MMA

Conor McGregor is being dumped by the whiskey empire he helped build -- with Proper No. 12 telling TMZ Sports the UFC superstar will no longer be part of its marketing campaign following his civil case.

A spokesperson for Proximo Spirits tells us ... "Since 2021, Proximo Spirits has been the 100% owner of Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey. Going forward, we do not plan to use Mr. McGregor’s name and likeness in the marketing of the brand."

The news comes on the heels of a jury finding McGregor liable for the assault of Nikita Ni Lamhain ... who accused him of raping her in 2018.

Conor McGregor is owning up to his past mistakes after his civil case ... sharing his remorse for cheating on his longtime partner, Dee Devlin -- but reaffirming his actions six years ago were entirely consensual.

The UFC superstar released yet another statement on the results of the month-long case ... this time, he admitted he's far from perfect and never should have entertained Nikita Ni Lamhain's "outreaches" following a 2018 Christmas party.

"I should have shut the party down," McGregor said. "I should never have stepped out on the woman I love the most in the world. That’s all on me."

The developers of the super popular "Hitman" video game franchise are severing ties with Conor McGregor in wake of his civil assault case loss last week.

IO Interactive -- which put the controversial UFC superstar in its "Hitman" universe via an update earlier this year -- wrote in a post on X that it will begin removing all of its McGregor-related content this week.

"In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor," "Hitman" officials said, "IO Interactive has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete, effective immediately."

Jon Jones is NOT the most dangerous heavyweight MMA fighter in the world, despite dominating Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 ... according to Francis Ngannou, who says that distinction belongs to him!

TMZ Sports spoke with the former UFC heavyweight champ turned PFL MMA and boxing star following Bones return to the Octagon on Saturday at Madison Square Garden ... and we asked him, promotion aside, whether JJ was the best out there.

"You can't deny what [Jon] has done as a heavyweight," Ngannou said, "but I personally cannot classify him as the best heavyweight of all time. C'mon, man."

Conor McGregor didn't hold back Saturday morning ... just a day after he was found liable for assault in his civil rape case in Ireland.

CM first responded to an X post from the Irish Independent newspaper about the outcome of his case, which included the line, "Justice has been served."

The MMA star replied, "Justice was served for James Lawrence, yes! Deplorable what they done. Nikita hand, vicious liar! APPEAL!"

9:46 AM PT -- Conor McGregor tells TMZ Sports ... he is planning to appeal Friday's decision.

In a statement, the UFC superstar said, "The judge's instruction and the modest award given was for assault, there was not an award for aggravated or exemplary damages. I am disappointed that the jury did not hear all the evidence that the DPP reviewed."

He added, "I am with my family, focused on my future."

Conor McGregor has lost his civil rape case in Ireland ... a jury just found him liable for assault.

Dee Devlin -- Conor McGregor's longtime partner -- showed up to an Ireland court on Friday to support the UFC superstar as he continues to fend off a sexual assault lawsuit.

The 36-year-old fighter has been facing his accuser, a judge and a jury in the civil case throughout November... as a trial over the allegations first began back on the fifth.

The case centers around a woman, Nikita Ni Lamhain, who alleges McGregor and another man had sex with her against her will following a holiday party back in 2018.

Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson was one for the record books ... as the massive event generated one of the biggest gates for any boxing or MMA spectacle in U.S. history!!

Paul's Most Valuable Promotions dropped the official numbers Tuesday morning ... saying total ticket revenue for the fight was $18.1 million -- which beat the previous Texas record of $9 milli held by Canelo Álvarez ... and is the most for any combat sports event outside of Las Vegas.

Overall, it came out as the ninth-highest combat sports gate America has ever seen.

Sorry, fight fans, don't expect Francis Ngannou to share the ring with Jake Paul ... 'cause The Predator tells TMZ Sports that scrap will never happen!

We caught up with the former UFC heavyweight champion following the wildly successful Netflix boxing event that saw 60 million households tune in for Paul's unanimous decision win over Mike Tyson -- and we asked him about his tweet, saying he'd slap El Gallo the next time he saw Jake.

With fans pumped at the prospect of a Paul and Ngannou fight, we had to see if there was a chance. Unfortunately, the 38-year-old wasn't having it, saying the prospect of them sharing the ring is straight up disrespectful.

Jon Jones dominated Stipe Miocic in the main event of 309 ... and then shouted out President Trump during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.

Bones even started a "USA! USA!" chant ... and hit Trump's famous dance move, before exiting the Octagon and talking to the president-elect.

The UFC has no shortage of star power at its events -- in and out of the Octagon -- so, who's gotten the loudest pop from the crowd?!

Dana White has an answer.

"When you think about fighter walkouts, whenever a fighter walks out to the [Octagon] — I mean, the two biggest that actually shake the arena are President Trump and Conor McGregor, two of the biggest fight walkouts ever," the UFC boss told Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1).

Brandon Moreno has twice been the UFC's flyweight champion -- and he could soon have a chance to win it for a third time -- but, the Mexican MMA star is on the hunt for a goal even bigger than gold ... he wants to be the greatest ever!

"Man, I want to be one of the best," Moreno told TMZ Sports this week ... "I want to be of the history of the flyweight division. I won the title twice in the past, but I feel I have to do a little bit more, you know?"

Of course, G.O.A.T. is a subjective debate with no definitive answer. Still, most agree Demetrious Johnson is the best ever in the division, with Henry Cejudo making a strong case for himself (Triple C beat Mighty Mouse -- not to mention he won an Olympic gold medal and became UFC bantamweight champion, too).

Rose Namajunas has accomplished nearly everything over the course of her career in MMA ... and while she still has eyes on getting back her championship belt -- she tells TMZ Sports she wouldn't mind stepping out of the Octagon and into the boxing ring one day!

We caught up with the fifth-ranked UFC flyweight ahead of her upcoming bout against third-ranked Erin Blanchfield ... and while she is not sleeping on EB -- who is known for her grappling -- Rose believes she is overall the better fighter.

"I feel I'm superior in all areas of MMA," Rose said. "Especially being able to mix it all up, that's what I do best. I'm really looking forward to the challenge. I know she's a tough opponent, so I'm very prepared."

Belal Muhammad's first defense of his UFC welterweight world title will have to wait ... as the champ has been forced out of his main event fight at UFC 310 after suffering a nasty bone infection.

The 36-year-old revealed the news Tuesday morning ... showing off the ailment before going under the knife, and we're not doctors, but it's safe to say a human toe probably shouldn't be that swollen!

"Caught a bone infection in my foot .. had to put a picc line in my arm for iv antibiotics the next 6 weeks with no physical activity," Belal said.

UFC superstar Jon Jones just caught a break in his drug test-gone-wrong case ... agreeing to attend anger management classes to resolve his charges.

Officials announced the deal prior to the bench trial that was slated to begin in New Mexico on Tuesday ... which will dismiss the two charges stemming from the incident if Jones completes four hours of treatment and keeps his nose clean for 90 days.

Jones initially pleaded not guilty to assault (petty misdemeanor) and interference with the communication (misdemeanor) in July ... and, at the time, he accused a tester of being unprofessional and catching him by surprise during the visit to his Albuquerque home.

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."