MMA

Conor McGregor wants everyone to know he still has BOTH of his UFC championship belts -- and ain't NO ONE gonna take 'em!

The problem ... obviously ... is that the UFC has said Conor relinquished his featherweight championship last weekend because he can only defend 1 title at a time. He's keeping his lightweight title.

But Conor sees it differently -- he believes the "title" belongs to whoever physically holds the championship belts ... and as long as he has both belts in his possession, he still considers himself the "champ champ."

In fact, he took his belts on a private jet flight Monday morning.

Rising UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov is FREAKING INSANE!!!!

Don't believe us? Listen to the man himself casually describe to TMZ Sports how he SPARS WITH LIONS as part of his training.

You heard us ... lions, like Simba and Mufasa except real and not animated ... meaning totally capable of ripping your face off at any minute.

He's conquered the wild before ... there's actually video of him wrestling with bears as a child ... but good news for all you Smokey's and Yogi's out there, KN says he's moved on to lions permanently.

If CM Punk wants to fight again ... he should take his talents somewhere OTHER than the UFC ... so says the man who beat his ass, Mickey Gall.

Gall is gearing up for his big showdown with Sage Northcutt at UFC on FOX 22 in December ... a fight he asked for after defeating CM Punk at UFC 203.

Couple things ...

1) Gall fires back at Sage's training partner, Tyron Woodley, who said Mickey bit off more than he can chew.

2) He delivers some health advice to CM Punk, who recently said he wants a 2nd fight in the UFC -- don't do it.

UFC rising superstar Khabib Nurmagomedov says he wants to HUMILIATE Conor McGregor -- and vows to "finish his hype" forever if Dana White gives him the chance.

TMZ Sports spoke to the fighter (who's currently in Russia!) and he explained the fight isn't about the money because "I have a lot of money."

Khabib says Conor simply rubs him the wrong way -- and he wants to punish the Irish superstar ... badly.

"I want to take him down, speak with him, slap him, make him nervous ... like, 'Hey, get up! Let's go! Where is your boxing?' ... play with him and make him give up. This is what I want."

"But I don't want to finish him 1st round, 2nd round, 3rd round ... I want to fight with him for 25 minutes like 5 rounds and I want to make him look very bad. And finish his hype."

Khabib also describes a backstage confrontation with Conor at UFC 205 -- and says he's no Eddie Alvarez or Tyron Woodley ... and would've destroyed CM on the spot if he hadn't retreated.

There's more ... Khabib also explains why he no longer gets into street fights (spoiler: it's because he's afraid he might kill someone).

Andre Ward has a great big NOT SO FAST for anyone who thinks UFC guys can't hang with pro boxers ... saying he actually sparred with Nick and Nate Diaz, and the dudes can throw hands ... FOR REAL.

Ward's in Vegas getting ready for his PPV throwdown with Sergey Kovalev on Saturday and took a little time to talk to TMZ Sports before the two lock horns.

Of course, we asked him who he'd pick in a mega-fight between Conor and Floyd ... and while he made it clear Floyd has the edge in a boxing ring, he told us he knows FIRSTHAND how hard UFC guys can hit.

"I spar with Nick and Nate Diaz ... those boys know what they're doing, they can throw their hands."

Get this ... Ward also says he'd like to see a truce in the whole MMA vs boxing war.

Chael Sonnen just gave Jon Jones fans a classic good news/bad news situation ...

Good news? Jones is returning to the mat as part of Chael's Submission Underground event next month ... an all-grappling combat contest Jones is actually allowed to compete in, despite his yearlong drug suspension.

Bad news? Jon is up against his old UFC foe -- and former Olympic wrestler -- Dan Henderson ... during a bout on FloGrappling.com which according to Sonnen could mean Jones seriously gets embarrassed in the all-grappling format.

Beware, Bellator fighters ... Kevin "Baby Slice" Ferguson says you guys have NO HOPE of hurting him in the ring ... 'cause he's taken more punishment than you can dish out ... from his father, Kimbo Slice.

Ferguson is set to make his long-awaited debut at Bellator 165 this Saturday against Aaron Hamilton ... and told TMZ Sports there's a reason why he's not at all nervous about his first big fight.

"I used to spar with my dad all the time ... he used to sit me down with body shots."

BTW -- Kimbo Slice was 245 pounds, Baby Slice weighs in at 170 ... so yeah, brutal.

Floyd Mayweather ain't letting himself go in retirement -- his bodyguards say the dude is still in INSANE shape and could fight RIGHT NOW if he wanted to.

TMZ Sports spoke with Floyd's muscle -- Greg and Jizzy -- at the Money Team record label launch party in New York ... when they told us why they're convinced Floyd could fight 'til he's 60 YEARS OLD.

Nick Diaz was inside 1 Oak nightclub when Conor McGregor went off on Floyd Mayweather Tuesday night -- and had this 2 word reaction -- "F*** you."

Diaz began Snapchatting himself during Conor's rant -- and said, "I was already the 2-weight world champion, bitch."

Then he threw up a middle finger and said, "F*** you."

Jerry Rice is no dummy ... and knows when you're caught in a Ronda Rousey-style armbar at an MMA gym -- YOU TAP IMMEDIATELY!!!

The NFL legend teamed up with Bellator, Spike and Veterans Operation Wellness to do some MMA training with U.S. Army veterans at the Smash Gym in Northern California on Tuesday ... and actually looked pretty good.

At one point, he squared off with J.T. Roswell -- who's fighting at Bellator 165 on Saturday -- and even though he got his hands near Roswell's face, things changed quickly ... and it was tap city.

We're told Rice was a quick learner and the fighters were impressed with how quickly he picked up on techniques.

Dana White ain't taking too kindly to Floyd Mayweather's shots at Conor McGregor -- blasting the boxing legend as one of the most boring fighters ever ... who needs to RESPECT the Irish stud.

Here's the FULL 5-minute shot with Floyd Mayweather -- where he blasts Conor McGregor over and over again ... and claims to be the biggest name in MMA.

It all went down on Monday -- when Floyd told our guy comparing Conor to him was "disrespectful" -- because he's an elephant and McGregor is an ant.

There's a lot more in the full clip ... including the part where Floyd accuses Conor of "piggybacking off my name."

Conor McGregor has a message for Floyd Mayweather -- if you wanna talk smack, "SAY IT TO MY FACE!"

We just shot the UFC superstar on the streets of NYC -- where he's still getting all sorts of love from fans -- and told him about the comments Mayweather made about him Monday.

McGregor called full B.S. on Floyd's claim that he didn't watch UFC 205 -- and then Conor straight-up called him out.

Floyd Mayweather is sick of the Conor McGregor comparisons -- saying it's "total disrespect" because the UFC star is an ant and Floyd is an elephant.

Seriously.

Ronda Rousey made an angry charge onto the UFC stage to stare down her UFC 207 opponent Amanda Nunes ... and then stormed right off ... blowing off the customary interview with Joe Rogan.

Dana White tried to hold Ronda onstage so Rogan could get off some questions -- but Rousey was having none of it ... and pulled away to bolt.

Nunes stayed onstage and vowed to beat Rousey's ass when they get in the Octagon in December.

By the way, Ronda's hair looked dope.

UPDATE -- Ronda continued to storm past media after she left the stage.

Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez just went toe-to-toe for EVEN MORE smack talking at the UFC 205 weigh-ins ... jawing at each other while Dana White pulled them apart.

Conor took more shots at Eddie -- claiming the fight will be just another day at the office ... "I do this every week."

Eddie vowed to silence the crowd ... and promised to shut Conor up for good.