Fights

Dana White says it was a "massive f*** up" by the UFC for NOT showing former President Donald Trump during the Conor McGregor fight card.

The UFC prez tells TMZ Sports the flub was a mix of his production team dropping the ball, a technical issue, and the unpredictability of live television.

The way Dana explains it ... there was a plan in place to show Trump sitting near the Octagon. Cameras were supposed to pan from some big-name celebrities to the former Prez ... but things didn't go according to script.

“We were getting ready to show him right between the co-main and main events, I think you remember that we showed OBJ. We showed OBJ, then it was supposed to go to David Spade, 2 Chainz, and then the president, and we had some kinda glitch in the truck. Then the Conor fight ended up ending in the 2nd round so we never got a chance."

White continued ... "Let me tell you what, massive f*** up by my production team, but ya know, it’s live TV and these things happen.”

We obtained video of DT arriving at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas midway through the main card ... and you see Trump being greeted by Dana and getting a nice ovation from the packed crowd.

But, Trump was never seen on the broadcast ... leading some to speculate there was something nefarious going on with the ESPN broadcast.

Dana says that's NOT the case ... telling us any former president deserves to be shown on TV, regardless of political affiliation.

Logan Paul wants a rematch with Floyd Mayweather ... and the YouTuber turned boxer says he's sure Money's gettin' his ass knocked out this time around.

TMZ Sports talked to Logan at a media event for his bro Jake's upcoming boxing match with former UFC champ Tyron Woodley ... and when we asked Logan if his bro would ever fight Floyd, LP said it's him who wants the fight.

"Let me ask you what you would rather see, Jake Paul versus Floyd, or me versus Floyd again?" Logan said. "Because, let me tell you something, if I fight Floyd again, I promise I’ll knock him out. Promise."

Remember, Logan and Floyd fought an exhibition fight June 6 in Miami ... and the fight went the full 8 rounds. No winner was declared.

This time ... Logan suggests they fight more rounds -- and he says that won't bode well for Mayweather.

"I got it figured out. I got it. End of the 8th round, he’s breathing heavy, I’m coming alive. It’s gonna be a 10-12 round fight. We run it back, and this time I finish him."

Now ... will this happen? Even Logan says probably not.

"I don’t think it’s gonna happen. This is all just hypothetical bulls***."

Kris Moutinho ate 230 significant strikes, but won over MMA fans across the world with his unreal toughness ... and for it got a $75K bonus -- life changing money for the UFC fighter.

TMZ Sports talked to 28-year-old Moutinho -- whose UFC 264 scrap with "Suga" Sean O'Malley was stopped with only 27 seconds left in the 3rd and final round -- about his Fight of the Night bonus ... and how the windfall of cash will change his life.

"I’m extremely happy, man. It’s another step to taking care of my family and putting money into the right avenues to be able to take care of my family, and never have to work another job and just do this again. Do this. The thing I love for the rest of my life," Moutinho says.

In fact, Kris says he's never gotten so much money before ... and admitted he doesn't know how to manage the nearly 6-figure sum -- or what to do with it.

"I gotta figure out what I even got to do with it. I’m not like, I’m not built like this bro. I don’t know what all this is. What, how to pay taxes on this, and how to do that. I’m just trying not to end up broke cause of it, you know what I mean?"

So, the bank account is right ... but how does Moutinho feel physically after taking such a beating??

"Great" ... and what else would you expect from Kris?

"I feel great man, I feel great. Pride’s a little sore from losing, man, because a loss is still a loss. I don’t care how great everybody says the fight is. Man, I still lost, and it still hurts. That’s the only thing. The face, it doesn’t really bother me. I can take pain, I can take blunt force, or I wouldn’t do this, you know?"

And Moutinho -- who has a 9-5 record as a pro -- wants everyone to know his UFC career won't just be one-and-done ... and he would even be down for a rematch with Suga down the road.

"There’s no person I’m afraid of on this earth. It doesn’t matter what [O'Malley] did to me. Punches are so miniscule to the amount of pain I’m willing to endure in my life. This is nothing to me."

Kris continued ... "The only thing I fear on this planet is God, and Sean O’Malley isn’t him. Sean O’Malley isn’t him. It is what it is. He beat me. He beat me up a little bit. Hey next time I’m gonna, for my next fight I’m going to improve. I’m going to fix all these little flaws and you’re gonna see a different person when I step in that cage."

Here's the Donald Trump entrance you did NOT see on TV ... with the former POTUS arriving at the arena for Conor McGregor's UFC 264 fight -- and getting a huge ovation from the packed crowd.

TMZ Sports obtained video of DT arriving at T-Mobile Arena midway through the main card ... and being greeted by his longtime friend, UFC prez Dana White.

As Trump and White begin walking towards the arena floor, Donald sees Jorge Masvidal ... and the 2 men exchanged a bro hug.

Remember, Masvidal campaigned for Trump during the 2020 election cycle ... and they clearly have a pretty tight friendship.

When Trump finally emerged from the tunnel and was spotted by the 20K+ crowd -- there were some jeers -- but the response sounds overwhelmingly positive.

Last week, Dana told us that Trump would NOT be sitting in a luxury box ... he'd be right behind the UFC honcho, Octagon side.

However, the ESPN cameras didn't show Trump ... even though they showed a bunch of other A-list celebs (Kourtney Kardashian, Justin Bieber, Dave Chappelle and more) who were in the house.

Of course, internet conspiracy theorists have been having a field day ... speculating why Trump wasn't shown during the broadcast.

Bottom line ... #45 was there, and seemed to get a whole lotta love from the UFC crowd.

Could a Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier rematch actually happen?? Diamond tells TMZ Sports ... "anything is possible."

We talked to the 32-year-old UFC star as he was leaving T-Mobile Arena following his trilogy fight victory over McGregor ... and we asked if Dustin was interested in a 4th fight.

"Anything is possible. I just have to get with my family, and see what's next."

Of course, Conor -- who underwent a successful 3.5-hour surgery yesterday to repair his broken leg -- is facing a long and arduous rehab process... and that must happen before a 4th fight is made.

Speaking of Conor's injury... we also asked Poirier if he felt bad for McGregor.

"You never wanna see someone injured like that. The recovery is gonna be hard and losing."

But Conor is adamant his fighting career is nowhere near done ... he says he will be back -- and sooner rather than later.

Does Dana White have interest in a 4th fight? 'Cause without the UFC honcho on board, it ain't happening.

White was asked about the possibility of a rematch Saturday night ... and Dana certainly didn't say no.

"Dustin Poirier will fight for the title and when Conor is healed and ready to go, we'll do the rematch."

The man who was violently hit in the face by MMA fighter Joe Schilling in a June bar fight was covered in blood shortly after the barrage of punches -- new police video shows.

In the clip, obtained by TMZ Sports, you can see spatters of blood all over 31-year-old Justin Balboa on June 27 as he tried to explain to officers what had just happened to him at a local bar in Florida.

Video shows Balboa (whose face was blurred by cops in the video) telling cops that a man -- later ID'd as Schilling, the former Bellator fighter -- knocked him out cold "for no reason."

"We were all having a good time and this guy just cracked me," said Balboa. "And, then he chased me. He chased me down, bro. Like chased me down. Beat my ass, bro. He wanted to kill me. For no reason. 'Cause he hates me."

Balboa described Schilling to cops as "at least" 6-foot-5 ... and weighing about "f***ing 270" pounds.

Later in the clip, as officers and medical personnel checked out Balboa's face ... they all said he DEFINITELY needed stitches to repair his busted lip.

Balboa has since filed a civil lawsuit against Schilling and the bar ... with his attorney, Robert Solomon, telling TMZ Sports Balboa is also cooperating with prosecutors and wants them to bring a battery charge against Schilling.

A police officer from upstate NY is on leave after he punched a woman he was arresting right in the throat -- knocking her flat on the ground ... and it's all on video.

The DeWitt Police Dept. released body cam footage -- which they spliced together -- showing what led up to the scuffle inside an East Syracuse Walmart on July 4 ... where the cops were dispatched on reports of women fighting inside, and allegedly using pepper spray.

When the cop in question showed -- who has since been ID'd as Rory Spain -- he tried separating the quarreling parties ... and ended up restraining the lady he ultimately punched, Tyreana Edmonds, with handcuffs. As he attempted to lead her away, things escalated.

In the video, you see Edmonds apparently try and bite Officer Spain's arm ... after which, he cocks his arm back, with his fist balled up, and unloads on the front of her neck. The punch lands, and Edmonds is tossed back ... falling hard to the ground after absorbing the blow.

You can hear people around who are filming react in outrage ... and when they approach, Officer Spain tells them to get back. He and his fellow officers arrested her and others involved in the prior altercation ... and they all face multiple charges over this.

Sylvester Stallone says Conor McGregor would be FOOLISH to say no to a Jake Paul fight ... telling TMZ Sports the money would be INSANE!!

We talked to Stallone -- a HUGE boxing fan -- outside Cafe Roma in Beverly Hills ... and asked the 'Rocky' star whether McGregor should take the bait and fight the YouTuber turned boxing star.

"Are you kidding. With the kind of money that's going around, he'd be foolish not to. Think about it."

Of course, Conor and Jake have been verbally sparring on social media and in the media ... but when McGregor was recently asked about fighting JP, he didn't exactly say no.

"I don’t see so, but never say never," Conor said. "If they’re gonna keep competing and what not, who f***in' knows? But dingbats, the 2 of 'em."

For his part, Jake offered CM $50 million for a fight earlier this year.

But, assuming they did fight ... Conor is a former 2-division UFC champion, and Jake is relatively new to the sport (3-0) -- so, does Paul have a real shot at beating The Notorious??

"Oh yeah," Stallone says ... "[Jake's] got range, and he's got youth. And, he's not easy to knockout."

Turns out Lamar Odom ain't a one-and-done fighter ... 'cause the ex-NBA star is stepping back in the squared circle.

Celebrity Boxing founder Damon Feldman tells TMZ Sports the 41-year-old ex-Laker signed a new contract on Friday ... and will be fighting on October 10.

Of course, 6'10" Odom beat the brakes off Aaron Carter last month ... stopping the childhood pop sensation in the 2nd round.

Feldman tells us they're still looking for Lamar's opponent ... and are hoping a big celeb will step up and accept the challenge.

Odom previously told us boxing has been therapeutic for him ... helping him get back in tip-top shape following his near-death experience at The Bunny Ranch in Nevada.

LO isn't the only star fighting on the 10th... we're told former boxing stars Riddick Bowe (no opponent yet) and Paulie Malignaggi (he's fighting social media star Corey B) are also on the card.

Bowe was a huge deal back in the day ... earning the undisputed heavyweight title in 1992.

Stephen Thompson's beaten Jorge Masvidal and a bunch of other killers in the Octagon, but hasn't fought for a title in over 4 years ... a wait that "Wonderboy" says will soon be coming to an end.

Very, very soon.

TMZ Sports talked to the 38-year-old, #4 ranked UFC welterweight just days before he fights 34-year-old Gilbert Burns at UFC 264 ... and asked if a dub will earn him a title shot.

"I think so. I mean, fighting a guy and beating a guy who just fought for the title. He's the number 2 ranked guy in the division, are you kidding me?! I think that would be great!"

Of course, Burns lost to champion Kamaru Usman back in February ... via a 3rd round TKO.

Wonderboy says he accepts he's at the tail end of his career ... and feels like this is his last chance to become UFC champ.

"I'm 38 years old, I got a small window to kinda do what I wanna do with this and I do it because I love to fight, man."

Wonderboy says he's had big wins -- and some bad losses -- and feels like he doesn't have anything to lose in the Octagon.

"I've been knocked out, I've lost. it's not that bad, bro! It's really not. I can just go out there and fight now, you know, to the best of my ability."

Dana White says former President Donald Trump won't be able to hide from the spotlight at UFC 264, because he'll be right next to the Octagon ... where fans can loudly cheer and jeer him.

The UFC honcho joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" to pump up Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier's third fight ... and, in the process, he settled a debate about where Trump will sit Saturday night in Vegas.

It's the first major sporting event Trump's attending since leaving the White House -- and with all that's happened since he lost the election, it's a good bet (even in Vegas) the ex-prez will hear plenty of boos.

Dana, a longtime Trump supporter, says his pal isn't one to shy away from any heckling.

As Dana tells us ... Trump "don't care, he's not that guy, he's not hiding in a box somewhere, that's not his style." Instead, he says Trump will sit right behind him.

No doubt he'll be flanked on all sides by Secret Service, and Dana says agents have been sweeping T-Mobile Arena for a few days now to ensure Trump's safety.

Presidential sideshows aside ... the fight itself should be awesome. McGregor and Poirier have been talking tons of smack leading up to Saturday's showdown, and Dana even took a knee to the ribs during Thursday's press conference.

Don't let the age difference fool ya -- Manny Pacquiao tells TMZ Sports he's feeling great before going up against Errol Spence next month ... and he's showing us just how shredded he is!!!

Of course, 42-year-old "PacMan" is still one of the best boxers in the world ... and he's out to prove he's not slowing down anytime soon when he takes the ring against the 31-year-old champ on August 21.

We caught up with Pacquiao during a workout sesh in L.A. on Friday ... giving a large crowd a show by putting his quick hands on display and getting in a bit of stretching.

Pac even gave us some 1-on-1 time as well ... opening up on all his preparations for the big fight.

"I'm still good, I'm doing fine," Pacquiao tells us while sipping on his NXT LVL Hydrogen water. "Ready for a fight."

Naturally, with Pac being in his 40s and still crushing it, we had to ask who would retire first -- Pacquiao or his good friend Tom Brady ... and his answer is awesome!!!

Conor McGregor vs. Charles Oliveira, coming soon to a UFC card ... 'cause the UFC lightweight champ says "The Notorious" will KO Dustin Poirier this weekend -- and then fight "do Bronx."

TMZ Sports caught up with 31-year-old Oliveira in Las Vegas -- only days before the highly anticipated McGregor-Poirier trilogy fight -- and we asked ... who ya got??

Here's our conversation with the champ and his translator.

Who are you picking for this fight? Who do you think is gonna win it?
Conor.

The champ is picking Conor?
Yeah, Conor Mcgregor.

By KO, submission?
By knockout.

You’re next fight, you want it to be Conor?
Yes, Conor McGregor.

This is important 'cause Dana White recently said the winner of the main event at UFC 264 will face Charles ... so he's got a lot of skin in the game.

Of course, McGregor beat Poirier when they fought in 2014 ... and DP KO'd Conor in the January 2021 rematch.

Mr. Nice Guy is officially dead and gone -- Conor McGregor just UNLEASHED an epic amount of smack talk on Dustin Poirier at their UFC 264 press conference just minutes ago ... vowing to absolutely wreck the guy as soon as they enter the Octagon on Saturday.

Of course, Conor was unusually kind to "Diamond" before their fight back in January ... showing serious respect for Poirier and acting the complete opposite of his wild self.

But, yeah, Thursday night was WAY different.

"I'm gonna go drill his head, put holes into it and take it off his shoulders," Conor said. "That's the goal here! He's done here! This is it for him! This is the end of the road."

Both guys went at each other from the jump by getting in each other's faces -- with Conor grabbing Poirier's signature hot sauce off the table and throwing it off the stage.

Conor was later asked straight-up if he has respect for Dustin ... and he didn't hold back.

"I don't give a f*** about him to be honest," McGregor said. "I don't give a rat's ass about him. He's Buster Douglas is what he is, and that's the way he's gonna go down."

"He's gonna be known for that. It was a fluke win and I'm gonna correct it on Saturday night."

As for Dustin, he had a different tone -- "I don't hate anybody up here. I'm at a different place mentally, man. Respect to him and everything he's done."

TMZ Sports got in a few questions with Conor as well ... asking when he believes he'll be a billionaire ... and ya gotta hear what he has to say.

There's a lot of history between the guys -- Conor got the win their first go-round in 2014 ... with Poirier getting the win in January.

"I was very overconfident going into [Usman] fight. I just believed, I’m going to beat this guy, and there’s nothing he can do to stop me."

That's 34-year-old UFC star Gilbert Burns admitting he thought he was gonna roll over welterweight champ Kamaru Usman when they fought in February.

That didn't happen ... and Burns was ultimately stopped via TKO in the 3rd round -- a defeat that crushed him emotionally.

"As soon as we put on those little, small gloves everyone is danger," Burns tells TMZ Sports.

"You gotta respect that, and I think I was very overconfident, and I paid the price. So, learned so much. The journey is still very alive, first step is going to be July 10th."

Of course, July 10 is UFC 264 ... the date Burns returns to the Octagon against #4 ranked fight Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson.

"Now I’m on my way back. I’m hungry as ever. I think I’m a little more mature, more disciplined."

Does 1 win get him back in title contention -- and set him up for a rematch with Usman?

Surprisingly, Burns says probably not ... he has more work to do.

"I couldn’t care about them 2 dingbats."

Conor McGregor is days away from one of the biggest fights of his career, but the UFC superstar's still getting grilled about Jake and Logan Paul ... saying he has no intention of ever fighting the YouTubers-turned-boxers.

... but he's not counting it out for good!!!

"The Notorious" -- who's seeking revenge against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 on Saturday -- was asked if he'd ever step in the ring with the two bros this week ... and his answer is very interesting.

"I don’t see so, but never say never," Conor said. "If they’re gonna keep competing and what not, who f***in' knows? But dingbats, the 2 of 'em."

In other words -- SO YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S A CHANCE!!!!

Remember, Jake has incessantly gone after McGregor for months ... offering $50 million to make the fight happen, even releasing a wild video claiming the superstar and Dana White are scared to set it up.

Conor -- who loves making money -- has kept his options open about fighting Jake in the past ... and you'd think there's gotta be a reason for that.