Gossip / Rumors

Donald Trump's camp claims the center armrest separating him from a fellow passenger is the smoking gun proving she's a liar ... but we did some digging and she's on solid ground.

Jessica Leeds claims she was sitting next to Trump on a flight from Dallas to NYC in 1979, when he got all handsy with her. She says all of a sudden the center console disappeared, and that's when the under-the-skirt groping began.

Trump's camp claims her story doesn't hold water, because the center armrest in first class was fixed -- not removable.

Leeds claims she was on a Braniff Airways Boeing 707, but we contacted Ben Cass, the founder of the Braniff Airways Foundation, and he says 707s were not in service from Dallas to NYC in '79.

Cass says the plane was actually a Boeing 727, and the armrest was indeed removable by simply pulling it vertically.

The armrest was held in place by pegs and Cass said it would take only 2 seconds to lift it off.

We also got hold of the Braniff International Flight Attendant Manual, which makes it clear ... the armrests, just like Leeds said, could disappear.

Conor McGregor's PUMPED for Ronda Rousey's long-awaited UFC return ... and hopes he inspired the MMA star to get back in the Octagon after her devastating loss to Holly Holm.

McGregor did a Q&A with The LAD Bible on Facebook ... where he talked Ronda's upcoming fight against Amanda Nunes at UFC 207.

"I'm very excited. It's good to finally see her back ... I hope she took inspiration on how I came back from my defeat and I wish her all the best."

(McGregor lost to Nate Diaz ... before avenging the loss at UFC 202)

Former NFL star Greg Hardy is finally getting support from someone in the MMA community ... and it comes from one of the best trainers in the business ... Kenny Johnson.

Kenny's trained stars like B.J. Penn, Jose Aldo and Anderson Silva. So when TMZ Sports ran into him at Black House MMA Gym ... we asked if he'd be interested in bringing Hardy on board.

"I would not judge the past of a man if he's trying to better his present."

KJ went on to say, "With him wanting to make the transition over to MMA ... hey man, Black House, we're open. Call me ... we'll train."

This comes just days after Jay Glazer and Luke Rockhold bashed the troubled former Pro Bowler ... saying there's no room for Hardy in the sport.

Johnson clearly disagrees.

"A lot of people are being real harsh on the guy. They're choosing to focus on the past of a man, rather than the future."

Check out the clip.

UFC superstar Luke Rockhold is BLASTING Greg Hardy and anyone considering training the ex-NFL star ... saying, "it's crazy to think that someone would actually train this guy."

Rockhold joined the "TMZ Sports" TV show ... when he was asked about Hardy's plan to hang up his cleats and fight mixed martial arts.

Luke absolutely goes in on Hardy ... calling the domestic violence accusations against him "beyond anything of what a normal human is capable of."

FYI -- Hardy was convicted of domestic violence in '14 ... before the guilty verdict was dismissed after the accuser stopped cooperating with authorities.

Check out the clip ... it's clear Rockhold vehemently feels Hardy has no place in MMA.

The Game's asking the judge in his sexual assault case to make his accuser's sexual history fair game ... history that allegedly includes prostitution.

The rapper's legal team is opposing Priscilla Rainey's request to prohibit them from raising issues about her alleged past in the trial, which she claims is only meant to inflame the jury and victim shame.

But Game's team just filed legal docs claiming her history is a direct reflection of her credibility ... specifically allegations she was a prostitute and engaged in a "promiscuous" lifestyle. He also wants the jury to know she allegedly spent time in a mental institution.

Game also wants the jury to know she's allegedly been arrested for theft.

The woman who accused Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her on a plane claims he was all over her for 15 minutes, but she says there was a clear breaking point.

Jessica Leeds came on Anderson Cooper's show Thursday night and gave a blow-by-blow of what she said went down.

Trump says she's a liar and vows to sue The New York Times for posting it.

Former Miss Teen USA Katie Blair says Donald Trump is far from the sleazy guy he's being made out to be ... based on her experiences with him on TV shows and pageants.

Katie was Miss Teen USA '06 and Miss CA USA '11 ... and Trump owned both pageants at the time. We talked to her about her interactions with the boss, and while she admits there were plenty of situations for him to leer ... she insists it NEVER happened.

Katie says anyone who's had any experience with live TV would know there's an obvious reason why Trump couldn't have done many of the things some other pageant contestants have accused him of doing.

Check out her take on Trump -- who stood by her during her scandal with former Miss USA Tara Conner. Katie's clearly got his back when it comes to his ethics.

As for whether he's got her vote? Katie's made her decision, though it's hardly a ringing endorsement.

UFC rising star Sage Northcutt doesn't seem fazed by Mickey Gall's violent smack talk -- laughing off his bone-breaking threats as pure comedy ... while training with UFC champ Tyron Woodley.

As we previously reported, Gall threatened to "hurt [Sage] bad" when they face off at UFC on FOX 22 in December .. adding, "I'm gonna break his bones."

Since Tyron and Sage are friends, we hit up the champ to find out how Northcutt's preparing for the fight -- when Super Sage made a surprise appearance and reacted to Gall's comments personally.

Check out the clip ... it's clear Tyron thinks Mickey may have bitten off a little more than he can chew.

2:05 PM PT -- Law enforcement sources in Cincinnati tell us they've also made contact with Broner and confirmed he's ok.

Good news on the Adrien Broner front ... his fiancee says the boxer is okay ... despite some disturbing posts in which he hinted that he was going to take his own life.

Arie Nicole -- aka Miss Louiebags -- went to Snapchat and posted a message moments ago that simply read, "Adrien is okay."

We also spoke with some of Broner's friends who say the boxer has been taking their calls and they're confident he's safe and in a better place now.

As we previously reported, Broner went to social media and posted a photo of a gun and suggested he was going to commit suicide.

Ciara's $15 million lawsuit against Future is going to be more of an uphill battle for her ... after the judge just ruled the rapper's angry tweets alone aren't enough to prove Ciara's been damaged.

The exes are locked in a nasty suit -- with Ciara claiming Future ruined her image as a mother and a singer. However, a judge ruled Wednesday the tweets ... including gems like, "this bitch got control problems" ... aren't libelous on their face.

It means, Ciara will have to offer up more evidence as to how her career has been damaged since Future's Twitter rant.

The issue still for Future, there's still a count of libel and distortion left in the case ... which could hang him out to dry.

Ex-WWE superstar Alberto Del Rio says he REALLY WAS attacked by a man with a knife last week -- saying things got violent with the "drunk" assailant when he talked smack to his GF, Paige.

People at NBC knew about Donald Trump's crude convo with Billy Bush for at least 2 months ... because Billy was bragging about it back then.

TMZ has confirmed ... Billy was telling NBC staffers in Rio about the tape back in early August, when he was still working for "Access Hollywood." We're told word circulated because Billy made it clear Trump was trash-talking Nancy O'Dell.

NBC News says it didn't know about the outtakes until a week ago Monday, but the word around the network is people knew, including executives at 'Access,' which is an NBC property. We're told those executives had full knowledge of Billy's comments on the tape ... which creates a potential problem if NBC is serious about firing him.

We're told Bush's camp will argue they can't 86 him based on a "morality clause" because execs knew what he had said, and didn't discipline him at the time ... 11 years ago.

UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic has a warning for Greg Hardy -- MMA is tougher than you think ... "it's not just something you pick up off the street."

With the ex-NFL star announcing he's pursuing a career as a heavyweight MMA fighter, we went right to the top guy to get his take.

Long story short ... Miocic says he'd beat Hardy down if they ever faced off in the Octagon -- but says he's not counting Hardy out as a fighter.

"Stranger things have happened," Stipe said when asked if he thinks Hardy could be a contender.

Comedian Russell Peters thinks Billy Bush is getting a raw deal over the "Access Hollywood" fiasco.

Peters was leaving Catch in WeHo Monday night when he made his case for Billy, who has all but been fired from "Today."

UFC star Mickey Gall says he's gonna destroy Sage Northcutt WORSE THAN CM PUNK -- vowing to break the guy's bones and hurt him real bad.

Gall and Northcutt are fighting at UFC Fight Night on Dec. 17th -- and the smack talk is already in full swing.

Gall says he actually likes Sage -- but says he's corny, a "silly boy" and "kind of a dork."

The clip is great -- Gall is a huge star in the making -- and he also reflects on his famous beatdown of CM Punk and whether he should get another shot in the UFC.

Nick Viall's got puppy love written all over his face, arm in arm with a cutie brunette ... and TMZ has the video.

The 'Bachelor' was spotted in his hometown of Waukesha, WI where he was presumably on a hometown date ... meaning the chick on his arm reached at least one of the final stages on season 21 of "The Bachelor."

Check out the vid ... Nick and the brunette get handsy as they make their way to Rochester Deli where they scarfed down a couple sandwiches, coleslaw and cookies.

Gotta love a girl who can eat!