shoulder injury, so it’s OK if you lose this rep.’ No, that’s not OK,” Armstead told Babcock.

That’s why Terron believes the news of Bo Nix fracturing his ankle was released immediately after the game ... rather than waiting for the injury report.

Payton was ready to start the challenge, naming Jarrett Stidham starter … and now “it’s Stiddy season,” according to Armstead.

That never-back-down philosophy wasn’t always something he appreciated, though. He said he didn’t like Payton much early on because he was tough to play for.

Now?

“I can’t be more thankful for the guy,” Armstead said. “I love Sean Payton for life.”

Broncos fans might be saying the same thing if Denver defeats the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Armstead also shared a funny exchange between them from when he retired. Peyton called to congratulate and suggested he consider coaching because he would be “incredible” in the league.

“Sean, thank you, but get off my phone,” Armstead replied, explaining that he’s not willing to work until three or four in the morning like the rest of Peyton’s staff.

We also had Armstead join the TMZ Live stream … talking Bad Bunny's upcoming Super Bowl halftime show, Aaron Rodgers, Fernando Mendoza and more.

Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Elijah Sarratt would love it if he didn't play his last down with quarterback Fernando Mendoza -- he tells TMZ Sports "it would be fun" to join forces in the NFL.

We caught up with the 22-year-old while he was working an honorary shift at Raising Cane's after taking home the National Championship against the University of Miami this week ... and asked him what it would be like if the duo ended up in the same locker room at the next level.

And considering they connected on 15 touchdowns during their perfect season together ... yeah, he's on board.

"He could spin it," Sarratt said. "He's a great guy, great teammate, great player. I wouldn't mind playing some years with him at all."

Only Bert Kreischer could equate Baker Mayfield to a walking, talking pressure cooker … and mean it as the highest compliment.

TMZ Sports caught up with the comedian this week in NYC ... and he declared the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback the king of pressure -- and yes, he meant it literally.

"There's always pressure on Baker Mayfield, that's the way Baker Mayfield lives," Kreischer said. "He s***s with pressure, he pisses with pressure, he drinks with pressure, he takes his daughter to school with pressure -- that's why he's so f***ing great."

Kreischer went on to hype Mayfield as a "coal waiting to pop into a diamond" as the QB prepares to enter the final year under his current contract.

Harry Styles wasn’t just hitting his marks and showing off his dance moves in the music video for his newly released single “Aperture" ... he was taking hits too!

A production source tells TMZ ... Harry personally handled the majority of the action stunts seen in the visually intense video -- including a gnarly staircase fall that took hours to nail ... roughly six hours and multiple takes to get right.

We’re told the shoot went down over three days -- following a full week of rehearsals -- with filming centered at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles ... famously known as the filming location of "True Lies," "Blade Runner," and Billie Eilish's "Birds of a Feather" music video.

Nicki Minaj's foray into politics has been a slap in the face to her gay fans ... reality star Tiffany Pollard tells TMZ.

We caught up with the "Flavor of Love" star -- who recently came out as queer and non-binary -- in West Hollywood earlier this week ... and we asked them about whether they feel Nicki betrayed her LGBTQ+ Barbz.

Pollard says the community loves Nicki's music ... but they haven't loved her recent rhetoric -- with Tiffany adding it feels Minaj has lost her way.

3:02 PM PT -- A local journalist posted photographs online at the scene of Neo's arrest in Helena, Montana from Thursday. Helena Independent Record City Editor Thom Bridge posted the 3 snaps Friday afternoon.

2:32 PM PT -- Neo is already being transferred to Los Angeles, according to multiple law enforcement sources in Montana. We're told his trek south began immediately after a Friday morning appearance before a judge

Cops in Helena, MT confirm they were assisting LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division when they busted Neo. As we've reported, Robbery-Homicide is also leading the D4vd investigation.

While D4vd remains in the cross-hairs of investigators probing the Celeste Rivas murder, one of his friends, a famous streamer, is also in trouble now.

D4vd's friend Neo Langston was booked into a Montana jail Thursday on a warrant ... according to online records.

A rep for Lewis & Clark County Jail, where Neo is locked up, tells TMZ ... there was an out of jurisdiction warrant from Los Angeles for failure to appear as a witness. He's currently held without bond.

Miss Lawrence is weighing in on the hearsay Bad Bunny might rock a dress at his Super Bowl Halftime show next month -- and she’s got ONE message for him ... if you’re gonna do it, do it right!!!

TMZ caught up with Miss Lawrence at LAX Friday ... and she tells us she’s all for gender-fluid fashion, but says if Bad Bunny goes there, she hopes it brings real visibility to the LGBTQ community -- especially Black LGBTQ folks.

Catch the full clip ... 'cause Miss Lawrence breaks it down -- if BB's being used as a vessel to normalize what her community looks like on massive stages, then it better be done with purpose.

Jeff Coby is opening up on what it's like to date someone constantly at the center of B.S. rumors ... telling TMZ Sports the people making up nonsense are just jealous of what he and Larsa Pippen have together.

Pippen recently had to shut down a bogus report she was in a relationship with LiAngelo Ball ... which many believed, considering her dating history with younger guys in the basketball world, like Coby and Marcus Jordan.

So, we asked Coby, a former pro player, how he deals with the chatter ... and the 31-year-old made it clear he's not letting it get to him.

Comic Cristina Payne says comedian Corey Holcomb is threatening her and making her fear for her life ... and she got emotional watching a video that appears to show Corey punching her square in the face.

Cristina joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday, and she got emotional when we asked her about surveillance video from the alleged Hollywood street brawl finally surfacing.

The raw emotions flowed as soon as we asked Cristina if she was going to take the video to police or a lawyer ... she told us she's afraid to even leave her house these days, claiming Corey has her running scared.

Cameron Diaz might be ready to plant some new roots ... and she’s been scoping out some of South Florida’s most impressive homes -- one of which belongs to a prominent NBAer.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Cameron has been quietly touring high-end homes in the Miami suburbs and Miami Beach over the past few weeks with her husband, Benji Madden, as they explore potential new digs.

Sean O'Malley says no one -- not Paramount, nor the UFC -- forced him to apologize for wearing a mask for face-offs with UFC 324 opponent Song Yadong, telling TMZ Sports it was entirely his decision!

Babcock caught up with O'Malley ahead of the UFC's big debut on Paramount+ Saturday night ... where we asked the former champion about the fallout from the faceoff with the Chinese-born fighter, after Suga rocked a medical mask, prompting an apology.

"Most people kind of saw it a certain way," O'Malley said. "There was a few people that got offended, wasn't my intention. I just apologize if I did hurt anyone's feelings, I do feel bad, that was not the goal."

Dakota Johnson's caught Role Model up in her ''Madame Web'' ... with the two beaming after they enjoyed a nice meal together in Los Angeles.

The actress and her new singer beau hit a hot spot in the City of Angels Thursday ... hanging out with a pal at the restaurant while Johnson talked animatedly.

Dakota and Role Model held hands when they hit the street ... with Dakota sporting a huge grin on her face.

Ryan Garcia has goals to dominate two totally different worlds -- boxing AND streaming -- telling TMZ Sports while he wants to be WBC champion, he's also chasing internet validation.

We caught up with King Ryan at Avalon in Los Angeles on Thursday ... and brought up how popular streamer N3on told Babcock a few weeks back that the fighter has real talent in front of the camera.

Garcia -- who has his own Kick channel -- didn't even sound too surprised ... telling us his future plans revolve around getting top honors in both boxing and streaming.

Guy Hovis, the singer best known for his many appearances on "The Lawrence Welk Show," has died, his daughter Julie confirmed to TMZ.

Guy died peacefully Thursday night in Oxford, Mississippi ... with Julie telling us he had been hospitalized for a couple of weeks with a lingering, undisclosed illness.

In a Facebook post ... Guy's ex-wife and former performance partner, Ralna English, wrote, "Needless to say, at this time we are all devastated and simply trying to cope with this tragic news."

A Spirit Airlines passenger got into a heated confrontation with staff before takeoff in the Caribbean ... and she was booted from the plane along with her 2 dogs while the cameras were rolling.

TMZ obtained dramatic video from Thursday's jaw-dropping incident aboard the aircraft, which was standing on the tarmac at Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Check it out ... the woman is clearly pissed as she argues with 2 staffers ... saying something about her seat while pointing to the number on the overhead bin.

Things quickly devolved into chaos, with security officers yanking her out of the plane and down a flight of boarding stairs onto the tarmac, while another worker led the dogs out.