Fight night should be a breeze for Belal Muhammad ... 'cause the UFC welterweight champ says he regularly works out with dudes most dangerous than Jack Della Maddalena, his UFC 315 opp!
TMZ Sports spoke with the 36-year-old fighter ahead of Saturday's main event scrap ... and like a slugger on deck taking hacks with a donut on his bat, Belal says the actual fight will be easier than his time on the practice mats.
"When I look at the guys that I train with, I tell you, I'm training with the best striker in the world in Ignacio Bahamondes. And I strike with this guy every single day. Jack doesn't have striking that comes close to him. The grapplers that I train with, the guys that I'm sparring with every single day, they're better than Jack," Muhammad said.
Jon Jones is at the top of everyone's list of 100 dudes who could join forces to take down a gorilla ... so what's his take on the whole debate??
Pray for the gorilla.
TMZ Sports caught up with the UFC superstar at LAX this week ... and we had to ask with so many social media users throwing his name around, how does he feel he'd fare against a silverback??
Reinier de Ridder is fresh off handing previously undefeated prospect Bo Nickal the first loss of his MMA career ... and while the 3x NCAA champ was a dangerous opp, RDR is setting his sights a bit further up the rankings!
TMZ Sports spoke to the 34-year-old Dutch fighter after he knocked out Nickal with a brutal knee in the second round of Saturday's UFC Fight Night co-main event ... where we asked de Ridder who he's looking to mix it up with next.
"I want Sean Strickland," RDR said ... "That would be the coolest fight."
Bo Nickal says he'll face the toughest test of his still-young MMA career Saturday when he steps into the Octagon vs. Reinier De Ridder ... a former 2-division world champ in ONE!
The 29-year-old 3x NCAA wrestling champ and undefeated MMA fighter is set to scrap with 34-year-old RDR ... and despite being the 13th-ranked Middleweight, Nickal says Ridder is actually underrated.
"I think that both of us would beat most of the top 15, and I think that this fight is way more than an unranked guy fighting number 13," Bo told TMZ Sports. "Whoever wins this fight will have a really nice path to challenging for the title and fighting the best guys in the world."
Ian Machado Garry is fighting Carlos Prates in the main event at UFC Fight Night on Saturday, but that doesn't mean his (very real) beef with rival Colby Covingtonhas been squashed!
TMZ Sports caught up with the #7 ranked welterweight contender just days before his highly anticipated scrap ... and while we talked a bunch about Prates, we also asked about Chaos.
"There's a reason I've said it before and I'll say it again when that man [Covington] goes to bed and he closes his eyes, he fears me. He's never going to step into the Octagon with me and back it up and he knows why," Garry said.
YK Osiris hasn't released a song in 2025 yet but that may change very soon -- after the R&B singer just took a bruisin' in the boxing ring!!!
Over the weekend, YK and streamer Scam Likely engaged in high-octane fisticuffs in a kickboxing match hosted by Kick and Stake ... resulting in YK losing by unanimous decision in the 3-round bout.
YK hopped on IG Monday to admit he was taking his lumps in stride and retreating to his OG profession of belting out songs -- as opposed to chasing a championship belt.
Alexander Volkanovskiis set to welcome his fourth child to the world later in 2025 -- and the UFC champ swears it's his last little one -- soooooooo, vasectomy?!
Volk says not so fast!
The 36-year-old, who recently announced he and his wife Emma were expecting their fourth little bundle of joy, joined Charlie Cotton on TMZ's "Big Down Under" podcast where he talked about makin' babies.
Raul Rosas Jr. has experienced a lot of success early into his UFC career ... but he's now ready for the next step -- telling TMZ Sports he wants a top-15 opponent!!
We caught up with the 20-year-old bantamweight following his unanimous decision win in Mexico City last Saturday ... a performance he graded quite highly for himself.
"Good control, good everything and especially I push myself to keep staying in the fight," he said. "I'll give it an A because I would like to finish. I'm always looking for the finish, so next time, I'll fix these mistakes to be able to go out there and get the finish next time."
Tributes have been pouring in following the death of martial arts legend and actor Richard Norton ... including from his friend Chuck Norris, who says he's "heartbroken" following Norton's death.
The 85-year-old took to social media ... where he shared several throwback photos of the two, including a pic from a fight scene they had in the movie, "The Octagon."
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"The wonderful memories we shared will forever be cherished in my heart. Richard, you made me not only a better martial artist but a better person. You inspired so many, and your legacy and impact will continue to live on for generations to come," Norris wrote.
Richard Norton -- who trained A-list stars in martial arts including Ben Affleck, Margot Robbie and Scarlett Johansson -- died over the weekend.
The industry legend died on Saturday in Melbourne, Australia according to his wife Judy Green. In her announcement of his death on Instagram, she wrote ..."I am numb and devastated, I have no words, I have lost my everything"
She continued ... "I know there is, and will be lots of love and shock that we have lost this incredible human being" adding she's using this time to come to terms with his death.
Brandon Moreno's heading into his main event fight, not with anger or aggression ... but instead with gratitude, telling TMZ Sports he's super thankful the UFC has given him the opportunity to fight at home!
"I'm just very grateful with the company, very grateful with the UFC to keep giving me these opportunities to show my skills to my country, you know, to Mexico. So I'm just enjoying the moment. I'm just enjoying the moment," the 31-year-old former Flyweight champ told us days before the scrap against Steve Erceg.
Erceg, 29 years old, is 12-3 as a pro ... and will be across from Moreno Saturday night at Arena CDMX in Mexico City.
Former MMA fighter Sean Loeffler has been sentenced to five years of supervised probation and a $5,000 fine after pleading guilty to a third degree sexual abuse charge in Oregon.
A Lincoln County judge also sentenced him to five years' bench probation for an interception of communications offense. FYI ... bench probation means the court will monitor him, rather than a probation officer.
The once-promising athlete received his sentence Wednesday afternoon after pleading guilty to sexual abuse and interception of communications misdemeanors Monday.
Wyatt Hendrickson set the sports world on fire Saturday night when he defeated Gable Steveson to win the NCAA national championship ... and while the Oklahoma State wrestling product doesn't have any plans to pursue MMA or professional wrestling full-time -- he tells TMZ Sports not to rule out a future appearance!!
We caught up with the U.S. Air Force Second Lieutenant a few days after taking home the NCAA heavyweight wrestling crown ... and he said he's still riding the high of it all.
"I'm so grateful for my team and my coaches," he said. "That whole tournament, everything lined up perfectly for us to have a great turnout as a team."
Luke Rockhold believes it's a serious injustice that Cain Velasquez is back behind bars ... and now, he's urging Donald Trump to step in and help remedy the issue.
Rockhold told TMZ Sports on Tuesday he believes Velasquez's attempt to seriously hurt Harry Goularte on a Northern California roadway back in February 2022 was "somewhat justified" -- as the MMA legend believed the man had molested one of CV's close relatives.
Velasquez ended up spending one year behind bars and an additional two under house arrest after he was thrown in jail for the alleged attempted murder ... and Rockhold told us that punishment should have been enough.
Fair warning to anyone trying to get close to Ivanka Trump ... the Secret Service may not be your biggest problem, 'cause the First Daughter just flexed her skills on the mat -- thanks to a training sesh with Gisele's man!
The 43-year-old daughter of the 47th U.S. President was seen training BJJ with Joaquim Valente and his two brothers, Pedro and Gui, at their facility in south Florida.
"Jiu-Jitsu is more than a martial art. Rooted in tradition and guided by the 753 Code, it builds physical confidence, mental clarity, and emotional balance," the Valente Brothers wrote on social media, alongside a video of the workout session.
Ivanka shared the clip with her 11.2 million followers on X ... where she and the Valentes work on different techniques, from arm bars to throws.
Conor McGregor is going full send with his political ambitions ... announcing on social media he's running for president in Ireland.
The UFC superstar explained his reasoning behind the run on Thursday ... saying he wants to give the people of his country a proper voice in its future.
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The biggest issue?? The proposed EU Migration Pact ... which shouldn't come as a surprise, considering McGregor used his recent visit with President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss his problems with immigration.
