MMA

Former UFC fighter Suman Mokhtarian has died at the age of 33 after being shot and killed in an alleged targeted attack in Australia.

According to The Daily Telegraph, New South Wales officials believe Mokhtarian was out for a walk when the fatal encounter happened. Witnesses told police shots rang out of a red Audi around 6 PM local time before the car sped off.

Mokhtarian was shot in the upper torso ... and paramedics tried to revive him, but efforts were unsuccessful.

Conor McGregor's going to be spending a bit more time outside of the octagon ... because he just got hit with an 18-month suspension through Combat Sports Anti-Doping, which is affiliated with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

The mixed-martial-arts (MMA) promotion company shared an announcement about The Notorious' time off through its official website on Tuesday, and it was revealed his suspension was due to "whereabouts failures" under its anti-doping policy -- in other words, he no-showed for an important test several times.

Athletes in the UFC are required to give the company accurate location information at all times so they can get tested -- at random intervals, of course.

Conor missed three tests, which were all scheduled to take place in June and September 2024. He apparently accepted responsibility for the no-shows, and he ended up having his suspension reduced by six months.

We should also note the professional fighter claims he was recovering from an injury and wasn't preparing for a match when the tests were supposed to have been taken.

Conor's period of ineligibility kicked off on September 20, 2024, when he was supposed to have his third of three tests, and it'll continue until March 20, 2026.

The athlete most recently fought in 2021, when he lost to Dustin Poirier. He was set to get back to the octagon in 2024, although he pulled out of his scheduled bout after suffering an injury during training.

Merab Dvalishvili isn't going anywhere anytime soon ... the UFC bantamweight champ says he plans to fight well beyond the point fighters normally lay down their glaves -- until his 50th birthday!

TMZ Sports talked to the 34-year-old fighter about his UFC 320 co-main event scrap against Cory Sanhagen in Las Vegas, as well as his standing in the pound-for-pound rankings, and much more.

"I'm grateful. I'm number three now [pound-for-pound], and I'm good here. If [number one] happens, then I will become number one. That's good. If not, I'm good here. I'm a champion of my division, and there are a lot of good guys here [at bantamweight]."

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is smashing expectations with his boldest role yet -- stepping away from blockbuster bravado to deliver a raw, unflinching turn in "The Smashing Machine."

It’s another week, another episode of "TMZ Movie Tea" with Jabeen Waheed... and she’s serving up a must-see: Dwayne as real-life MMA legend Mark Kerr -- a fighter battling way more than opponents in the ring!

Addiction, fame, and a rocky marriage to Dawn (Emily Blunt!!) fuel this brutal personal drama -- with Benny Safdie in the director’s chair.

Conor McGregor has taken to the streets to campaign for change in Ireland ... giving a passionate speech outside the government buildings and pleading with his fans to help him get on the presidential ballot.

Notorious released the nearly two-and-a-half-minute-long monologue in Dublin on Thursday ... bashing the current officials for, in his eyes, dropping the ball.

"In these times, this government has cost us our peace of mind, our security, our hope for the future and the general well-being of Irish citizens nationwide has decreased dramatically," McGregor said.

Dillon Danis, after nearly two years away, is returning to the cage ... and the polarizing fighter says he plans to stay active -- with the ultimate goal being a scrap with UFC star Islam Makhachev!

TMZ Sports talked to 32-year-old Danis ahead of his Misfits 22 MMA scrap vs. Warren Spencer on Saturday (the fight's streaming on DAZN) ... where Dillon walked us through his reasoning for fighting a fairly unknown opp.

"Since the Logan fight, we had a bunch of fights, and I was trying to go, trying to go. Eventually, I'm just like, 'Alright if I'm just gonna be sitting around, I'm gonna fight'. Me taking a fight like this, getting my record up, getting more experience, people see me fighting, it'll help me get those bigger fights."

Dana White's Contender Series has become such a big deal, "Suga" Sean O'Malley says after the UFC, it's the biggest force in all of Mixed Martial Arts.

"The Contender Series is the second biggest promotion in the world. UFC and then Contender Series. There's nothing really that's competing with it," the show alum told Babcock this week.

Not PFL, nor ONE FC.

Khamzat Chimaev is back in the UAE after securing the UFC middleweight belt less than 48 hours ago ... and the folks at home are already treating him like the champ by rushing to greet him at the airport!!

Footage of the 31-year-old arriving in the country started making the rounds on social media Monday ... showing a ton of people waiting to get a glimpse of the big winner as soon as he touched down.

Rocking the belt on one shoulder with a flag draped over him, Chimaev took time to pose for photos and sign some autographs for those in attendance.

Dana White and the UFC will have a new streaming home beginning in 2026 ... Paramount has acquired the U.S. rights to the MMA organization in a massive $7.7 BILLION deal!

TKO announced the pact Monday morning ... revealing the agreement with the Skydance Corporation is a seven-year one that's worth an annual price tag of $1.1 billion.

"The historic deal with Paramount and CBS is incredible for UFC fans and our athletes," White said. "For the first time ever, fans in the US will have access to all UFC content without a Pay-Per-View model, making it more affordable and accessible to view the greatest fights on a massive platform."

Khamzat Chimaev is calling BS on Paulo Costa's claim that he slid into his girlfriend's direct messages ... telling TMZ Sports that's just not how it went down!

"Why should I DM somebody's wife, bro?" the 31-year-old UFC star said Wednesday from a pre-fight workout in SoCal.

"She DM'ed before the fight, when I announced the fight like, 'Khamzat, please don't take it seriously. We're just trying to make money and hype'," Chimaev recounted, before revealing what he said back.

Conor McGregor is taking matters into his own hands in his quest to become Ireland's next president -- launching a petition to land on the ballot without nominations from other politicians.

Notorious went live with the campaign minutes ago ... penning a letter to the citizens of Ireland and the Irish diaspora.

"I, Conor McGregor hereby declare my intention to seek the esteemed office of President of Ireland," the UFC superstar said Monday. "The current constitutional framework however presents a significant barrier to democratic participation."

Welp, that's awkward ... the cop who arrested Diego Sanchez last month told the UFC legend he was a longtime fan of the fighter ... admitting he watched him scrap since he was "a little kid!"

TMZ Sports obtained body camera footage of the arrest ... after cops alleged the 43-year-old shot a gun out of a moving car while officers were working an incident on I-40 in Albuquerque, NM.

Cops initially spoke to the driver of the car Sanchez was in ... and after they identified him, the cop responded, "As in the Diego Sanchez?"

Conor McGregor has lost his appeal in his civil sexual assault case.

A Court of Appeal in Dublin, Ireland, rejected the UFC superstar's appeal on Thursday morning ... with a three-judge panel reportedly dismissing his claim "in its entirety."

McGregor was sued by Nikita Hand several years ago, alleging the famed fighter forced himself on her at a hotel following a 2018 Christmas party.

Even though he's got a new pair of lungs, Ben Askren says doctors have assured him he's fully capable of living a lengthy, healthy life.

The former UFC star sat with TMZ Sports just days after he returned home from his weekslong battle with a horrific case of pneumonia ... and while he's down a ton of weight and fresh off major lung transplant surgery -- he told us his long-term prognosis is very good.

"They say people run marathons and all this other stuff," he said of those who have been in similar situations to him.

Robert Whittaker is only 34 years old and still a top 5-ranked UFC middleweight, but the former champion revealed he can see the finish line of his fighting career!

TMZ Sports spoke to Bobby Knuckles just days before his UFC on ABC 9 main event scrap against Reinier de Ridder -- slated to go down from Abu Dhabi on Saturday -- when we asked him for a State of the Union on his career.

"I definitely feel the tenure like that I've had. I've been blessed to have been in this game for so long, but I feel like I'm right at the point where I can see the end is near, but I have all the experience and the body still to do what needs to be done," Robert said.

MMA fighter Aaron "Tex" Johnson LOST IT on board a Southwest flight, getting into a HEATED altercation with fellow passengers and crew ... and it was so intense, he was forced off the plane before takeoff!

The chaotic situation occurred at LaGuardia Airport on Monday, and thanks to a witness who started rolling, we have video ... which shows the middleweight in a fiery argument with Southwest flight attendants as they attempted to remove him from the plane.

After Johnson, 39, retrieved his bag from the overhead bin and headed towards the front of the plane, something seemed to make Tex snap.