MMA

Max Holloway is considered the greatest featherweight ever by many fans, but the former 145 lb. champ is the underdog in his UFC 308 main event scrap vs. Ilia Topuria -- and that's exactly where he says he wants to be!

TMZ Sports talked to 32-year-old Holloway just days before the title fight ... and Blessed feels blessed to be in this position.

"At the end of the day, styles make fights. He has a fun style. I have a fun style. Thinking of his fight style, it brings a smile to my face. I love being in these fights. I love being the underdog. And I can't wait to see what he's all about come October 26th," Max told us.

Belal Muhammad's responding to Conor McGregor ... days after the UFC superstar said he'd love to smash his skull. The current welterweight champ has some violent thoughts of his own!!

It all started earlier this week ... when 36-year-old McGregor went to X in a now-deleted tweet, writing, "I'd love to crush my left hook into belal's temple and take down the triple crown. I'd do it easily. And fast! I'd cave his skully heavy! The hurdles I face getting back to the octagon are just harrowing."

Conor continued ... "I am so sad over my June 29th fight cancellation. To think this bum is now a UFC champion with zero knockdowns on his resume whatsoever is so bad. The UFC's most abysmal zero revenue generating fighter in modern history."

Mike Perry is breaking his silence following his DUI arrest ... sharing his remorse for the inappropriate language he used toward law enforcement during the incident.

The 33-year-old posted an apology to his X page on Wednesday ... saying, "I understand that my words were hurtful and offensive, and I sincerely regret my actions."

"I recognize the important and often difficult work that law enforcement officers do to keep our community safe, and I truly respect the dedication and sacrifice that comes with the job. My behavior was inexcusable, and I take full responsibility for my actions."

Guilherme "Bomba" Vasconcelos -- an MMA fighter who competed in the UFC and Bellator, and dated Demi Lovato -- is dead at 38 years old, his family and members of the fighting community said on Tuesday.

The cause of death is not known at this time.

Vasconcelos made appearances across multiple MMA promotions ... and accumulated a record of 10-6 over the course of his seven-year pro career.

MMA star "Platinum" Mike Perry was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Florida over the weekend.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, Claremont cops says they were on routine patrol around 1 AM on Saturday ... when they observed a dark red Mercedes SUV driving up to "approximately" 20 miles above the speed limit.

Cops say they conducted a traffic stop for speeding, identified the driver as Perry and could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath. They also claim he appeared to have "red, glassy eyes" and his speech sounded slow, to which he replied the officer's "speech was fast."

Mike Tyson's health scare in May has some fight fans worried about his chances against Jake Paul next month ... but that group doesn't include combat sports legend Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who tells TMZ Sports he's still rockin' with the former heavyweight champ!

We recently caught up with the retired UFC superstar at LAX ... and asked for his thoughts on the November 15 mega fight between 58-year-old Tyson and 27-year-old Paul.

Even after dealing with the ulcer flare-up that caused the fight to be rescheduled (from summer to Nov. 15), Jackson tells us he'd never bet against Mike!

It turns out Conor McGregor is seeing action this year after all -- Notorious found himself in the middle of a fight at the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship weigh-in on Friday ... and all hell broke loose!!

The UFC superstar -- who recently became part-owner of BKFC -- was front and center when Franco Tenaglia and Tony Soto faced off ahead of their big bout for the vacant light heavyweight world title.

Tenaglia put his fist right up underneath Soto's chin ... who then reacted by lunging at his opponent.

Khalil Rountree is still feeling the effects of his loss to Alex Pereira ... as the 34-year-old revealed he's in "pure pain" after undergoing successful surgery on his nose following UFC 307.

The eighth-ranked light heavyweight went under the knife for a septoplasty on Monday -- which is a procedure that corrects a deviated septum.

It's not shocking Rountree needed some work done to his schnozz ... as he was involved in an absolute war with Poatan -- which left him bloodied up following his fourth-round TKO loss.

Boyz II Men will be keeping an extra close eye on UFC 307 on Saturday night ... 'cause the legendary R&B group has a special and tragic connection to Khalil Rountree.

Shawn Stockman and Nathan Morris, two-thirds of the 4x Grammy Award-winning group, joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) this week where they talked about the Rountrees.

Back in 1992, Khalil's dad, Roderick "Khalil" Rountree, was Boyz II Men's road manager. After a May 1992 show in the Chicago area, Khalil was gunned down by three men who'd been caught trying to break into his hotel room, according to reports.

Kayla Harrison is locked in on her UFC 307 opp Ketlen Vieira ... but the 2x Olympic gold medalist tells TMZ Sports she's SO prepared, she's ready to also kick both Julianna Peña and Raquel Pennington's asses, too -- same night!

We caught up with the UFC bantamweight contender this week ... ahead of what'll almost surely be a title eliminator when she squares off with Vieira in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.

While she is not scheduled to face Pennington or Peña ... Harrison said she's heard that if either the champ or challenger drops out of the title fight, she could be called upon to step in.

Pro Bowl defensive end today ... UFC heavyweight champ down the road?!?

Maxx Crosby sure seems to think that's possible ... telling TMZ Sports he could see himself stepping into Dana White's Octagon at some point in the future.

Crosby, of course, is fully dedicated to his NFL career at the moment ... but he says he trains to be a beast on Sundays with daily boxing exercises -- and it's clear, it all could lead to a professional tilt later on.

Terence Crawford is confirming he was, in fact, offered a two-fight deal with UFC superstar Conor McGregor ... but the boxing champ ultimately turned the offer down -- 'cause there was no chance in hell he was about to step in the Octagon.

McGregor previously claimed the two combat greats were positioned to make "hundreds of millions" in an epic boxing/MMA showdown ... an ordeal that was pitched by the chairman of Saudia Arabia's General Entertainment Authority.

In an interview with Bernie Tha Boxer, Bud said the whole thing was legitimately on the table ... but he was the one to decline the lucrative possibility.

Pro boxer Mylik Birdsong -- a 15-1-1 pugilist who was slated to step in the ring as part of a UFC Fight Pass card in just a few weeks -- was killed on Sunday ... during a shooting in Los Angeles.

The LAPD says the incident took place at around 4:50 PM near Watts -- just a few miles south of downtown -- when several men inside of a dark-colored SUV drove up on the fighter and opened fire.

Cops say as Birdsong attempted to flee -- two men got out of the car, chased him down, and shot at him further.

Renato Moicano is not overlooking the skills of his UFC Paris opponent Benoit Saint-Denis ... saying he may one day sit atop the division -- but it ain't happening on his watch!

TMZ Sports caught up with the 11th-ranked lightweight contender ... days before he's set to take on 12th-ranked Saint-Denis in his home country of France, and while Moicano sees a bright future for the 28-year-old Frenchman, he's looking to derail his rise to the top.

"I'm here to stop him," Moicano said. "I'm here to get the W in Paris and to keep climbing the rankings."

Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler ain't happening -- at least not right now -- so, with that fight seemingly on life support, fans have put forth another name -- Justin Gaethje. But, is he interested??

The short answer is yes, according to the 35-year-old fighter's manager, Ali Abdelaziz ... who says the bigger question is whether McGregor would step into an Octagon with Gaethje.

"If this is what [Conor] wants, if this is what the UFC wants, I think Justin Gaethje will like to smash his face. 100%. I would love to see Justin Gaethje smash his face," Ali told TMZ Sports, adding ... "Everybody knows I don't like this guy. None of us like him. But, he brings a lot of unique things to the table. And, Justin is open to it, fighting someone like him."

With antisemitism on the rise, a Jewish organization at Harvard is making sure its members can defend themselves ... bringing one of the most dangerous people in the world to teach self-defense, UFC fighter Natan Levy.

32-year-old Levy, an 8-2 pro-MMA fighter, recently taught students at Harvard Chabad -- a Jewish student organization at the Ivy League School -- amid fears the Jewish students could be in physical danger.

Natan taught a wide range of techniques ... from strikes (jabs, crosses, kicks, etc.) to wrist grabs and more over the course of an hour-long class.