Celebrity Health

Paige VanZant has a message for the UFC -- GET ME BACK IN THE OCTAGON ALREADY!!!

The 25-year-old says she's got the green light from doctors to fight again after undergoing surgery on her right forearm back in June ... and she's DYING to test it out in combat!

Of course, Paige initially injured her arm while delivering a spinning backfist during a 2018 fight against Jessica-Rose Clark and needed surgery to fix it.

Paige returned to the Octagon in Jan. 2019 and defeated Rachael Ostovich ... but required another operation in June 2019 to get a metal rod reinserted in the arm.

Now, VanZant says she's all healed up and she's already hit up Dana White to book a match ... and she wants a fight in the next 2 months!!

"I told the UFC, actually, almost a month ago. Like 4 weeks ago. 'Hey, I'm ready to fight. Give me a fight.' And its been a month and I haven't heard anything," VanZant says.

"I'm trying to force the hand and get a fight because I've been ready this whole time and we're kinda just waiting to hear who they match me up against."

Paige had offered to step in and fight Michelle Waterson if Joanna Jedrzejczyk dropped out of their Oct. 12 main event due to weight issues. But, Joanna made weight, so no go for Paige.

VanZant says she's still down to fight Waterson when she heals up from the Joanna fight -- but if Michelle needs months to recover, Paige would rather find another opponent because she doesn't want to wait.

Alex Smith went under the knife SEVENTEEN TIMES to repair the leg that he gruesomely mangled in a Redskins game back in 2018. Yeesh.

According to The Washington Times, the 'Skins QB was speaking at an Inova Sports Medicine event earlier this month in Fairfax, Virginia when he made the revelation.

It's a pretty shocking figure ... considering in December, it was reported 35-year-old Smith only needed SIX surgeries to fix the issues.

Of course, given how violent the injury looked when J.J. Watt sacked the QB in a Nov. 18, 2018 Texans-Redskins game ... it's not exactly a surprising number.

Smith has battled heroically throughout the whole recovery process ... remember, it was just a few months ago when his leg was spotted at a Wizards game with a nasty metal brace on it.

Alex has since had the contraption removed ... and told reporters at Washington's training camp this summer that he still has hopes he can return to the field someday.

Food Network star and celebrity chef Carl Ruiz died from a hardening of his arteries ... TMZ has learned.

A spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Health tells TMZ ... Ruiz died after succumbing to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease -- typically a buildup of fats, cholesterol and other substances in arteries which restricts blood flow.

The finding confirms the suspicions of Carl's family ... that he died of a heart attack.

Travis Scott has a seriously bum knee after his onstage fall at Rolling Loud -- and all signs point to him going under the knife as fast as possible.

Sources connected to Travis tell TMZ ... he went to see orthopedic specialist Dr. Neal ElAttrache this week at L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute. We're told he was diagnosed with a dislocated knee -- specifically, a stretch or tear in the patellar tendon.

As we reported ... Travis hurt himself this weekend while performing at NYC's Rolling Loud Festival, landing on his leg wrong while he was jumping up and down. He was hobbling around afterward but finished the show nonetheless. Total trooper!

DMX decided to be proactive in his battle with addiction before it led to another relapse -- and potentially more legal trouble -- so that's why he's back in rehab.

Sources close to the rapper tell TMZ ... one of X's kids is very sick -- in and out of the hospital -- and the stress of that coupled with the pressure of performing again made him feel tempted to use.

We're told X knew he needed help trying to balance his home and work life without the use of drugs, so he preemptively checked himself into rehab -- hoping to learn how to deal with his issues moving forward.

Alex Trebek is clearly having some difficulties taking the reigns of "Jeopardy!" as he undergoes a second round of chemo for pancreatic cancer, but it is full steam ahead and there are no signs Alex is throwing in the towel.

Trebek's recent interview with Canadian TV fueled speculation his days as the host of the iconic game show may be numbered. He said chemo has caused mouth sores to erupt, making it difficult to speak. Alex has said repeatedly, if his ability to host the show diminishes, he will step down, but we're told that's NOT on the horizon.

"Jeopardy!" production sources tell us the show is taped 2.5 months in advance, and as of now, they have shows well into December. So, if Alex is under the weather and misses a few tapings, it won't send the show into freefall.

Carlos Correa's walk-off dinger to even up the ALCS on Sunday was bigger than baseball ... 'cause the MLB star dedicated the home run to one of his biggest fans battling cancer.

Jalen Garcia is a teenage Houston Astros super fan who has been bravely battling Osteosarcoma -- a type of bone cancer -- since he was 13, according to the Laredo Morning Times.

The 25-year-old shortstop and his fiancee, Daniella Rodriguez, met the big-time fan at a hospital in Houston on Friday ... and Correa was so moved by the visit, he wanted to do something extra special that Garcia would never forget.

"Next home run I hit will be for you," Correa promised Garcia. "When you see me pointing, I'll be pointing at you."

Fast forward to Sunday night against the Yankees ... when Correa stepped up to the plate in the 11th inning with the game tied at 2 ... and he hit it right outta the park!!!

As Correa rounded first base, he held true to his promise ... pointing out for his new friend, Jalen while all eyes were on him.

Correa commented on the awesome gesture on Monday ... saying "That was for you, Jalen. Keep fighting we are with you."

No word on how Jalen reacted ... but we're assuming the guy has to be PUMPED!!

K-Pop singer and actress Sulli has been found dead, and police believe it might have been a suicide ... according to various reports out of South Korea.

Sulli, whose real name is Choi Jin-ri, was reportedly discovered Monday in her home south of Seoul by her manager, who went there because she hadn't answered phone calls for hours.

The K-pop star lived alone in the house, and according to one police official ... "It seems that she took her own life but we are also looking into other possibilities." Cops say no suicide note was found and there were no signs of foul play.

Eddie Van Halen has been flying between the United States and Germany to get treatment for throat cancer ... and we've learned he's been doing it very quietly for years.

As for how Eddie developed the cancer ... we're told he believes it's from a metal guitar pick he used more than 20 years ago. Seems Eddie would cradle the pick in his mouth, and he's been told that could well have been the source of the cancer, despite the fact he was a heavy smoker. Back in 2000, shortly after he was diagnosed, doctors removed around 1/3 of his tongue.

Eddie was diagnosed nearly 20 years ago. Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... over the years there were times some of the cancer cells migrated down to his throat, and doctors would scrape them out.

Our sources say ... Eddie has flown to Germany for 5 years to get radiation treatment, and for the most part it's worked to keep the disease in check.

As for his current condition ... there are lots of rumors, but people who know him say he's seems to be doing okay -- at least on the surface.

DMX has canceled shows because his addiction struggles have forced him back into rehab.

DMX's team says, "In his ongoing commitment to putting family and sobriety first, DMX has checked himself into a rehab facility. He apologizes for his cancelled shows and thanks his fans for their continued support."

The New York-born rapper was scheduled to perform Saturday at the reunion concert for Three 6 Mafia in Memphis and Day 2 of Rolling Loud in New York on Sunday. Both appearances have been canceled. The Ying Yang Twins replaced X Saturday night.

You know the ear that Vader famously ripped off of Mick Foley's head in a wrestling match 25 years ago??

Yeah, Foley just showed it to TMZ Sports -- and it's still not fully repaired ... AND IT'S STILL GROSS AS HELL!!!

We spoke with the wrestling legend out in NYC earlier this week and asked him for a little injury story time ... and that's when he retold us the famous tale of him losing a piece of his ear in 1994.

NFL legend Ed Reed is concerned about Vontaze Burfict's mental health -- and is calling for the Oakland Raiders star to be "mentally evaluated" over his history of violent play.

"After all the years ... dude actually needs to be evaluated," Reed told TMZ Sports at LAX. "I think he needs to be evaluated for playing like that."

Reed is referring to Burfict's well-documented history of illegal hits on NFL players. Most recently, Burfict was suspended for the remainder of the 2019 season for a dirty helmet-to-helmet hit on Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle.

The Raiders appealed the punishment, claiming Burfict was being treated unfairly (the appeal was denied) ... but Reed says Burfict "had it coming."

"He put himself in that situation after all the years and everything he's done."

Wale's pushing a brilliant idea that would help artists the second they put pen to paper on a new record deal ... now he just needs record labels to step up.

The rapper hopped on "TMZ Live" Friday and talked about a noble and personal cause -- getting record labels to do right by looking after the mental health of their artists as they rise and fall.

Wale's committed ... so much so he dropped his new studio album, "Wow ... That's Crazy" to bring awareness on #WorldMentalHealthDay. The rapper says with artists being under the microscope these days, every one of their moves -- from bad days to breakups -- are immediately magnified 100 times over.

Miley Cyrus showed everyone she can be a hanger-on -- and it doesn't hurt when the pillar is a chiseled dude like Cody Simpson.

Miley wanted to show her nearly 100 million followers the goods, and gotta say -- impressive. Cody and his pecs apparently were just what the doctor ordered, because she seems to be recovering nicely from a bad case of tonsillitis.

She was hospitalized earlier this week and said she underwent surgery. She wasn't specific, but she may be sans tonsils.

As we first reported ... Miley's new fling with Cody ignited earlier this month ... after her breakup with Kaitlynn and long after her breakup with Liam Hemsworth, who filed for divorce at the end of August. Once pics surfaced of them making out she said he was exactly her type.

Kevin Hart is getting back to his famous "Hustle Hart" mode after his horrific car accident -- but he's not rushing into anything intense -- like full action scenes -- just yet.

Sources connected to Kevin tell TMZ ... he's reported to work this week to promote the upcoming 'Jumanji' sequel in a new marketing campaign, which clearly required his presence, because he's nowhere near 100 percent yet.

Ever the trooper though, we're told Kevin is committed to fulfilling his commitments as best as he can. For example, our sources say Kevin did 2 hours of shoots on set Monday, another 2 hours Tuesday, and will be back for another couple on Thursday.

We're told Kevin has not been in full costume for these shoots and he's not walking much for them either -- sitting through most of the day -- even though he can walk on his own these days.

Everyone else on set -- including The Rock, Jack Black, Nick Jonas and others -- have been doing full days themselves. Of course, they're not recovering from a near-fatal wreck.

Bernie Sanders' daughter-in-law is dead just days after she was diagnosed with cancer ... and on the heels of the Senator's heart attack.

Rainé Riggs died Saturday, according to the Lee & Martin Funeral Home in Burgettstown, PA. That was the very same day Sen. Sanders returned to Vermont after suffering a heart attack on the campaign trail last week.

Rainé's obit says she had just been diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer 2 days prior to her death. She had fallen mysteriously ill about 3 weeks earlier.

The blow to Sanders' family comes as he tries to recover from heart surgery. As we reported, 78-year-old Bernie was at a campaign event in Vegas last week when he began experiencing chest pains. He was hospitalized there before heading home to Vermont over the weekend.

Rainé was married to Bernie's son, Levi Sanders, and the couple had 3 children. She and Levi reportedly met back in the day when they were both working at an emergency food shelter in Vermont.