MMA

Conor McGregor has a pretty powerful supporter -- with Chuck Liddell telling TMZ Sports the Irishman is right ... his fight with Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone should be promoted as the MAIN event.

Remember, Cowboy told ESPN this week ... fight negotiations broke down because Conor refuses to be billed as a co-main event.

The issue is that neither Conor nor Cowboy currently hold a title -- so they would share the main event billing with whatever title fight would take place on the same card.

Cowboy claims Conor ain't down with that -- and won't share top billing with anyone else. So, for now, the fight doesn't seem to be happening.

Enter, UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell ... who tells us he REALLY wants to see that fight because Conor and Cowboy are two of his all-time favorites and the bout would be awesome!!!

"I'm excited for that fight," Chuck told us on the way out of 1OAK in L.A. ... "I hope it happens."

As for the main event issue, Chuck says ... "It's a main event fight for sure. No matter what."

"Come on, Conor McGregor and Cowboy?! Two of my favorite fighters! I love watching those guys fight."

Chuck thinks Conor is ultimately using the main event issue as a way to negotiate more money because he's a smart businessman ... and believes the two sides WILL come to an agreement.

Junior Dos Santos is a BAD man, and Derrick Lewis knows beatin' him ain't gonna be easy, but when he does ... "The Black Beast" knows who's next in line for an ass-whoopin' -- Stipe Miocic.

Lewis is headlining UFC Fight Night 146 this weekend in Kansas against Dos Santos -- a 6'4", 250-pound ex-UFC heavyweight champion -- who's beaten 5 former UFC heavyweight champs.

The champs JDS has beaten ... Fabricio Werdum, Cain Velasquez, Frank Mir, Shane Carwin, and Stipe Miocic.

So, it's gonna be a TOUGH fight ... but Derrick tells TMZ Sports after he takes care of biz Saturday ... he knows exactly who's on deck for a date in the Octagon.

"Stipe is the next guy."

The fight ain't a pipe dream either ... Lewis told us Dana White actually tried to make the fight back in January -- but Derrick wanted to chill after fighting Daniel Cormier.

But, Stipe ain't the only guy on Lewis' hit list ... "The Black Beast" says he also wants to run back the Francis Ngannou fight.

"I have to get that fight out of the way again before I retire, ya know? Just to make it right for the fans. Not right for myself. Right for the fans."

Remember, Lewis won the July 2018 match ... but there were only 31 total strikes landed combined and it's widely considered one of the most boring fights ever in the UFC.

Lewis wants to rewrite history ... under one condition.

Floyd Mayweather has 8 more years to beat the hell out of Conor McGregor, that's according to boxing champ Shawn Porter who says Floyd is so much better than Conor, he could beat him at 50!!!

McGregor let it slip on Twitter that he might be interested in running it back with Floyd and making another $100 mil.

Thing is, that fight was 2 years ago ... and Floyd is now 42 ... so if they were to do it again, is Money too old? When we saw Shawn Porter out in L.A., we had to ask him.

"Mayweather will own the sport of boxing against Conor McGregor any day of the week for the next 5-10 years at least. When he's 50 he could still do it."

Porter was full of shade for Conor, saying that he needs to keep his mind off the ring and on the Octagon because he's not exactly setting the world on fire in there these days.

"McGregor should stay the course he's on in the Octagon and try to make that happen. I don't even pay attention to that too much, but I know he's been struggling there as well."

What does Chris Pratt give his friends on their birthday? STOMACH PUNCHES!!

That's how he celebrated with his pal Adel "Kyokushin" Altamimi -- the pro-MMA fighter who Pratt walked to the cage at Bellator 214 back in January.

Pratt and Adel are close friends -- and to celebrate Adel's big 30th birthday, his training partners at Jay Glazer's Unbreakable Gym in L.A. handed out a flurry of body blows!

It's a birthday tradition at the gym -- hold the cage, flex your abs and everybody gets a shot!

Among the gift-givers ... Chris, Jay and ex-NFL player Nate Boyer.

As for the birthday boy, he's got a pretty amazing story -- he was born and raised in Iraq and was contracted as a convoy driver for the U.S. Marine Corps.

During his service, Altamimi was captured by Al Qaeda and was threatened with death -- until he was saved by a group of U.S. Marines.

After the rescue, Altamimi moved to the U.S. and began his MMA training -- where he became close with guys like Jay Glazer and Chris Pratt.

Conor McGregor's bus attack drama is OVER -- and he can thank Jesus for the assist.

TMZ Sports has learned the UFC superstar has completed his sentence in his bus attack case -- where he was ordered to do 5 days of community service and complete an anger management course.

Our sources tell us ... both McGregor and officials wanted Conor to be able to serve his community service without creating a giant public spectacle, so they came up with a plan where he would work in 2 different churches in the Brooklyn area.

As for his specific tasks, one source put it this way -- "He performed manual labor."

We're also told the staff at both churches had glowing remarks about Conor -- with one source telling us, "They all loved him."

During the service, we're also told Conor had a "long and meaningful conversation with a reverend" -- though it's unclear exactly what they talked about.

The good news for Conor ... now that he's completed the terms of his plea deal, it's essentially case closed.

As we previously reported, Conor's attorneys negotiated the plea deal in the felony mischief case -- after the Irish superstar threw a dolly at a UFC bus on April 5, injuring several fighters.

Conor was initially charged with 1 count of felony criminal mischief and 3 counts of misdemeanor assault.

Back in July, prosecutors agreed to reduce the felony to a misdemeanor -- which is a big deal since a felony involving violence could have triggered permanent deportation from the U.S.

The 30-year-old UFC fighter faced up to 7 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Conor is still facing civil lawsuits stemming from the bus attack -- with UFC fighter Michael Chiesa suing McGregor for injuries he sustained in the incident.

Chiesa was on the bus when Conor threw the steel dolly and suffered cuts from the broken glass of the shattered window.

Tyron Woodley is keeping it real about why he fought so poorly against Kamaru Usman at UFC 235 -- and it's really interesting.

By all accounts, including his own, the UFC superstar looked flat in his welterweight title defense that night ... leaving many people wondering what went wrong.

So, we got into it during this week's 'Hollywood Beatdown' -- where Tyron fielded questions on why he didn't have it that night, and if other things like his rap and acting career were distractions going into the fight.

We also talked about that viral clip of Tyron's mom congratulating Usman after the fight -- and asked if Tyron had an issue with his mother telling Kamaru that it's now his time to be champion.

The good news ... Tyron says he's going back to the drawing board and training harder than ever to get his belt back.

He also has been getting support from some huge stars including Floyd Mayweather and Reggie Bush.

Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone is sick of waiting for Conor McGregor to ink a fight contract so they can brawl once and for all ... telling the Irishman, "Sack up, bitch. Sign the f*cking paper."

Cowboy pulled no punches during an interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto ... saying he's "annoyed" that Conor teased the fight on social media, but now he won't make a deal.

Cerrone says he's been in talks with UFC about fighting McGregor since January as a co-main event in either April or July ... but Conor REFUSES to share the main event spotlight.

"Conor won't fight unless it's a main event," Cerrone said. "I don't know if it's an ego thing or a status thing for him. I don't give a sh*t. I'll fight anyone, anywhere, and I stand by that all the time. I guess he's a prima donna and only takes main event spots, I don't know."

Of course, McGregor was the one who really breathed life into a potential fight with Cowboy after he watched Cerrone beat up Alexander Hernandez at 'UFC Fight Night' in January ... tweeting to Cowboy:

"For a fight like that Donald, I’ll fight you. Congratulations."

So, what happened? Cowboy says Conor stopped negotiating and now it seems like the chances of the fight actually happening are getting worse by the day.

Floyd Mayweather says his fans "shouldn't worry" about guys like Conor McGregor and Canelo Alvarez angling for a rematch ... telling TMZ Sports he's already proved he can beat ANYONE.

"Nobody can beat me! Y'all already know that," the boxing legend told us Wednesday night on his way out of TAO in Los Angeles.

"Everybody wants a rematch with me."

He's right ... earlier this week, Conor was breaking down his 2017 fight with Floyd and suggested the two will run it back in the near future saying, "A rematch will be interesting no doubt."

So, we asked Floyd how he felt about Conor's prediction -- and it wasn't exactly met with the same enthusiasm.

"Don't worry about that," Floyd told us ... while directing us to point the camera on his $18 MILLION diamond watch.

So, we switched the topic to Oscar De La Hoya -- who says a rematch with Canelo would be a $1.5 BILLION fight ... and again, Floyd didn't really seem to be interested.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah ... everybody's saying something. I don't worry about that. I already made over a billion! You already know that!"

He added, "I'm not worried about all that my man. Floyd is undefeated. Nobody can beat me. You already know that, man!"

Of course, Canelo and Floyd initially fought in 2013 -- with Floyd dominating the then-23-year-old rising star. Floyd got a $41 million guarantee for that fight, which was a record payday at the time.

Both Oscar and Canelo are now making a renewed push for a rematch ... for obvious reasons.

As for Floyd's $18 MILLION timepiece, he calls it "the one and only" ... and he bought it in 2018.

Want details? It was made by Jacob & Co. back in 2015, it features 239 emerald-cut baguette diamond stones, each weighing up to 3 carats.

Good times!

Conor McGregor wants another crack at Floyd Mayweather -- saying bluntly, "A rematch will be interesting no doubt."

The Irish superstar spent his Tuesday night breaking down some of his greatest fights -- and when the topic turned to his 2017 boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, Conor believes he has what it takes to win if they run it back.

Check out Conor's comments while criticizing specific punch exchange from the fight:

"I spoiled it with the rush right hook here. The angle was made. He was in the dirt. I just had to set correctly into my feet and fire. Rushing the right hook I lost balance on my back hand. Great boxing fight! A rematch will be interesting no doubt."

Conor reportedly made around $100 MILLION for the fight -- which he lost via TKO in the 10th round. Floyd Mayweather claims he made north of $300 MILLION.

McGregor is obviously down to do it again -- but are the viewers?

Conor seems to have a ton of options -- including a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov or a 3rd fight with Nate Diaz.

The interesting thing ... Conor says fighting is now his 3RD highest source of income -- suggesting he's making more money through his Proper 12 whiskey line and another business venture.

One "Nigerian Nightmare" just gave a TON of love to another "Nigerian Nightmare" -- with ex-NFL star Christian Okoye saying Kamaru Usman's victory at UFC 235 was a proud moment for all Nigerians!

Okoye -- who earned the nickname during his football days -- was Octagon-side Saturday to watch his countryman fight Tyron Woodley for the welterweight belt in Las Vegas.

Usman was the underdog going into the fight, but Okoye decided to attend to show his support for the UFC fighter ... who also calls himself the "Nigerian Nightmare."

Ya gotta watch the clip ... Okoye is beaming with pride and tells us how Kamaru will inspire a new generation of Nigerian athletes.

It's pretty cool stuff.

As for whether Christian is willing to pass the torch and hand over the nickname for good ... that ain't happening yet.

As for Kamaru, he's always had respect for Christian -- dating back to the first time we spoke with him back in February 2018.

Boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. says he'll GLADLY accept Vitor Belfort's challenge -- telling TMZ Sports he's down to brawl with the ex-UFC champ ... but needs 6 weeks to prepare.

Just last week, 41-year-old Belfort -- the former UFC lightweight champ -- called out Roy during a media event for the ONE Championship MMA promotion.

"One fight I'd really love is me against Roy Jones Jr. Roy, wherever you are, I wanna come challenge you for a boxing match, but with this condition: I'm gonna be able to dirty box with you."

So, we hit up Roy to see if he was game -- and good news, the 50-year-old is ALL ABOUT THAT SMOKE!!!

"This is what I do for a living. Y'all must've forgot. That's who I am. I love a battle. I love a challenge. So, if that's what you want, that's what you get. Ain't like you gotta ask me twice."

RJJ hasn't fought in over a year (he picked up his 66th pro win in February '18) ... but says he doesn't need long to get into fighting shape.

"Well, I would like 8 weeks, cause I like to get right. I need 2 extra weeks just to make sure I can showboat. But, 6 weeks, I can whip you."

We asked Roy if he had a message for Vitor ... and did he ever.

"I got nothing but the utmost respect for you. You were a helluva MMA fighter. You one of the best of all time. But, when it comes to boxing, this is what I do. I'm the ruler. I'm the king of this thing. Ya understand me?"

"Since Muhammad Ali is not on Earth anymore, I don't think there's nothing ever on this Earth as bad as I am with these hands."

Be careful what you wish for ... you just might get it.

Tyron Woodley says he'll DEFINITELY avenge his loss to Kamaru Usman and win back his UFC championship belt -- and believes he's STILL the greatest welterweight of all time.

Despite taking his first L since 2014 on Saturday night, Woodley was in pretty good spirits on Sunday at the L.A. release party for his new album, "Chaos Theory."

"You can't have a bad night in the Octagon," Woodley explained ... "Everybody knows that wasn't characteristic Tyron Woodley."

Woodley gave props to Usman for defeating him at UFC 235 -- but Tyron says he knows where he went wrong in his preparation for the fight ... and won't make the same mistakes again.

Usman is now expected to fight Colby Covington in his first title defense -- but Tyron says he's already hungry for a rematch.

As for his legacy, Tyron doesn't think the loss to Usman can take away from what he's already accomplished in his MMA career ... with big victories over guys like Robbie Lawler, Kelvin Gastelum, Carlos Condit, Josh Koscheck and Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson.

UFC rising star Johnny Walker says he's honored Jon Jones wants to fight him down the line -- telling TMZ Sports he's "not scared" to get into the Octagon with the greatest of all time.

Just last week, Jones named Walker as one of the guys he's eyeing to fight in his pursuit of 50 MMA wins.

So, we asked Walker for his thoughts on being on Jones' list -- and the 26-year-old was stoked!!!

"It feels so exciting," Walker told us ... "I feel proud about myself. People start to know me now, this is my dream come true."

Walker says he needs a few more fights under his belt before he's ready to take on a legend like Jones -- but he's definitely not afraid of the challenge.

"I need to beat [3 or 4 more guys] and this will give me more experience and I'll be ready for Jon Jones."

Of course, Walker is coming off of a sensational knockout performance against Misha Cirkunov at UFC 235 -- but suffered a shoulder injury while doing his worm celebration dance.

The good news ... Walker says he can move his arm but admits his shoulder is still "in a little bit of pain."

"I have to go to hospital to check everything," Walker says.

Walker believes he dislocated his shoulder -- but feels it popped back in ... and "aligned to the right place."

Daniel Cormier wasn't interested in watching Jon Jones fight Anthony Smith in person on Saturday ... he had other things on his mind -- like taking his family to Disneyland!!!

Despite the crazy feud between the two, DC tells us he wasn't going to let Jones dictate his weekend -- and instead opted to take his wife and kids to the Magic Kingdom in Anaheim, CA -- 260 miles from the Jones fight in Vegas.

There was a good reason for the trip ... DC's daughter, Marquita, turned 7 years old and the UFC champ wanted to do something special for her birthday.

Of course, while Cormier was enjoying the Happiest Place on Earth, Jones put a beating on Anthony Smith at UFC 235 ... boosting his official record to an impressive 24-1-1.

Jones doesn't acknowledge his 1 loss -- because it was due to a disqualification from an illegal elbow in a fight he was otherwise dominating.

It was almost deja vu for Jones this weekend -- he hit Smith with an illegal knee and was THIIIS close to being DQ'd again ... but Smith took the honorable path out and opted to continue the fight.

Jones won in a unanimous decision.

Cormier -- the reigning UFC heavyweight champ -- and Dana White say he's gunning to set up a 3rd fight with Jones before he hangs it up for good.

DC lost the first time he fought Jones and was KO'd in the rematch -- but that 2nd loss was later ruled a "no contest" because Jones tested positive for a banned substance.

So, will DC agree to one last brawl with his arch enemy?

UFC's new welterweight champ, Kamaru Usman, just can't wait to get a piece of Colby Covington -- so much so, in fact, that they almost came to blows inside a casino.

The two MMA fighters faced off (again) Sunday at the Palm Casino Resort in Vegas -- just a day after Kamaru man-handled former welterweight champ Tyron Woodley ... and was announced to fight Colby next by UFC prez Dana White.

It's also less than 24 hours after Kamaru and Colby nearly got into it just after Saturday night's UFC event. As he was leaving the Octagon, Kamaru came straight at Colby ... who was sitting nearby in the crowd rockin' a MAGA hat and his belt.

They were broken up and escorted away, but this time around ... there weren't as many security guards on hand to keep them separated near the A.Y.C.E. buffet in the Palm. The scene is pretty tense, as there were women and children around.

Check out the clip -- it's hard to tell who the initial aggressor was, but it looks like Kamaru's camp, including UFC manager Ali Abdelaziz, really tries to go in and attack Colby -- who circles back to get closer to Kamaru as punches are thrown by Ali ... but don't really connect.

Later in the video, you hear Colby tell someone on the phone that he just got swung on by Ali.

Eyewitnesses tell us more security showed up just in time before things got really out of control, and both men were escorted out of the building. We're told cops weren't called for this altercation.

If there's one thing Jon Jones knows, it's that Las Vegas LOVES a winner, and he got mad amounts of love inside one nightclub ... hours after he defended his title in UFC 235.

The light heavyweight champ celebrated his victory over Anthony Smith at On The Record -- the speakeasy inside Park MGM -- and was swarmed by fans and friends, raising glass after glass of champagne to him.

Jones was looking pretty pristine after going 5 rounds in the Octagon ... and he probably took more selfies inside the club than he did shots to the face during the bout.

Jon told TMZ Sports he wants to rattle off 50 straight wins -- a la Floyd Mayweather -- and Saturday night was a great launching point ... he won by unanimous decision.