MMA

Le'Veon Bell's moving on from Logan Paul, but he's not going far looking for his next fight ... he's setting his sights on the other brother in the family!

TMZ Sports talked to the former All-Pro running back on Wednesday in Venice Beach, at an event for the Problem Child's Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano headlined card on Saturday ... and we asked him about his fighting career, asking him if he was interested in Jake.

"Yeah, I'd fight Jake," Le'Veon said ... "I think Jake would be more of a match [for me]."

Raja Jackson struck a sweet plea deal in his wrestling ring beatdown of Syko Stu ... with the son of MMA legend Rampage Jackson avoiding a lengthy sentence behind bars.

Jackson, 26, pled "no contest" to one count of battery with serious bodily injury, a felony, according to the L.A. County D.A.'s office, and will be officially sentenced in June.

It is expected that Raja will spend 90 days in a cell before going on probation for two years. He'll also be ordered to pay nearly $82K in restitution.

Could Jake Paul be next for Mike Perry after Nate Diaz?! The MMA turned bareknuckle boxing star says "absolutely!"

"Platinum" Perry, 34, chopped it up with Babcock less than two weeks before his highly anticipated scrap against Diaz, 41, on the Paul-promoted MVP event on May 16 in Los Angeles ... and we asked if a win could set up an MMA fight with Jake, after boxing the Problem Child in 2024.

"Absolutely," Mike said.

Jorge Masvidal is pulling back the curtain on his beef with Chael Sonnen, telling TMZ Sports why the two MMA stars have been publicly feuding.

"I was just minding my business, and I see this guy is dedicating his podcast to me, 10-minute bits," Gambred told Babcock this week.

"And then I found out through the grapevine, because I got this job at Deep Waters MMA on Paramount, it's me, Dustin Poirier, Din Thomas, and Chris Weidman hosting this show every day live, great plug, but Chael's bitch ass had applied for it."

Don't confuse Ronda Rousey's show of respect with weakness ... 'cause the MMA legend says she's hellbent on beating Gina Carano's ass next month, despite appreciating all the fighter-turned-actor has done for the sport!

"Once they close the door, I'm going to do everything in my power to kill that chick with my bare hands, and it's up to that referee to stop me," Rousey ominously told Babcock this week.

It's a different tone than Ronda's struck for much of the lead-up to the highly anticipated MVP-promoted event on May 16.

MMA is in its comeback era ... but you can cross Michael Bisping off the list of fighters making huge returns in 2026 ... he tells TMZ Sports, while he can still whoop a ton of ass, he's staying retired.

That is, unless several Brinks trunks back into his driveway.

We caught up with The Count at LAX this week ... and asked with big names like Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano stepping back in the cage, could he be following suit??

"Platinum" Mike Perry says he's ready to unleash a whole lot of violence on Nate Diaz, telling TMZ Sports the star from Stockton will leave the cage leaking when the MMA fighters meet in just over a month!

"I'm looking to go in and give the people the bloody people's fight, the people's main event show that they're looking for, the real BMF-style altercation and meet Nate in the middle and, you know, spread some blood," Perry, 34, told Babcock this week.

Of course, Perry and Diaz are fighting on the Jake Paul-promoted, Ronda Rousey-Gina Carano headlined event on May 16 in Los Angeles ... and despite a bunch of big stars and big fights, fans are arguably most excited for Mike and Nate's scrap.

The UFC shared some behind-the-scenes photos from its collab with the FBI earlier this month at the agency's headquarters in Quantico, Virginia ... showing off some of the work accomplished during the combat seminar.

Jorge Masvidal, Chris Weidman, Justin Gaethje, Claudia Gadelha, Manel Kape, and Michael Chandler all helped out in the event that FBI Director Kash Patel lobbied for months prior.

In one of the photos, you see Patel watching as Weidman and Gaethje give recruits pointers on moves they can break out on bad guys. Another photo shows Gadelha -- a former contender in the UFC strawweight division -- going with a more hands-on approach in her lesson.

MMA fighter Maycee Barber got choked up talking about her knockout loss over the weekend, saying she looked dead lying there on the canvas.

Barber posted a video on X after she was savagely beaten by her opponent, Alexa Grasso, during their UFC flyweight matchup in Seattle on Saturday night.

In the first round, Grasso landed a hard left to the face, dropping Barber like a sack of potatoes before finishing her off by choking her out. Barber was left lying limp on the canvas with a blank stare in her eyes. Grasso was announced the winner of the fight.

The world continues to mourn the loss of Chuck Norris ... including his friend, actor, martial artist, and Tae Bo creator Billy Blanks, who told TMZ Sports the legendary figure played a major role in shaping him as a person.

We caught up with Blanks at LAX this week ahead of his induction into the MMA Hall of Fame -- an honor he says means a lot, especially since Norris is also enshrined.

That's when Billy became emotional while talking about his friend Chuck, who passed away last week at the age of 86.

Francis Ngannou isn’t just back in the cage, he’s in business with Jake Paul … and while there’s respect there, don’t get it twisted -- “The Predator” still wants to smack around the YouTuber-turned-boxing star!

The former UFC heavyweight champ is set to return to MMA on Most Valuable Promotions’ massive debut card May 16 -- a lineup stacked with names like Ronda Rousey, Gina Carano and Nate Diaz -- and Ngannou tells TMZ Sports it might be the best card of the year.

In fact, Francis didn’t hesitate when we brought up comparisons to the UFC’s Freedom 250 card at the White House.

“No argument,” Ngannou said. “As we’re speaking right now, this is the best card.”

But things heated up when we asked about Jake.

UFC Freedom 250 has secured an organization to oversee the fights at the White House ... Dana White's promotion partnered with the Association of Boxing Commissions, which will officially license and regulate the bouts on the South Lawn.

The move allows the UFC to sidestep the local D.C. Sports Commission after the group voiced concerns over the event.

The UFC shared the news Thursday morning, announcing ABC "will serve as an independent third party to advise on the regulatory operations for the unprecedented UFC event scheduled for Sunday, June 14, on the grounds of the iconic White House."

Without a sanctioning body's involvement, the White House fights would not count as professional bouts.

Dirty Boxing heavyweight champion and former UFC fighter Jairzinho Rozenstruik can put his domestic violence arrest behind him -- TMZ Sports has learned officials have declined to pursue charges.

According to court records we obtained, the state filed its decision earlier this month -- formally dropping the case.

As for the reason why, the DA said "the victim refused to provide a sworn statement," adding that the "parties were engaged in mutual combat and provided conflicting accounts of the incident." The DA concluded that "[w]ithout the victim's cooperation there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction."

Harvey Levin is counting his lucky stars on Friday -- the TMZ boss came face-to-face with former UFC champion Henry Cejudo ... and somehow talked his way out of getting put in a headlock.

Hear that?? The newsroom just let out a collective sigh.

The playful interaction went down in the middle of the "TMZ Live" stream just minutes ago ... when Harvey got a text from a former staffer warning him that Triple C was around and looking to put an MMA move on him.

Michael Chandler is packing his bags for Quantico to train FBI agents ... and he joined "TMZ Live" ahead of the trip to give Kash Patel some comfort in case the director plans to be in attendance -- saying he's not looking to break anyone's bones.

The 13th-ranked UFC lightweight chopped it up with Harvey and Charles on Thursday ... and he hopes to take a "white belt mentality" to the FBI training facility when he gets boots on the ground this weekend.

You may ask, what's a white belt mentality? Well, in Chandler's own words, it's all about wanting to get better.

Cain Velasquez has finally broken his silence after nearly a year behind bars ... thanking everyone for their "love and support."

Velasquez shared the video on his Instagram Wednesday evening, saying he's been spending the last few weeks "getting used to the normal things."

"I just want to take this time here to thank everybody for the constant support," he said. "You have no idea what your words and your encouragement and your love has meant to me and my family. Just thank you."