MMA

What's it like to get a call from your boss telling you one of your fights will be forever memorialized in the UFC Hall of Fame?!

Check out this video of UFC legend Clay Guida telling us EVERYTHING in an amazing recap of the night his phone rang and Dana White was on the other line.

The fight that was enshrined is Clay's famous 2009 brawl with Diego Sanchez ... a 3-round bloodfest that's easily considered one of the greatest MMA fights EVER.

Clay lost the fight ... but man, what a war!!!

Clay and Diego were both on hand at the UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Las Vegas on July 5 ... where they got dope jackets and trophies to commemorate the enshrinement.

During the ceremony, Guida thanked everyone who helped make that legendary fight possible.

But, now, Guida is focusing on the present ... he's taking on Jim Miller at "UFC on ESPN 5" in Newark on Saturday.

Donald Trump's sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, will be front and center at Saturday's big UFC fight, and ESPN will show their mugs on TV ... but there are a few strings attached.

Sources connected to the Disney-owned network tell TMZ ... there has been no pressure to keep them off camera to avoid controversy. It's a particularly sensitive time, with Trump's latest attacks which have a huge swath of the country calling him racist. The UFC community -- both fans and fighters -- is diverse, and the presence of the Trumps is a powder keg.

Nevertheless, we're told UFC honcho Dana White is calling the shots on who gets on TV, and we're told the Trump kids will get as much air time as other big celebs at the Prudential Center in Newark. Not to say Dana's directing, but he gives broad directives, and there is no Trump ban.

Now ... we're told the commentators have been told ... NO POLITICS -- and that's squarely in line with ESPN's directive.

Eric and Donald Jr., along with his GF, Kimberly Guilfoyle, were invited to the fight by Colby Covington, who's headlining the main event against Robbie Lawler. Covington is a staunch Trump supporter who's rarely seen without his MAGA hat. POTUS even invited him to the Oval.

And, Dana himself is a die-hard Trump supporter, who even spoke at the RNC. Dana has famously said he will NEVER say anything bad about Trump, who was one of his first and biggest supporters in the early days of the UFC.

WARNING -- if you're eating lunch, ya might wanna put down the BLT ... 'cause Cris Cyborg is showing off her battle wound from UFC 240 ... and it's a doozy!!

The UFC superstar needed a bunch of stitches following her fight with Felicia Spencer on Saturday ... after getting a deep gash on her forehead in the 1st round.

Of course, Cyborg fought through the cut and ended up with the decision win like a badass ... and now she's proudly showing off the post-fight damage.

"I could see my skull after #UFC240!" Cyborg said.

Fun fact -- It was the first time in Cyborg's career she had to get stitched up ... which is incredible considering she turned pro in 2005!

Don't worry, though ... despite the injury, Cyborg made it VERY clear to UFC honcho Dana White she definitely still wants that rematch with Amanda Nunes.

Jorge Masvidal has a message for Conor McGregor -- LET'S FIGHT!!!

The 34-year-old UFC superstar is on a tear right now ... he destroyed Darren Till in March and put Ben Askren to sleep in 5 seconds earlier this month and the fans have been calling on Dana White to match up Jorge with Conor.

And, guess what ... when we spoke with Masvidal, he told us he's ALL THE WAY DOWN -- if Conor wants to make it happen.

There was no trash talking ... there was no disrespect -- just one professional fighter telling another professional fighter that he's ready, willing and able to sit down and hash out a deal.

"I got good things to say about Conor," Jorge told TMZ Sports ... "He's done a lot in the sport and he's made his money already and if he feels he's not getting the money he deserves to come back, man I'm gonna be the first one to applaud him and be like do your thing my brother."

But ... "If he wants to come back and he wants somebody that's gonna stand with him and give him the type of fights that he likes, look no further my brother!"

Jorge says there's one BIG catch ... he doesn't want to have to "flirt" with Conor to bait him into the fight.

"Let's just scrap if were gonna scrap ... and if not, NEXT!"

Of course, Dana White recently told us he did NOT want to make the Masvidal vs. McGregor fight because Conor is too small physically to be fighting someone Jorge's size.

FYI, Jorge's last fight was at 170. Conor's last fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov was at 155.

But, Jorge thinks Dana's assessment is wrong -- insisting their natural weights are closer than people think. Conor also told Dana recently the "too big" argument is BS.

Besides, if they DO fight ... Jorge says he expects the two to stand and bang -- giving the fans the kind of violent show they've been begging for.

"He knows I'm only going for one thing on him -- the off button. I'm not going in there to outpoint him or nothing."

Masvidal ended with one final message to the Irishman ...

UFC star Colby Covington says he'll have major Trump support when he fights Robbie Lawler on Saturday ... claiming Donald Trump's two oldest sons will be sitting in the front row.

Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, will be on hand at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ ... along with Eric Trump, Covington says.

"They're gonna be front row at my fight this weekend when I retire Robbie Lawler," Covington says ... "This is official."

Covington is a VERY outspoken Donald Trump supporter -- not only has he met with President Trump at the White House, his red MAGA hat has become a staple in his wardrobe.

In fact, Colby tells TMZ Sports ... he's a loyal soldier in the MAGA army and would do anything to help POTUS. He's even offered to follow in Dana White's footsteps and speak at the next Republican National Convention.

Colby also says he thinks Donald would be a GREAT fighter because "he has bricks for hands" ... insisting "this guy could knock somebody out with one punch."

Colby takes on Robbie in the main event at "UFC on ESPN 5" on August 3 ... and if Colby wins, he'll likely get a title shot against UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, so there's a lot on the line for him.

Dana White turned 50 on Sunday ... and his surprise birthday bash was INCREDIBLE -- with an amazing performance from Gwen Stefani and Don Henley busting out "Hotel California"!

The UFC boss had no idea the party was being set up at the Aria Hotel & Casino on Sunday night ... but when he arrived, the guy nearly lost his mind!!!

White is a huge music fan -- his office is filled with memorabilia -- so to have the stars from "No Doubt" and The Eagles in the house meant a lot to him. Gwen performed several hits including "The Sweet Escape."

We're told roughly 200 of Dana's closest friends and family members showed up for the bash ... including Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis and UFC Hall of Famer Matt Serra.

Just 24 hours before the party, Dana was in Canada for UFC 240 ... where he wrapped the UFC championship belt on Max Holloway after he defeated Frankie Edgar in the main event.

But, when you're Dana White, and traveling internationally means jumping on your private plane, it makes life easier!

UFC stud Jorge Masvidal will NOT get a crack at Conor McGregor, despite his record-breaking victory over Ben Askren ... so says Dana White.

"Hell no," White told us ... explaining that Masvidal is a welterweight fighter (170 lbs) and he's simply too big for take on the smaller McGregor, who fights at lightweight (154 lbs).

"There's plenty of fights for him in his weight division without Conor," White said ... "He's too big for Conor. [McGregor] doesn't belong in 170."

"[Conor] has the balls to fight at 170, but he doesn't belong there."

So, when WILL Conor return to the Octagon and who will he fight?

White says he expects to see Conor back in action either at the end of 2019 or early 2020 -- but he won't commit to an opponent until Khabib Nurmagomedov fights Dustin Poirier in September.

McGregor will NOT automatically get the winner of that fight -- but White says it will be easier to matchmake after that fight goes down.

"A lot of things will shake out and we'll see who's next."

Conor hasn't fought since UFC 229 back in October 2018 when he lost to Khabib -- and he's currently nursing an injured left hand he busted up during a recent training session.

TMZ Sports has obtained pics of UFC star Jon Jones and his brother Chandler Jones inside  TD's Eubank Showclub in Albuquerque on the night of an alleged incident with a cocktail waitress.

As we previously reported, Jon is being investigated over allegations he slapped a woman's vagina during a wild night out on April 19. The waitress told police Jon had been pestering her for a table dance before kissing up on her neck.

The woman also claims Jon later came up from behind her and put her in a "tight rear naked choke hold" and then lifted her up in the air in what felt like a "wrestling match."

The person who shot the photos tells us Jon was interacting with women all night ... but the witness did NOT see anything that resembled slapping, choking or any of the other violent allegations.

Obviously, that's just one person's perspective -- we're trying to speak with other people who were there that night too. Stay tuned on that.

You can see in the pics, Jon and Chandler were sitting right in front of the stage -- and we're told people inside recognized them. In other words, they weren't trying to lay low.

After Jon and Chandler left the club, the accuser went home and called police. After telling her story to cops, Jones was charged with misdemeanor battery.

Conor McGregor needs to stop selling whiskey and get in the Octagon with Al Iaquinta ASAP ... so says Al himself, who tells TMZ Sports he wants a scrap with the Irishman!!!

Of course, Conor hasn't fought since losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018 ... and some think he ain't returning to fight at all unless it's for a rematch with The Eagle.

But, Al says that's bad for Conor ... 'cause he doesn't think McGregor will get a rematch, saying The Notorious looked like too much of a "sissy" in the first fight to earn a runback.

"His stock is not as high as he thinks it is," Iaquinta says. "He got finished in his last fight as far as everyone's concerned. He's dead. The ref had to pull the guy off of him."

Al added, "He looked like a sissy tappin' out like that, so, he's got to come back and get a win."

Good news for Conor? Al -- the 6th ranked lightweight -- says he's more than willing to give McGregor a shot to get that victory ... saying he thinks a Conor-Iaquinta fight "really makes the most sense."

But, if McGregor ain't down ... Al tells us he's gunning to fight at UFC 243 in October or 244 in November -- and says a scrap with Dan Hooker is possible.

By the way, if Conor does get a rematch with Khabib ... Al says it's going to be a murder, telling us straight-up, "He's gonna get beat again. That's a fight that you need heart for and he doesn't have it."

Undefeated boxing superstar Claressa Shields is convinced she'd make MILLIONS from a superfight with UFC champ Amanda Nunes ... but it ain't about the money.

"I'm more about the legacy of it," Sheilds said on the "TMZ Sports" TV show ... "To say that you actually beat the greatest MMA fighter."

The 24-year-old boxer is seemingly unstoppable ... she's 9-0 as a pro with TWO Olympic gold medals. Meanwhile, Nunes has destroyed the greatest female MMA fighters ever -- from Ronda Rousey to Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm.

The fight is starting to pick up some serious momentum ... earlier this month, Dana White told TMZ Sports he's open to the idea of letting Nunes cross over into the boxing ring (a la Conor McGregor) after she takes care of some UFC business.

And, Shields says her manager is also on board -- not just because of the money but because the event would be huge for female combat sports.

He's 8 months away from being back in fighting shape, but UFC warrior Thiago Santos says he REALLY wants a second crack at Jon Jones once he recovers from his double knee surgery.

35-year-old Santos tore ligaments in both knees during his July 6 fight with Jones -- and he just underwent surgery last week. In his left knee, Santos tore his ACL, MCL, PCL and meniscus. He also suffered a partial ligament tear in his right knee.

Despite the devastating injuries, Thiago went all 5 round with Jones -- throwing LEG STRIKES all the way up until the final bell.

TMZ Sports spoke with Santos while he was in physical therapy and he told us he's so mentally tough, he willed himself to keep fighting that night even though his body wanted to shut down.

"Even on pain, I had to continue kicking," Santos said through a translator.

Santos lost the fight via split decision -- but knows how close he came to pulling off the upset.

Now, with an 8-month recovery plan, Santos says he's REALLY hoping for a rematch with Jon.

"That's my will. I really want to fight him again but I want to be at 100% before that's happening."

Cris Cyborg says ain't bothered over Dana White saying she's "afraid" to fight Amanda Nunes again ... telling TMZ Sports, "You think I'm surprised when Dana say type of things like this?"

White previously told us "it's pretty obvious why" Cyborg won't sign a contract to rematch with Nunes ... who knocked her out in 51 seconds when they squared off at UFC 232 back in Dec.

"I think that [Cyborg] is at the point where she's afraid to lose again. Losing again isn't something she's interested in," White said.

So, when we spoke with Cris -- who's gearing up to fight Felicia Spencer at UFC 240 on Saturday -- we had to ask if she took issue with Dana's comments.

Cyborg essentially told us her relationship with Dana ain't great -- and she'd be more surprised if he said something "nice" about her.

She also said Dana isn't qualified to speak about a fighter's mindset -- explaining, "Dana White's never stepped in the case, never fight before ... because he's the promoter."

Cyborg says she doesn't want to talk about a possible rematch with Nunes until AFTER the Spencer fight on Saturday ... telling TMZ Sports she's laser-focused on getting that W.

Greg Hardy is winning over some of the biggest female fighters in the UFC -- including Amanda Nunes and Rachael Ostovich -- and he tells TMZ Sports their support means the world to him.

Greg's past is no secret ... he was accused of domestic violence against a woman back in 2014 and initially convicted. The conviction was overturned in 2015.

There was a big controversy when Hardy fought on the same card earlier this year as Rachael Ostovich -- who was the victim of a brutal domestic violence attack ... with some saying it was unfair to Rachael.

But, she clearly didn't feel that way -- and told Dana White she was cool with the decision.

Now, 6 months later ... Ostovich is still supporting Hardy -- she "liked" a celebratory Instagram post Greg made after defeating Juan Adams on Saturday.

Plus, Greg says he's also getting support from stars like Amanda Nunes, Joanna and Kayla Harrison.

Greg says he appreciates those women giving him the chance to "get to know me" -- and wants to show he's not the monster some people think he is.

Inside the Octagon, however, Hardy is on a tear ... he destroyed Juan Adams to improve his MMA record to 5-1 -- and says he's excited to prove he's ready to take on the best heavyweights in the UFC.

Greg says he wants to be on the upcoming UFC card in Abu Dhabi and desperately wants to fight a ranked opponent.

Hardy also says he's still getting love from his old NFL teammates -- including Dez Bryant who reached out to him after the victory.

Hardy says he wants to make his friends and family members proud -- and feels he's doing that by succeeding in the UFC.

Greg says other teammates and coaches have also reached out -- and it means a lot to him.

UFC champ Jon Jones is denying allegations he slapped a cocktail waitress at an Albuquerque strip club back in April ... and telling fans, "I'm definitely not in any trouble."

According to police, the alleged victim claims 32-year-old Jones not only slapped her inside TD’s Eubank Showclub, but kissed her neck without consent ... and then put her in a chokehold that was so powerful, he lifted her off the ground.

The woman told police Jones continued to put his hands on her until he left the club, according to KRQE in New Mexico.

The woman called police to her home after the incident to report the alleged crime. Jones was later charged with misdemeanor battery and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

A spokesperson for Jones told the media Jon was unaware of the case against him -- and didn't know about the warrant because the paperwork was sent to the wrong address.

Jones later paid a $300 bond and the arrest warrant was rescinded.

"Today, the media told Mr. Jones about a false accusation launched against him and that paperwork had been sent to an incorrect address," a Jones spokesman said Sunday night.

"However, after receiving the documents from the press, Mr. Jones immediately went to pay the small fee, and he, and multiple witnesses, stand ready to factually refute the malicious lies being told about him to the public."

Jones later tweeted about the allegations -- telling one fan, "I’m definitely not in any trouble my friend, don’t be so quick to believe everything you read on the Internet."

He told another user, "I know there’s a whole bunch of people hoping for my downfall but there’s even more who are proud of me and love seeing me do well. And screw staying inside, I love this community.. excited to keep climbing, haters going to be mad when I win in December."

Story developing ...

Stipe Miocic says it "kinda sucked" when Brock Lesnar was in the mix for a UFC title fight with Daniel Cormier ... telling TMZ Sports he didn't think it was fair since Brock hadn't fought in years.

Remember, Stipe had defended the UFC heavyweight title THREE TIMES (the most in UFC history) before losing to Cormier at UFC 226 in July 2018.

Stipe -- and many UFC fans -- believed he deserved an immediate rematch with Cormier ... but when Lesnar expressed interest in fighting DC, it seemed Brock became the priority.

Lesnar eventually ended talks with the UFC so he could turn his full attention to his WWE career ... and that's when the UFC decided to give Stipe the fight in August at UFC 241.

Miocic tells TMZ Sports the whole waiting game for Lesnar rubbed him the wrong way -- explaining, "I mean, the dude hasn't fought in like, 3 years. Been popped twice, suspended."

"It's like, how you gonna put a dude like that ... he's not even a money fight anymore."

Miocic continued, "When he fought Mark Hunt, it didn't get a lot of Pay-Per-View sales. So, what's the difference of bringing him in? So, I don't know, whatever, it's all good."

"Brock's doing his thing. Good luck with everything he does, but right now, it's me and DC."

Tyron Woodley and Max Holloway have been asked every MMA question in the book during their prolific careers ... but what are the 3 WORST questions they hate the most during fight week?!

The Chosen One and the conductor of the Blessed Express are pulling no punches on this week's episode of "The Hollywood Beatdown" ... where Max was promoting his UFC 240 fight against Frankie Edgar.

Of course, the fight will be Max's first since his loss to Dustin Poirier back in April -- but Max says he's ready to prove he's back and more dangerous than ever.

Besides revealing the 3 Q's he hates more than anything ... Holloway also shouted out his pal, Justin Bieber, and said the guy is serious about taking an MMA fight, he'd LOVE the opportunity to train him up!